Curiosities 8 - Copy Paste Soviet: Tu-4
João Henrique Barboza Jorgetto • Mar 20, 2023
The year was 1947. Two years after the end of the War, Soviets and Westerners were pitted against each other in proxy battles around the globe. In aviation, jets were the big news and the technological leap seemed to be in the same measure for both powers. It was then that during a parade in Moscow, to the surprise of the West, four heavy bombers flew over the city. That plane had a familiar look, and it was soon noticed that they were B-29 planes, possibly captured by the Soviets during World War II. But then there was the question: if four planes were flying and only 3 B-29s had been taken "hostage" by the Soviets, who was that fourth identical plane flying in formation? The answer was the Tupolev Tu-4.
Joseph Stalin did not hide from anyone, his admiration for the heavy American B-29 bombers and how their performance turned the tide in the American War against Japan. High armament capacity, long flights and a structure that could withstand a lot made the B-29 the best flying fortress, or super-fortress, as it was nicknamed. Stalin's luck was accompanied by the misfortune of these three bomber crews, who, after attacking Japan, suffered heavy damage from anti-aircraft artillery and needed to land in an emergency. The best place would be the region of Manchuria, in China. Still, for some reason, they couldn't and took the unfortunate idea of landing in the Soviet Union, an "ally" of the Americans in the War. Upon landing in the country's far east, they were immediately captured and imprisoned, with the planes quickly being taken over by the Soviets. But wait, weren't they allies? According to the logic of Soviet officials at the time, Americans were their allies, but only in the Great Patriotic War against Germany. Against Japan, the Russians remained neutral, so this landing was far from friendly. The Americans were detained for 12 months in Tashkent while one of the bombers was dismantled rivet by rivet, resulting in more than 105,000 pieces of the American military puzzle. It was then that, by order of Stalin, Andrei Tupolev began to assemble what would be the Soviet version of the plane. It is noteworthy that Tupolev was imprisoned throughout the War. The American prisoners were "released" and taken to Iran, from where they returned to the US.
The reverse engineering design and construction of the plane went quite quickly and in two years, the Tu-4 was ready. The desire to follow Stalin's order to be a perfect copy was so high that the Soviets are reported to have even copied a hastily patched on the plane that served as the basis for their design. And another curious detail of the copies: on the rudder pedals of the first units appeared the inscription "Boeing" can you believe it?
The Soviet Tu-4 never entered combat and the 800 units manufactured were retired in the 60s. Some planes were sold to the Chinese, who used them operationally until 1988.
Reverse engineering has always been present in the history of aviation and it gives us great stories.
