Myasishchev M-50

Myasishchev M-50

Picture - Myasishchev M-50 on display at Monino Aviation Museum

Role: Strategic bomber
Designed by: Myasishchev
First flight: 27 October 1959
Status: Retired
Primary user: USSR
Number built: 2

The Myasishchev M-50 (NATO reporting name Bounder) was a Soviet prototype four-engine supersonic bomber which never attained service. Only one prototype was built, which was believed to have first flown in 1957. The M-50 was constructed by the Myasishchev design bureau.

It was a fast jet bomber with four engines: two Dobrynin VD-7 and two VD-7F turbojets. Two engines were located under the wing and two on the tips of its shoulder-mounted, truncated delta wings.

The second M-50 was designated M-52 and carried Zubets 16-17 turbojets, around which the aircraft had been designed. The engine installation was modified, and a second tailplane added to the top of the fin. M-50 participated in a Soviet Aviation Day flyby in 1961. M-52 was completed but was not flight tested.

Nuclear Bomber hoax

The 1 December 1958 issue of Aviation Week included an article, Soviets Flight Testing Nuclear Bomber, that claimed that the Soviets had made great progress in their own nuclear aircraft program. This was accompanied by an editorial on the topic as well. The magazine claimed that the aircraft was real beyond a doubt, stating that "A nuclear-powered bomber is being flight tested in the Soviet Union. ... It has been observed both in flight and on the ground by a wide variety of foreign observers from Communist and non-Communist countries." In reality, however, the article was a hoax. The aircraft in the photographs was later revealed to be an M-50 and not a nuclear-powered plane at all.

Specifications (M-50A)

General characteristics

Crew: Two
Length: 57.48 m (188 ft 6 in)
Wingspan: 35.10 m (115 ft 2 in)
Height: 8.25 m (27 ft 1 in)
Wing area: 290.6 m² (3,128 ft²)
Empty weight: 85,000 kg (187,000 lb)
Loaded weight: 175,000 kg (386,000 lb)
Max takeoff weight: 200,000 kg (440,000 lb)
Powerplant: 4x— wing mounted 13000kg (28,860lb)Soloviev D-15 turbojets]

Performance

Maximum speed: 1,950 km/h (1,212 mph)
Cruise speed: 1,500 km/h (930 mph)
Range: 7,400 km (4,600 mi)
Service ceiling: 16,500 m (54,100 ft)
Rate of climb: m/s (ft/min)
Wing loading: 602 kg/m² (123 lb/ft²)
Thrust/weight: 0.29

Armament

30,000 kg (66,000 lb) of bombs or missiles carried in internal bay

Comparable aircraft

B-58 Hustler

Myasishchev M-50 Pictures and Myasishchev M-50 for Sale.

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Source: WikiPedia