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Tupolev design bureau bombers

The first large all-metal Soviet-built bomber by Tupolev design bureau made its test flight 90 years ago

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Tupolev TB-1 (ANT-4) served as the backbone of the Soviet bomber force for many years, and was the first large all-metal aircraft built in the Soviet Union

© I. Kurtov/Fotokhronika TASS

TB-3 was a heavy bomber aircraft which was deployed by the Soviet Air Force in the 1930s and served during World War II

© Fotokhronika TASS

Tupolev Tu-4, a four-engine bomber served the Soviet Air Force from the late 1940s to mid-1960s. It was a reverse-engineered copy of the US-made Boeing B-29. Photo: A line of soviet TU-4s

A Tu-4A was the first Soviet aircraft to drop a nuclear weapon. Photo: Tu-4 in Central Air Force Museum, at Monino airfield, 40 km east of Moscow

© Olga Ratkova/ITAR-TASS

Tupolev Tu-16, a twin-engined jet strategic bomber was used by the Soviet Union for more than 50 years. Photo: Tu-16 bombers seen during the aerial refueling

© Semyon Maisterman/ITAR-TASS

Tupolev Tu-22 became the first supersonic bomber to enter production in the Soviet Union. It entered service in the 1960s

© Anatoliy Morkovkin/ITAR-TASS

Tu-95 is a large, four-engine strategic bomber and missile platform. Tu-95 entered service with the Soviet Union in 1956

© Vadim Savitskiy/ITAR-TASS

Tu-95 was an icon of the Cold War as it performed a maritime surveillance and targeting mission for other aircrafts, surface ships and submarines

© Dmitriy Rogulin/ITAR-TASS

Tu-160 nicknamed White Swan among Russian airmen is a supersonic heavy strategic bomber. It entered service in 1987.

© Dmitriy Rogulin/ITAR-TASS

Tu-160 is the world's largest combat aircraft and largest supersonic aircraft built

In 1925, Soviet aircraft designer Andrei Tupolev created a twin-engine bomber, the TB-1, which was considered one of the most advanced designs of the time. The aircraft made its first test flight on 26 November 1925. TB-1 served as the backbone of the Soviet bomber force for many years. Tupolev design bureau bombers - in this photo gallery by TASS.

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