Tupolev Tu-22 "Blinder"

Tupolev · Soviet Union · first flew 1958 · bomber

The Tu-22 Blinder was the Soviet Union's first supersonic bomber, distinguished from the superficially similar-named Tu-22M by its tail-mounted fixed engines and fixed swept wing — a fundamentally different aircraft.

Recognition (WEFT)

W — Wings	Mid-mounted, swept
E — Engines	2 × turbojet, fuselage-mounted
F — Fuselage	Two large turbojet engines mounted in pods at the base of the tail fin, flanking the fuselage — completely unlike the Tu-22M's wing-root engine boxes
T — Tail	Conventional

WEFT is AircraftIQ's four-point recognition method — how it works.

Spot it by:

Two large turbojet engines mounted in pods at the base of the tail fin, flanking the fuselage — completely unlike the Tu-22M's wing-root engine boxes
Fixed (non-variable) swept wing with no movable outer panels — straight trapezoidal planform versus the Tu-22M's variable-geometry outer wing
Long glazed nose section with a prominent flight-refuelling probe and a glazed navigator/bomb-aimer station — the Tu-22M has a solid radar nose

The tail-mounted engine pods are the single unmistakable identifier — no other major bomber places both engines at the fin base; the Tu-22M has engines buried in the wing roots with variable-sweep outer panels, making the two aircraft visually very different.

Specifications

The Tupolev Tu-22 Blinder has a length of 41.6 m (136 ft).
It has a wingspan of 23.6 m (77 ft).
Its maximum speed is 1510 km/h (938 mph).
Typical crew: 3.

Figures are for the representative variant described above; marks differ. See how AircraftIQ sources figures.

History

The Tu-22 entered Soviet service in 1962 and proved a troublesome aircraft with poor handling and high accident rates. It was exported to Libya and Iraq, where it saw combat. Despite sharing a designation sequence with the Tu-22M, the two aircraft share almost no components and represent entirely different design approaches.

Variants

The Tu-22K carried the Kh-22 anti-ship missile; the Tu-22R was a reconnaissance variant; the Tu-22U was the two-seat trainer with a raised second cockpit.

Where you'll see it

All Russian Tu-22s were retired by the 1990s; a small number of airframes survive in Russian aviation museums, including the Monino Central Air Force Museum near Moscow.

Related aircraft

AircraftIQ — the aircraft field guide: 5,024 recognition guides, live overhead identification, works offline.