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{{Short description|Soviet strategic bomber aircraft, copy of B-29}}
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{{Infobox aircraft
 |name = Tu-4
 |image = File:Tu4.jpg
 |caption=
 |successors= [[Tupolev Tu-16]]
 |type= [[Strategic bomber]]
 |national_origin= Soviet Union
 |manufacturer = [[Tupolev]]
 |first_flight = 19 May 1947
 |introduction = 1949
 |retired = 1988 (China)
 |status =
 |primary_user = [[Soviet Air Force]]
 |more_users = [[PLA Air Force]]
 |produced = 1949–1952
 |number_built = 847
 |developed_from = [[Boeing B-29 Superfortress]]
 |variants= [[Tupolev Tu-70]] <br /> [[Tupolev Tu-75]]
 |developed_into = [[Tupolev Tu-80]] <br /> [[Tupolev Tu-85]]
}}

The '''Tupolev Tu-4''' ({{langx|ru|Туполев Ту-4}}; [[NATO reporting name]]: '''Bull''') is a piston-engined [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] [[strategic bomber]] that served the [[Soviet Air Force]] from the late 1940s to the mid-1960s. The aircraft was a copy of the American [[Boeing B-29 Superfortress]], having been [[Reverse engineering|reverse-engineered]] from seized aircraft that had made emergency landings in the USSR.

==Design and development==
Toward the end of [[World War II]], the Soviet Union saw the need for a strategic bombing capability similar to that of the Western Allies. The Soviet VVS air arm had the locally designed [[Petlyakov Pe-8]] four-engined "heavy" in service at the start of the war, but besides suffering complicated engines only 93 had been built by the end of the war and the type had become obsolete. The U.S. regularly conducted [[Air raids on Japan|bombing raids on Japan]] from distant [[Pacific]] forward bases using B-29 Superfortresses. [[Joseph Stalin]] ordered the development of a comparable bomber.

The U.S. twice refused to supply the Soviet Union with B-29s under [[Lend Lease]].<ref>Gordon, 2002, p. 3</ref><ref name="deliv">[http://lend-lease.airforce.ru/english/articles/geust/aircraft_deliveries.htm "Lend-lease: Aircraft Deliveries to the Soviet Union"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180223110915/http://lend-lease.airforce.ru/english/articles/geust/aircraft_deliveries.htm |date=2018-02-23 }} ''airforce.ru''. Retrieved: 29 September 2025.</ref> However, on four occasions during 1944, individual B-29s made emergency landings in Soviet territory and one crashed after the crew bailed out.<ref>Gordon, 2002, pp.  8–10</ref> In accordance with the [[Soviet–Japanese Neutrality Pact]], the Soviets were neutral in the [[Pacific War]] and so the bombers were interned and kept by the Soviets. Despite Soviet neutrality, the U.S. demanded the return of the bombers, but were refused.<ref name="factsheet">[https://web.archive.org/web/20140805153502/http://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=1852 "Soviet Union Impounds and Copies B-29."] National Museum of the USAF. Retrieved: 17 July 2017.</ref> Three repairable B-29s were flown to Moscow and delivered to the [[Tupolev]] [[OKB]]. One B-29 was dismantled, the second was used for flight tests and training, and the third was left as a standard for cross-reference.<ref name="Kerber">Kerber, Leonid. [http://militera.lib.ru/memo/russian/kerber/02.html "Tu-4 bomber epic"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231127153410/http://militera.lib.ru/memo/russian/kerber/02.html |date=2023-11-27 }}. ''militera.lib.ru'': a compilation of articles published in 1988–1990 (in Russian). Retrieved: 29 December 2009.</ref> The aircraft included one Boeing-Wichita –5-BW, two Boeing-Wichita –15-BWs and the wreckage of one Boeing-Renton –1-BN, comprising three different models from two different production lines, at Wichita and Renton. Only one of the four had [[deicing boot]]s, as would be used on the Tu-4.<ref>Gordon, 2002, pp.  9–10</ref> The fourth B-29 was returned to the US along with its crew with the end of the Soviet-Japanese peace. The Soviets [[Pacific War#Soviet entry|declared war on Japan]] two days after the [[atomic bombing of Hiroshima]], in accordance with the [[Yalta Agreement]].<ref>Gordon, 2002, p. 11</ref>

Stalin told Tupolev to duplicate the Superfortress in as short a time as possible instead of continuing with his own comparable ANT-64/Tu-10.<ref>Gordon, 2002, p. 14</ref> The reverse-engineering effort involved 900 factories and research institutes, which finished the design work during the first year, and 105,000 drawings were made.<ref>{{cite news|last=Jelinek|first=Pauline|url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-40461478.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924181006/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-40461478.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=24 September 2015|title=Report: Soviet Union Copied US Plane|agency=Associated Press|date=25 January 2001|access-date=12 June 2015}}</ref> By the end of the second year, the Soviet industry was to produce twenty copies of the aircraft, ready for state acceptance trials.<ref>Gordon, 2002, p. 26</ref>

The Soviet Union used the [[metric system]] and so [[Sheet metal|sheet]] aluminium in thicknesses matching the B-29's [[United States customary units|U.S. customary]] measurements was unavailable. The corresponding metric-gauge metal was of different thicknesses. Alloys and other materials new to the Soviet Union had to be brought into production. Extensive re-engineering had to take place to compensate for the differences, and Soviet official strength margins had to be decreased to avoid further redesign.<ref>Gordon, 2002, p. 20</ref> Despite those challenges, the prototype Tu-4 weighed only {{cvt|340|kg}} more than the B-29, a difference of less than 1%.<ref>Gordon, 2002, p. 24</ref>

The engineers and suppliers of components were under pressure from Tupolev, Stalin, and the government to create an exact clone of the original B-29 to facilitate production. Tupolev had to overcome substantial resistance to use equipment that was not only already in production but also sometimes superior to that found on the B-29s.<ref>Gordon, 2002, pp. 15–25</ref> Each alteration and every component made was scrutinized and was subject to a lengthy bureaucratic decision process. Kerber, then Tupolev's deputy, recalled in his memoirs that engineers needed authorization from a high-ranking general to use Soviet-made parachutes.<ref name="Kerber"/> Differences were limited to the aforementioned sheet-metal gauges, the engines, the defensive weapons, the radio (a later model used in lend-lease B-25s was used in place of the radio in the interned B-29s) and the [[identification friend or foe]] (IFF) system since the American IFF was obviously unsuitable.<ref>Gordon, 2002, pp. 24–25</ref> 
The Soviet [[Shvetsov ASh-73]] engine was a development of the [[Wright R-1820]] but was not otherwise related to the B-29's [[Wright R-3350]].<ref>Gordon, 2002, pp. 21 & 24</ref> The ASh-73 also powered some of [[Aeroflot]]'s remaining obsolescent [[Petlyakov Pe-8]] airframes, a much-earlier Soviet four-engined heavy bomber, whose production was curtailed by higher-priority programs. The B-29's remote-controlled gun turrets were redesigned to accommodate the Soviet [[Nudelman NS-23]], a harder-hitting and longer-ranged {{cvt|23|mm}} cannon.<ref>Gordon, 2002, p. 25</ref> Additional changes were made as a result of problems encountered during testing related to engine and propeller failures,<ref>Gordon, 2002, p. 27</ref> and equipment changes were made throughout the aircraft's service life.<ref>Gordon, 2002, pp. 66–68</ref>

The Tu-4 first flew on 19 May 1947 and was flown by test pilot [[Nikolai Rybko]].<ref>Duffy and Kandalov 1996, p. 98.</ref> Serial production started immediately, and the type would enter large-scale service by 1949. The aircraft was first displayed during a flyover on 3 August 1947 at the [[Tushino Aviation Day parade]]. At first three aircraft flew over and the Western observers assumed that they were merely the three B-29 bombers which they knew had been diverted to the Soviet Union during World War II. Minutes later a fourth aircraft appeared, and the observers realized the Soviets had reverse-engineered the B-29.<ref>Dow, James. [https://books.google.com/books?id=ZpiZo5fJrCsC&dq=%22tu+4%22+parade+four&pg=PA67 "Parade."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231101075018/https://books.google.com/books?id=ZpiZo5fJrCsC&dq=%22tu+4%22+parade+four&pg=PA67 |date=2023-11-01 }} ''The Arrow''. Retrieved: 29 December 2009.</ref>

Entry into service of the Tu-4 threw the [[United States Air Force|U.S. Air Force]] into panic since the aircraft possessed sufficient range to attack [[Chicago]] or [[Los Angeles]] on a one-way mission,<!--New York would have required in flight refuelling for even a one-way trip, which would be 8400km--> and that may have informed the maneuvers and air combat practice conducted by US and British air forces in 1948 involving fleets of B-29s.<ref>[http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1812595429445699346&hl=en "Archival RAF film of combat with B-29s."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110604121608/http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1812595429445699346&hl=en |date=2011-06-04 }} ''google.com''. Retrieved: 29 December 2009.</ref> 
The tests were conducted by the RAF [[Central Fighter Establishment]] and co-operative US B-29 groups and involved demonstration of recommended methods of attack against B-29/Tu 4-type bombers using RAF [[Gloster Meteor]] and [[de Havilland Vampire]] jet fighters. The Soviets  developed four different midair refueling systems to extend the bomber's range, but these were fitted to only a few aircraft, and only a small number of the final design were installed on operational aircraft before the Tu-4 was superseded by the [[Tupolev Tu-16|Tu-16]].<ref>Gordon, 2002, pp. 50-53</ref>

==Operational history==
A total of 847 Tu-4s had been built when production ended in the Soviet Union in 1952, some of which went to China during the later 1950s. Many experimental variants were built and the experience launched the Soviet strategic bomber program. Tu-4s were withdrawn from Soviet service in the 1960s, being replaced by more advanced aircraft including the [[Tupolev Tu-16]] jet bomber (starting in 1954) and the [[Tupolev Tu-95]] turboprop bomber (starting in 1956). By the beginning of the 1960s, the only Tu-4s still operated by the Soviets were used for transport or airborne laboratory purposes. A Tu-4A was the first Soviet aircraft to drop a nuclear weapon, the [[RDS-3]].<ref>Duffy, 1996, p. 98</ref>

==Variants==
[[File:Tu-4 .jpg|thumb|Tu-4 at China Aviation Museum]]
;Tu-4: main production version, originally designated '''B-4'''

;Tu-4 Variants without special designations<nowiki>:</nowiki>
:Tu-4 [[Signals intelligence|ELINT]] and [[Electronic countermeasure|ECM]]<ref>Gordon, 2002, pp. 42–43</ref>
:Tu-4 mothership for the [[DFS 346A]].<ref name="Gordon">Gordon, 2002, p. 54</ref>(Note:other DFS346 prototypes were carried by one of the [[Boeing B-29]]s interned during the war).<ref name=x-planes>{{cite book |last1=Gordon |first1=Yefim |title=Soviet X-Planes |url=https://archive.org/details/sovietxplanes00gord_138 |url-access=limited |year=2000 |publisher=Midland |location=Hinkley |isbn=978-1857800999 |last2=Gunston|first2=Bill|pages=[https://archive.org/details/sovietxplanes00gord_138/page/n216 216]–217}}</ref>
:Tu-4 escort fighter mothership ('''Project Burlaki''')<ref>Gordon, 2002, pp. 43–47</ref>
:Tu-4 remotely controlled [[target drone]] converted from time expired bombers.<ref name="Gordon" />
:Tu-4 fuel carrier<ref name="Gordon_b">Gordon, 2002, p. 53</ref>
:Tu-4 [[Aerial refueling|in-flight refuelling]] testbeds (four different systems were trialled)<ref>Gordon, 2002, pp. 50–53</ref>
:Tu-4 radiation reconnaissance aircraft<ref name="Gordon_a">Gordon, 2002, p. 43</ref>
:Tu-4 communications relay aircraft<ref name="Gordon_a" />

;Tu-4A: Nuclear capable bomber used to test Soviet [[RDS-1]], [[RDS-3]] and [[RDS-5]] nuclear bombs. The standard Tu-4 was not capable of carrying these weapons.<ref>Gordon, 2002, pp. 34–36</ref>
;Tu-4D: Troop transport (300 conversions).<ref>Gordon, 2002, pp. 37, 40</ref> Also known as '''Tu-76'''.
;Tu-4K/KS: Anti-shipping version, armed with [[KS-1 Komet]] missiles carried between the engines under the wings.<ref>Gordon, 2002, pp. 36–39</ref>
;Tu-4LL: Engine testbed for the [[Mikulin AM-3]] jet engine, the [[Ivchenko AI-20]], [[Kuznetsov NK-4]] and [[Kuznetsov NK-12|Kuznetsov 2TV-2F]] turboprop engines, the [[Dobrynin VD-3K]] radial engine and AV-28 contra-rotating propellers.<ref>Gordon, 2002, pp. 55–57</ref>
;Tu-4NM: Drone launcher aircraft with [[Lavochkin La-17]] [[unmanned aerial vehicle]]s carried underwing<ref>Gordon, 2002, pp. 53, 54 & 57</ref>
;Tu-4R: Long-range reconnaissance.<ref name="auto">Gordon, 2002, p. 42</ref>
;Tu-4T: Paratroop transport (one example only)<ref>Gordon, 2002, p. 41</ref>
;Tu-4TRZhK: [[Liquid oxygen]] tanker aircraft.<ref name="Gordon_b" />
;Tu-4UShS: Navigational trainer.<ref name="auto"/>

;ShR-1: Testbed for [[Myasishchev M-4]] to develop a bicycle-type landing gear.<ref name="Gordon" />
;UR-1/-2: Testbed for [[Myasishchev M-4]] powered controls.<ref>Gordon, 2002, pp. 54–55</ref>
[[File:KJ-1.jpg|thumb|KJ-1 at China Aviation Museum, Beijing]]
;Tu-4 AWACS: Chinese prototype with [[KJ-1 AEWC]], [[airborne early warning and control]] radar and powered by Ivchenko AI-20K [[turboprop]] engines.<ref>{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20080528105557/http://www.simonb6.co.uk/2002/DS-TU-4-4114.jpg "Tu-4."]}}  ''simonb6.co.uk''. Retrieved: 29 December 2009.</ref> Two converted to allow the Chinese to monitor US nuclear weapons tests in the Pacific.<ref>Duffy, 1996, p. 99</ref>
;[[Tupolev Tu-70|Tu-70]]: Airliner, never reached mass production.
;[[Tupolev Tu-75|Tu-75]]: Cargo derivative, never reached mass production.
;Tu-79: Tu-4 powered by M-49TK engines.
;[[Tupolev Tu-80|Tu-80]]: Long-range bomber development, never reached mass production.
;[[Tupolev Tu-85|Tu-85]]: Long-range bomber development, never reached mass production.
;Tu-94: Tu-4 powered by Kuznetsov TV-2 turboprop engines.

==Operators==

;{{USSR}}
* [[Soviet Air Force]]
The Soviet Air Force operated 847 Tupolev Tu-4 bombers between 1948 and early 1960,<ref>Nowicki 1994, p. 17.</ref> initially as long-range bombers. The first regiment to be re-equipped on the Tu-4 was the 185th Guards Aviation Regiment of the 13th Guards Bomber Aviation Division, stationed at [[Poltava Air Base]] in the [[Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic|Ukrainian SSR]]. The training of personnel was carried out in [[Kazan]], at the 890th long-range bomber regiment, turned into a training unit.<ref>{{cite web |last=Holm |title=890th Bryanskiy Bomber Aviation Regiment |url=https://www.ww2.dk/new/air%20force/regiment/bap/890bap.htm |access-date=2022-10-20 |archive-date=2023-12-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231207091824/https://www.ww2.dk/new/air%20force/regiment/bap/890bap.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> The pilots of the 890th Regiment had extensive experience flying American [[Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress]]es and [[Consolidated B-24 Liberator]] aircraft.<ref>A list of the Heavy Bomber Aviation Regiments, many of which operated Tu-4s, can be seen [https://www.ww2.dk/new/air%20force/regiment/bap/tbap.htm here].</ref> In March 1949 the {{ill|52nd Guards Heavy Bomber Aviation Regiment|ru|52-й гвардейский тяжёлый бомбардировочный авиационный полк}} received Tu-4s;<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ww2.dk/new/air%20force/regiment/bap/52gvtbap.htm|title=52nd Guards Heavy Bomber Aviation Regiment|accessdate=19 April 2023|archive-date=3 September 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230903142110/http://www.ww2.dk/new/air%20force/regiment/bap/52gvtbap.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> the 121st Guards received Tu-4Rs in 1953.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ww2.dk/new/air%20force/regiment/bap/121gvtbap.htm|access-date=19 April 2023|website=ww2.dk|title=121st Guards Sevastopolskiy Red Banner Heavy Bomber Aviation Regiment|archive-date=25 December 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231225165139/https://www.ww2.dk/new/air%20force/regiment/bap/121gvtbap.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 1954 the Soviets began phasing out the Tu-4 as [[Tupolev Tu-16]] bombers entered service and, beginning in 1956, to [[Tupolev Tu-95]] bombers. Tu-4s withdrawn from front line units were used for transport duties.<ref>Rigmant 1996, p. 66.</ref>

;{{PRC}}
* [[People's Liberation Army Air Force]]
On 28 February 1953, [[Joseph Stalin]] gave China ten Tu-4 heavy bombers, and in 1960 two additional aircraft configured as navigational trainers arrived in [[Beijing]]. 11 Tu-4s were refitted with AI-20K turboprop engines between 1970 and 1973. The last PLAAF Tu-4 was retired in 1988.

In 1969, China developed its first [[airborne early warning]] aircraft based on the Tu-4 airframe. The project was named [[KJ-1 AEWC|KJ-1]] and mounted a Type 843 [[rotodome]] above the fuselage of the aircraft. However, due to clutter noise the KJ-1 failed to meet the [[People's Liberation Army Air Force|PLAAF's]] requirements. The project was canceled in 1979 although further projects were proposed based on Tu-4 platform.<ref>[http://fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/ac/row/aew-prc.htm "Chinese Airborne Early Warning (AEW)."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070403165304/http://fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/ac/row/aew-prc.htm |date=2007-04-03 }} ''fas.org.'' Retrieved: 31 July 2011.</ref> The airframe was already obsolete however and the Tu-4 was ruled out for future developments. The single prototype is displayed at the PLAAF museum north of Beijing.

==Survivors==
[[File:KJ-1 (Tupolev Tu-4).jpg|thumb|[[China Aviation Museum]], KJ-1.]]
[[File:WuZhen-5 under the wing of an aircraft carrier - 2.jpg|thumb|[[China Aviation Museum]], Tupolev Tu-4.]]
[[File:Tu-4-2008-Monino.jpg|thumb|Tupolev Tu-4 at [[Monino (air base)|Monino]]]]
;Tu-4 ''4114'' (c/n 2805601), ex-KJ-1 AEWC, "4114"
:Stored at [[Datangshan]], [[China]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/ac/row/china_gt_aircraft_TU4aew_01.jpg|title=Photo of the Tu-4 (c/n 286501) at the FAS.org website|accessdate=19 April 2023|archive-date=30 April 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170430013449/https://fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/ac/row/china_gt_aircraft_TU4aew_01.jpg|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Datangshan Museum">[http://www.airliners.net/open.file?id=1213817&size=L&width=1280&height=960&sok=JURER%20%20%28ZNGPU%20%28nvepensg%2Cnveyvar%2Ccynpr%2Ccubgb_qngr%2Cpbhagel%2Cerznex%2Ccubgbtencure%2Crznvy%2Clrne%2Cert%2Cnvepensg_trarevp%2Cpa%2Cpbqr%29%20NTNVAFG%20%28%27%2B%22gh-4%22%27%20VA%20OBBYRNA%20ZBQR%29%29%20%20beqre%20ol%20cubgb_vq%20QRFP&photo_nr=1 "Photo of the Tu-4 (4114, cn 2806501) AWACS example exhibited in the Datangshan Museum, China."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930095524/http://www.airliners.net/open.file?id=1213817&size=L&width=1280&height=960&sok=JURER%20%20%28ZNGPU%20%28nvepensg%2Cnveyvar%2Ccynpr%2Ccubgb_qngr%2Cpbhagel%2Cerznex%2Ccubgbtencure%2Crznvy%2Clrne%2Cert%2Cnvepensg_trarevp%2Cpa%2Cpbqr%29%20NTNVAFG%20%28%27+%22gh-4%22%27%20VA%20OBBYRNA%20ZBQR%29%29%20%20beqre%20ol%20cubgb_vq%20QRFP&photo_nr=1 |date=2007-09-30 }}  ''airliners.net''. Retrieved: 29 December 2009.</ref>
;Tu-4 ''4134'' (c/n 2205008), "4134"
:Stored at [[Datangshan]], [[China]]<ref>[http://www.airliners.net/open.file?id=1205559&size=L&width=1280&height=853&sok=JURER%20%20%28ZNGPU%20%28nvepensg%2Cnveyvar%2Ccynpr%2Ccubgb_qngr%2Cpbhagel%2Cerznex%2Ccubgbtencure%2Crznvy%2Clrne%2Cert%2Cnvepensg_trarevp%2Cpa%2Cpbqr%29%20NTNVAFG%20%28%27%2B%22gh-4%22%27%20VA%20OBBYRNA%20ZBQR%29%29%20%20beqre%20ol%20cubgb_vq%20QRFP&photo_nr=2 "Photo of the Tu-4 (4134, cn 225008) "missile carrier" exhibited in the Datangshan Museum, China."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930153821/http://www.airliners.net/open.file?id=1205559&size=L&width=1280&height=853&sok=JURER%20%20%28ZNGPU%20%28nvepensg%2Cnveyvar%2Ccynpr%2Ccubgb_qngr%2Cpbhagel%2Cerznex%2Ccubgbtencure%2Crznvy%2Clrne%2Cert%2Cnvepensg_trarevp%2Cpa%2Cpbqr%29%20NTNVAFG%20%28%27+%22gh-4%22%27%20VA%20OBBYRNA%20ZBQR%29%29%20%20beqre%20ol%20cubgb_vq%20QRFP&photo_nr=2 |date=2007-09-30 }} ''airliners.net''. Retrieved: 29 December 2009.</ref>
;Tu-4 ''unknown'' (c/n 2805103), "01"
:Stored at the [[Central Air Force Museum]], [[Monino]], [[Russia]]<ref>[http://www.airliners.net/open.file?id=1170866&size=L&width=1024&height=780&sok=JURER%20%20%28ZNGPU%20%28nvepensg%2Cnveyvar%2Ccynpr%2Ccubgb_qngr%2Cpbhagel%2Cerznex%2Ccubgbtencure%2Crznvy%2Clrne%2Cert%2Cnvepensg_trarevp%2Cpa%2Cpbqr%29%20NTNVAFG%20%28%27%2B%22gh-4%22%27%20VA%20OBBYRNA%20ZBQR%29%29%20%20beqre%20ol%20cubgb_vq%20QRFP&photo_nr=5 "Photo of the Tu-4 exhibited in the Central Air Force Museum in Monino, Russia."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930031557/http://www.airliners.net/open.file?id=1170866&size=L&width=1024&height=780&sok=JURER%20%20%28ZNGPU%20%28nvepensg%2Cnveyvar%2Ccynpr%2Ccubgb_qngr%2Cpbhagel%2Cerznex%2Ccubgbtencure%2Crznvy%2Clrne%2Cert%2Cnvepensg_trarevp%2Cpa%2Cpbqr%29%20NTNVAFG%20%28%27+%22gh-4%22%27%20VA%20OBBYRNA%20ZBQR%29%29%20%20beqre%20ol%20cubgb_vq%20QRFP&photo_nr=5 |date=2007-09-30 }}  ''airliners.net''. Retrieved: 29 December 2009.</ref>

==Specifications (Tu-4)==
{{Aircraft specs
|ref=''Tupolev Tu-4 Soviet Superfortress.''<ref>Gordon, 2002 page 34</ref>
|prime units?=met
<!--General characteristics-->
|crew=11
|length m=30.18
|span m=43.05
|height m=8.46
|wing area sqm=161.7
|aspect ratio=11.5
|airfoil=
|empty weight kg=36850
|gross weight kg=47850
|max takeoff weight kg=55600
|max takeoff weight note= – {{cvt|63600|kg}}
<!-- Powerplant -->
|eng1 number=4
|eng1 name=[[Shvetsov ASh-73]]TK
|eng1 type=18-cyl. air-cooled radial piston engines
|eng1 kw=1790<!-- prop engines -->
|prop blade number=4
|prop name=V3-A3 or V3B-A5
|prop dia m=5.06
|prop dia note=<ref>Gordon, 2002, p. 64</ref>
<!--        Performance-->
|max speed kmh=558
|max speed note=at {{cvt|10250|m}}
|range km=5,400
|range note= at {{cvt|3000|m}} with {{cvt|63600|kg}} take-off weight including {{cvt|3000|kg}} of bombs and 10% fuel reserves
|ceiling m=11200
|climb rate ms=4.6
|climb rate note= at {{cvt|1000|m}}
|time to altitude={{cvt|5000|m}} in 18.2 minutes
|wing loading kg/m2=400
|power/mass=0.11 kW/kg
<!--Armament-->
|guns= 10 × {{cvt|23|mm}} [[Nudelman-Suranov NS-23]] aircraft [[autocannon|cannon]], two cannon in each of the four turrets and two cannon in the tail [[barbette]]
|bombs= 6 × {{cvt|1000|kg}} bombs or 1 x [[RDS-1]],  [[RDS-3]] '''or''' [[RDS-5]] nuclear fission bomb (Tu-4A only)
|rockets=
|missiles= 2 × [[KS-1 Komet]] [[Standoff (missile)|standoff missiles]] (Tu-4K only; these anti-ship missiles resembled a scaled-down [[MiG-15]])
|avionics=
}}

==See also==
{{aircontent|
|related=
* [[Boeing B-29 Superfortress]]
* [[Tupolev Tu-70]]
* [[Tupolev Tu-75]]
* [[Tupolev Tu-80]]
* [[Tupolev Tu-85]]
|similar aircraft=
* [[Avro Lincoln]]
* [[Consolidated B-32 Dominator]]
* [[Messerschmitt Me 264]]
|lists=
* [[List of bomber aircraft]]
* [[List of military aircraft of the Soviet Union and the CIS]]
|see also=<!-- other relevant information -->
}}

==References==
{{Commons category}}

===Notes===
{{Reflist|colwidth=30em}}

===Bibliography===
* {{cite book|last=Bowers|first=Peter M.|title=Boeing B-29 Superfortress|publisher=Voyageur Press|location=Stillwater, Minnesota|year=1999|isbn=978-0933424791}}
* {{cite book|last1=Duffy|first1=Paul|last2=Kandalov|first2=A. I.|title=Tupolev: The Man and his Aircraft|publisher=SAE|location=Warrendale, Pennsylvania|year=1996|isbn=978-1560918998}}
* {{cite book|last1=Gordon|first1=Yefim|last2=Rigmant|first2=Vladimir|title=Tupolev Tu-4: Soviet Superfortress|publisher=Midland Counties Pub|location=Leicestershire|year=2002|isbn=978-1857801422}}
* {{cite book|last=Hess|first=William N.|title=Great American Bombers of WW II|publisher=Motorbooks International|location=St. Paul, Minnesota|year=1999|isbn=978-0760306505}}
* {{cite book|last=Nowicki|first=Jacek|title=B-29 Superfortress|publisher=AJ Press|location=Gdansk, Poland|year=1994|isbn=978-8386208098}}
* {{cite book|last=Pace|first=Steve|title=Boeing B-29 Superfortress|publisher=Crowood|location=Wiltshire|year=2003|isbn=978-1861265814}}
* {{cite magazine|last=Rigmant|first=Vladimir|trans-title=B-29, Tu-4 – strategic twins – as it was |title=B-29, Tу-4 – стратегические близнецы – как это было|magazine=Aviation and Cosmonautics 17|language=Ru|volume=17|number=4|location=Moscow, Russia|year=1996}}

{{Tupolev aircraft}}
{{B-29 family}}
{{Soviet Union–United States relations|state=collapsed}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Tupolev aircraft|Tu-0004]]
[[Category:1940s Soviet bomber aircraft]]
[[Category:Four-engined tractor aircraft]]
[[Category:Soviet Union–United States relations]]
[[Category:Boeing B-29 Superfortress|Tu-04]]
[[Category:Mid-wing aircraft]]
[[Category:Aircraft first flown in 1947]]
[[Category:Four-engined piston aircraft]]
[[Category:Aircraft with retractable tricycle landing gear]]