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The end of second world war is marked by the apparition of the atomic bomb both in Russia and the United States. As the need to deliver this new weapon at high speed over long distances could not be fulfilled by the piston engined bombers of the time, (The Boeing B-29 and its copy, the Tupolev Tu-4) both sides began studies on heavy jet bombers. This led to the apparition of planes like the B-47 and B-52, the Russians producing a very similar machine, the Miyassichtchev M-4, (NATO code 'Bison').
Unfortunately, the M-4 never completely fulfilled the criteria for which it had been designed, mainly because of its short range. Jet engines of that time were still far from offering good reliability and low weight, together with high thrust and a good Specific Fuel Consumption (or SFC). Nonetheless, the impressing number of innovations the M-4 integrated testifies of the many efforts and problems encountered in the design of this new generation of heavy jets : Landing gear integrated to the fuselage, high elongation swept wings, in flight refuelling. . .
The first flight of the M-25 prototype took place on the 20th of January, 1953, with pilots F. Opadchiy and A. Gratzyansky at the controls, less then two years after the project was launched.
The second prototype brought many modifications, the most spectacular being the mounting of a jack that automatically increased front gear extension when take-off speed had been reached, modifying the wing's angle of attack for lift-off. Normal rotation technique would indeed have been impossible as the rear main gear was positioned way aft the center of gravity. This system caused a lot of accidents at the beginning of the operations, mainly because of the lack of experience pilots had on this system.
Produced from 1954 to 1956, the M-4 was later used for reconnaissance and for in flight refuelling. Engines were then 21,000 lbf Mikulin AM-3M's.
This version is a development of the M-4 with reduced payload (18 tons instead of 24), smaller dimensions and improved aerodynamics.
The 3M made its first flight on the 27th of march, 1956, piloted by M. Gallaï and N. Goryainov. At this time, the VD-7 engines were only at the start of their production and still had many problems to be fixed, so the flight was made with two VD-7 on one side and two AM-3 on the other.
Testing was not yet finished when production of the first aircraft started. Catastrophe was avoided many times during this period, mainly because of the poor reliability and stability of the engines.
With wings conceived to disperse radio waves, the 3M is the first Russian bomber with stealth technology. The variable pitch stabiliser is also a main modification that was introduced during production.
The 3M, nicknamed 'Troïka', beat many world records in 1959 : Speed record on a 1,000 km distance and records for bringing high loads at high altitude.
Production stopped abruptly in the early sixties, the resources of 'Plant 23' near Moscow being urgently re-organised in favour of the design and construction of the new concept of ballistic missiles. Overhauls and modifications on existing models took place at the Ryazan plant from that period.
In the eighties and until 1994, the 3M was mainly used as a tanker. All versions included, 75 Troïka were built from 1956 till 1959.
The 3M's career ends with the modification of two machines into heavy external load carriers. They were planned for transportation of elements of the Bourane space shuttle and of the Energia rocket. For that purpose, new VD-7MD engines were installed, the tail was modified into a double fin and many structural reinforcements were added. The Atlant first flew in April 1981.
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