Western Estimates – Historical Review

Estimated start of flight testing 1953 First discovery Bear A 1955 Bear B July 9, 1961 Bear C February 1962 Bear D March 1965 Bear E April 1965 Bear F April 1972 Estimated start of series production 1954 First public display in practice for May Day flyby April 21, 1955 Public display of three (some observers say nine) aircraft May 1, 1955 Initial operational capability 1956 Significant operational capability 1959

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Tu-95 Variants and derivatives

Tu-95/1: The first prototype powered by Kuznetsov 2TV-2F coupled turboprop engines, crashed on its 17th flight on 11 May 1953. Tu-95/2: The second prototype powered by Kuznetsov NK-12 turboprops. Tu-95/Tu-95M: Basic variant of the long-range strategic bomber and the only model of the aircraft never fitted with a nose refuelling probe. Known to NATO as the Bear-A. Tu-95K: Experimental version for air-dropping a MiG-19 SM-20 jet aircraft. Tu-95K22: Conversions of the older Bear bombers, reconfigured to carry the Raduga Kh-22 missile and incorporating modern avionics. Known to NATO as the…

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