On anti-war posters, atomic bombs were depicted similar to conventional aviation bombs, but in black and with the letter A on the side. How they really looked, knew only the designers and a narrow circle of people, privy to this state secret.

THEY WERE THE FIRST

In the reference book "Soviet nuclear weapons", published in the USA in 1989 (Russian translation under the title "Nuclear weapons of the USSR" was published in 1992), it was reported only that "the number of nuclear bombs that can be delivered by aviation is estimated at 5200 Although very little is known about nuclear arsenals, the 2,000 pound, 350 kt nuclear bomb appears to be the standard weapon. ".

It is now known for certain that the first Soviet atomic bomb ("item 501") was produced in the very beginning of the 1950s in a small series - only five pieces. This exhausted the nuclear potential of the Soviet Union at that time, and the "products" did not enter the combat units of the Air Force, remaining in a special storage facility - where they were collected - in Arzamas-16 (Sarov). The power of the nuclear charge (RDS-1), which was tested in 1949, was 20 kt. By design, the "product 501" largely repeated the American "Fat Man" - Soviet intelligence knew its business.

But the Soviet Air Force already had at that time carriers of nuclear weapons - piston heavy bombers Tu-4, copied by order of Stalin from the American B-29 "Superfortress" (it was the B-29 that dropped the atomic bombs "Kid" and "Fat Man" on Hiroshima and Nagasaki). The "atomic" modification of the Tu-4 was the Tu-4A, for which a team led by Alexander Nadashkevich developed a special system of bomber weapons.

In 1951, they tested the next Soviet atomic bomb - the 30-kiloton "Maria" (RDS-3 charge). It was delivered to the Tu-4A Semipalatinsk test site. However, it was experimental, and the first truly combat serial atomic bomb was launched in 1953 by the 30-kiloton "Tatiana" ("product 244N") with the RDS-4T charge. "Tatiana" turned out to be very compact - its weight (1200 kg) and dimensions turned out to be four times less than that of "product 501", which made it possible to adopt the new bomb into service not only for long-range aviation (Tu-4 bombers, Tu-95 turboprop, jet Tu-16, M-4, 3M and supersonic Tu-22), but also front-line (jet bombers Il-28 and piston Tu-2, supersonic Yak-26, Yak-28, as well as fighters MiG-19, MiG- 21 and others). Theoretically, it could take on board "Tatiana" and the Tu-14T naval torpedo bomber.

In 1954, "Tatiana" was dropped on the "stronghold of an infantry battalion of the US Army" during the famous Totsk exercises, when troops were chased through the center of a nuclear explosion, solving the training task "Breakthrough by a rifle corps of prepared tactical enemy defense with the use of atomic weapons." The bomb was used by a Tu-4A bomber for a conditional target.

Already in 1952, the US Air Force headquarters announced that "the Soviet Union has at its disposal a sufficient number of aircraft, trained pilots and bases to make an attempt to deliver the entire available stock of nuclear bombs to the United States." According to American intelligence, in the first half of the 1950s, the USSR had nine regiments of Tu-4A heavy bombers "with standard armament of 28 nuclear weapons, but the actual armament averaged 67 percent of the standard." True, the ability of the Tu-4 to reach the territory of the United States, even with refueling in the air (Soviet specialists managed to create such a refueling system), was extremely doubtful. But in the European theater of military operations and in Asia, they really could arrange a nuclear apocalypse.

Following "Tatiana", Soviet scientists and designers created the 8U49 tactical atomic bomb "Natasha" (its carrier, in particular, was a small-scale front-line bomber Yak-26).

PRIDE OF NIKITA SERGEEVICH

After testing the RDS-6S and RDS-37 thermonuclear charges in 1953-1955 (with a capacity of 400 kt and 1.6 Mt, respectively), Soviet strategic aviation received hydrogen bombs (for example, 37D). Alas, the success of those tests had to pay with the lives and injuries of several people, including a three-year-old girl (who died due to the collapse of the ceiling in her house) - this was due to the bungling of some local administrators who did not bother to take proper security measures in areas adjacent to Semipalatinsk test site (although it is still a question whether all the civilian chiefs there were warned). Dozens of settlements were affected to some extent by the impact of the shock wave in these areas.

The designations of the Soviet strategic nuclear bombs RN-30 and RN-32 were mentioned in the open press.

The "miniaturization" of nuclear charges made it possible to create the 8U69 low-yield tactical atomic bomb (5 kt), which was intended for the first Soviet supersonic fighter-bombers Su-7B, launched in 1960. Presumably, its carrier could also be a MiG-21S fighter in a special version "E-7N".

On the eve of the Cuban missile crisis (autumn 1962), in addition to ballistic and front-line cruise missiles, Il-28A light bombers with the corresponding ammunition load of tactical atomic bombs were transported to Cuba. They were quite capable of delivering a nuclear strike on US soil. And a year before that, on October 30, 1961, a specially prepared Tu-95 intercontinental heavy bomber (in a unique modification of the Tu-95V, the development of which was headed by Alexander Nadashkevich) dropped a hydrogen bomb "product 602" on Novaya Zemlya near the Matochkin Shar Strait on Novaya Zemlya the same AN602 or "Ivan", weight 26.5 tons). The power of the explosion was equal to 50 Mt, which, however, was only half of the calculated one - they did not dare to test all the power of "Ivan". All the same, these were the most grandiose weapon tests in the history of mankind.

At the suggestion of Khrushchev, "Ivan" was also nicknamed "Kuzkina's mother", but this bomb, which did not fit into the bomb bay of the carrier ("Kuzkina's mother" hung under the fuselage of the Tu-95V), was not accepted - it was intended solely for psychological pressure on the Americans. Since it was guaranteed to sweep Washington off the face of the earth with the help of R-7 intercontinental ballistic missiles, which by that time were on alert.

In 1961, 23 nuclear bombs were detonated at the Novaya Zemlya test site and 22 nuclear bombs at the Semipalatinsk test site. At the same time, Tu-16, Tu-95 bombers and Su-7B fighter-bombers were used. And the bomber exercises (Tu-16 aircraft) successfully conducted in 1962 on Novaya Zemlya with the actual use of hydrogen bombs, by the way, and today prove the possibility of the limited use of nuclear weapons in a critical situation for the country.

SOVIET HERITAGE

The standard nuclear bomb of Soviet front-line aviation at the time of the collapse of the USSR was the 30-kiloton RN-40. Its carriers are MiG-23 and MiG-29 fighters, as well as, apparently, Su-17 and MiG-27 fighter-bombers. In addition, the RN-28 nuclear bomb was created, which could be delivered to the target by Yak-38 vertical takeoff and landing attack aircraft based on Kiev-class heavy aircraft-carrying cruisers. The stock of such bombs on Soviet ships of this type was 18, which is quite enough to destroy a small country.

For the use of tactical nuclear bombs at high supersonic speeds, the MiG-25RB reconnaissance bombers (maximum speed of 3000 km / h) were intended. The pilots of the fighter-bomber aviation "practiced to automatism the execution of the most important combat mission - a single drop of nuclear bombs from a dive at an angle of 45 degrees immediately after performing a combat turn on the afterburner. Unlike the Americans, who intended to shoot almost every Soviet tank individually with guided missiles," we looked at such things more broadly: two "special bombs" - and the tank regiment was gone. "

At present, the carriers of thermonuclear bombs in long-range aviation in Russia are Tu-160, Tu-95 and Tu-22M bombers (the latter are also available in the aviation of the Navy). Judging by the information published in some foreign sources, the power of domestic strategic hydrogen bombs reaches 5 and even 20 Mt. The main strike complex of front-line aviation remains the Su-24 supersonic tactical bomber capable of carrying TN-1000 and TN-1200 nuclear bombs (these designations are given in his reference book "Modern Military Aviation and the Air Force of the World" by the English expert David Donald).

The arsenal of Russian aviation weapons also includes nuclear depth charges to destroy submarines. The first such bomb, the 5F48 Scalp, appeared in the early 1960s. It was intended for combat seaplanes Be-10 and Be-12. In addition, the purely "land" anti-submarine aircraft (coastal) Il-38 and Tu-142 received nuclear depth charges. The latter, due to its huge radius of action, is capable of using them in almost any area of ​​the World Ocean.

Depth charges with a nuclear charge can also be carried by carrier-based anti-submarine helicopters - the first of them was the Ka-25PLU, equipped with a "special" bomb 8F59, as they used to say among "secret carriers". This helicopter was developed by decree of the Council of Ministers of the USSR on May 15, 1965, and, apparently, it is the world's first rotary-wing aircraft equipped with nuclear weapons. Subsequently, carrier-based Ka-27 helicopters and Mi-14 amphibious helicopters became carriers of anti-submarine nuclear weapons.

In military terminology, there are not only formidable names like "Tornado" or "Hurricane". There are also many female names here ..

"Nona"

The 2S9 Nona airborne self-propelled gun can swim, can accelerate to 60 km / h and is armed with a 120-mm 2A51 rifled howitzer-mortar cannon.

This gun is capable of firing not only high-explosive fragmentation projectiles, like a howitzer, but also cumulative direct fire, like a cannon, as well as corrected (Kitolov-2) ammunition.

In addition, the Nona's cannon can fire all types of mines of a similar caliber for smooth-bore and rifled mortars, including lighting, smoke and incendiary ammunition.

The maximum firing range is about 12 km, but when using active-reactive ammunition, for example, the APCM projectile for the French RT-61 rifled mortar, the 2S9 firing range can be increased to 17 km.

"Dana"

Dana is also a symbolic name for the military, and not only because of the once popular program "Army Shop". After all, "Dana" is a 152-mm self-propelled howitzer cannon vz. 77.

The self-propelled gun is built on an 8 × 8 wheeled chassis of the Tatra 815 truck, all tires have automatic inflation, and the suspension itself is independent. The self-propelled guns crew - 5 people, who are in three sealed armored cabins, equipped with air conditioning and protected by bulletproof armor.


The maximum range of fire is 20 km, shells can be fed both automatically and manually. It takes about two minutes to transfer the artillery mount from the traveling position to the combat one, and to leave the position after firing - no more than 60 seconds, in terms of its maneuverability, the heavy ACS is superior to the BTR-70.

The twelve-cylinder V-shaped TATRA turbodiesel accelerates the 29-ton self-propelled gun up to 80 km / h, the cruising range is 600 km.

"Dana" is one of the few types of foreign equipment, adopted by the USSR army - in 1988, 100 such ACS were purchased.

"Natasha"

This female name hides a tactical atomic bomb. 8U49 "Natasha" was adopted by the Soviet long-range aviation in the 50s of the last century. A feature of this bomb was the possibility of its use at supersonic speeds - up to 3000 km / h.


8U49 "Natasha". Photo: topwar.ru

450 kg "Natasha" were armed with small-batch supersonic front-line bombers "Yak-26".

Bombing was possible from altitudes in the range of 0.5-30 km when performing both level flight and complex maneuvering.

"Katyusha"

Without this name, the list would be incomplete. "Katyusha" is one of the types of weapons that brought us victory in the Great Patriotic War.

The appearance of the BM-13 guards rocket launchers among the Red Army soldiers was an unpleasant surprise for the Germans. A salvo of one rocket launcher rained down 16 132-millimeter rounds or 32 82-millimeter rounds on the enemy's head.


Due to the fundamental detonation feature of Katyusha rockets (counter detonation - explosives are detonated from both sides, and when two detonation waves meet, they create much higher gas pressure), the fragments had a much higher initial velocity and were very hot.

For this reason, the BM-13 rockets had such a high incendiary effect - the fragments sometimes reached a temperature of 800 ° C.

"Tatiana"

"Product 244N" or RDS-4, aka "Tatiana" - the first Soviet tactical atomic bomb, mass-produced. The power of the ammunition, which used the principle of implosion (there was a core with plutonium-239 inside the hollow sphere), was about 30 kilotons. The weight of the bomb is 1200 kg.


"Tatiana" ("product 244H"). Photo: topwar.ru

The first bomb tests took place at the Semipalatinsk nuclear test site on August 23, 1953. Item 244 was dropped from an Il-28 aircraft at an altitude of 11 km, an explosion occurred at an altitude of 600 m, and a power of 28 kt was reached.

The Tatiana was in service for only two years - from 1954 to 1956.

In military terminology, there are not only formidable names like "Tornado" or "Hurricane". There are also many female names here. By March 8, we made a selection of "female" military equipment.

"Nona"

The 2S9 Nona airborne self-propelled gun can swim, can accelerate to 60 km / h and is armed with a 120-mm 2A51 rifled howitzer-mortar cannon.

This gun is capable of firing not only high-explosive fragmentation projectiles, like a howitzer, but also cumulative direct fire, like a cannon, as well as corrected (Kitolov-2) ammunition.

In addition, the Nona's cannon can fire all types of mines of a similar caliber for smooth-bore and rifled mortars, including lighting, smoke and incendiary ammunition.

The maximum firing range is about 12 km, but when using active-reactive ammunition, for example, the APCM projectile for the French RT-61 rifled mortar, the 2S9 firing range can be increased to 17 km.

"Dana"

Dana is also a symbolic name for the military, and not only because of the once popular program "Army Shop". After all, "Dana" is a 152-mm self-propelled howitzer cannon vz. 77.

The self-propelled gun is built on an 8 × 8 wheeled chassis of the Tatra 815 truck, all tires have automatic inflation, and the suspension itself is independent. The self-propelled guns crew - 5 people, who are in three sealed armored cabins, equipped with air conditioning and protected by bulletproof armor.


The maximum range of fire is 20 km, shells can be fed both automatically and manually. It takes about two minutes to transfer the artillery mount from the traveling position to the combat one, and to leave the position after firing - no more than 60 seconds, in terms of its maneuverability, the heavy ACS is superior to the BTR-70.

The twelve-cylinder V-shaped TATRA turbodiesel accelerates the 29-ton self-propelled gun up to 80 km / h, the cruising range is 600 km.

"Dana" is one of the few types of foreign equipment, adopted by the USSR army - in 1988, 100 such ACS were purchased.

"Natasha"

This female name hides a tactical atomic bomb. 8U49 "Natasha" was adopted by the Soviet long-range aviation in the 50s of the last century. A feature of this bomb was the possibility of its use at supersonic speeds - up to 3000 km / h.



8U49 "Natasha".

450 kg "Natasha" were armed with small-batch supersonic front-line bombers "Yak-26".

Bombing was possible from altitudes in the range of 0.5-30 km when performing both level flight and complex maneuvering.

"Katyusha"

Without this name, the list would be incomplete. "Katyusha" is one of the types of weapons that brought us victory in the Great Patriotic War.

The appearance of the BM-13 guards rocket launchers among the Red Army soldiers was an unpleasant surprise for the Germans. A salvo of one rocket launcher rained down 16 132-millimeter rounds or 32 82-millimeter rounds on the enemy's head.


Due to the fundamental detonation feature of Katyusha rockets (counter detonation - explosives are detonated from both sides, and when two detonation waves meet, they create much higher gas pressure), the fragments had a much higher initial velocity and were very hot.

For this reason, the BM-13 rockets had such a high incendiary effect - the fragments sometimes reached a temperature of 800 ° C.

"Tatiana"

"Product 244N" or RDS-4, aka "Tatiana" - the first Soviet tactical atomic bomb, mass-produced. The power of the ammunition, which used the principle of implosion (there was a core with plutonium-239 inside the hollow sphere), was about 30 kilotons. The weight of the bomb is 1200 kg.



"Tatiana" ("product 244N")

The first bomb tests took place at the Semipalatinsk nuclear test site on August 23, 1953. Product 244 was dropped from an Il-28 aircraft at an altitude of 11 km, an explosion occurred at an altitude of 600 m, and a power of 28 kt was reached.

The Tatiana was in service for only two years - from 1954 to 1956.

"Defense is our honor, a nationwide affair, there are atomic bombs, and there are hydrogen bombs." This information, published by Sergei Mikhalkov in 1953, was exhaustive for citizens of the Soviet Union who were not privy to the relevant secrets.

They did not know too much abroad either. American military intelligence in April 1950 submitted a report to the US National Security Council, according to which, by the beginning of that year, the USSR allegedly had nine regiments of Tu-4 heavy bombers “with standard armament of 28 nuclear weapons, but the actual armament averaged 67 percent of regular ". But the report was not true. In 1952, the US Air Force Headquarters Intelligence Directorate stated that "the Soviet Union has at its disposal a sufficient number of aircraft, trained pilots and bases to attempt to deliver the entire stock of nuclear bombs to the United States." (HQ USAF, Directorate of Inelligence, A Summary of Soviet Air Capabilities Against North America). And this was a hefty exaggeration, since the initially obsolete Tupolev-4 aircraft, even after installing an air refueling system on them, could not guaranteed to hit targets on the continental territory of the States, with the exception of Alaska, where there was nothing particularly important.

Nevertheless, back in the 1950s, the American and Canadian military were concerned about the existence of a kind of "loophole for Soviet bombers" that could attack from the North Pole. Currently, some Western publicists call the existence of such a loophole a myth, although the USSR at that time considered the possibility of creating secret ice bases in the Arctic, and ordinary jump airfields in this direction were built. True, it never came to the deployment of Tu-4 and Il-28 light front-line bombers (as expected) at the Pole. However, Avro Canada made a big splash on these fears with an order from the Canadian government to build nearly 700 long-range, all-weather, long-range CF-100 Canac interceptor jet fighters. Washington attached such great importance to Canada in providing the air defense of the North American continent (for which the joint NORAD system was deployed) that it handed over to its ally defensive nuclear weapons - anti-aircraft missiles BOMARC (nuclear warhead with a capacity of 7-10 kilotons) and unguided missiles of the " air-to-air "Gini" (1.5 kilotons). The carriers of the latter were the supersonic CF-101 Voodoo fighters of American origin, which had quickly gone out of fashion, the subsonic "Canaci". Of course, the nuclear charges themselves were under the exclusive control of the United States, although, say, to launch the BOMARC, it was necessary to simultaneously turn two keys in the code-blocking system panel, one of which was in the possession of an American officer and the other in the possession of a Canadian one.

The number of nuclear bombs in the USSR at the dawn of the atomic project was small. In 1950, there were only five of them, in 1951 - 25, in the next - 50, and when Mikhalkov wrote his spirit-lifting poems, inspired by the test in August 1953 of the first domestic thermonuclear warhead - 120, and this is against 1161 units such weapons from the United States. But for American bases in Europe and Asia, the nuclear potential of Soviet aviation did indeed pose a threat.

Subsequently, the balance of forces slowly, and since the 60s, has already changed quite rapidly in favor of the USSR, and 30 years ago, according to the authors of the Soviet nuclear weapon reference book (NRDC publication, 1989), the number of Soviet nuclear bombs was estimated at 5200 units. Overseas experts, referring to information received from a certain individual, reported the following: “Apparently, a nuclear bomb weighing 2,000 pounds and a yield of 350 kilotons is a standard weapon. According to some reports, in the early 1980s, a new bomb with a lighter weight and a capacity of 250 kilotons entered service. "

* * *

How was it really? There is enough information in free circulation about Soviet missiles with a nuclear charge. The bombs were much less fortunate in this regard, and after all, it was with them that the Russian nuclear shield began (it is, of course, a sword).

The first series of Soviet "products 501" designed by KB-11, that is, the team of Yuli Khariton and his comrades, consisted of the same five mentioned above. The domestic analogue of the American bomb "Fatman" had a plutonium charge with a capacity of 20-22 kilotons. This entire series constituted the main military secret of the USSR and was kept in a special storage facility at the place of birth - in Arzamas-16, under the wing of its creators from KB-11 (now VNIIEF). As you know, the "conspiratorial" abbreviation RDS, which was later assigned to other models of Soviet nuclear weapons (bombs, missile warheads and artillery shells), meant "special jet engine", which, however, was interpreted by the secret regimes as "Stalin's jet engine" , and scientists (much more successful) - "Russia makes itself."

The mass of the RDS-1 reached almost five tons, which excluded its use from any aircraft other than long-range bombers. The system that ensures the use of "501 products" on heavy Tu-4A ("A" means "atomic") was developed by Alexander Nadashkevich. But these piston bombers themselves, which were "pirate copies" of the American B-29 "Superfortress" (the same ones that burned Hiroshima and Nagasaki), as noted above, are already hopelessly outdated and, due to their low speed, were easy prey for enemy fighters ... This, by the way, was proved by Soviet pilots, who easily dealt with American B-29s on the MiG-15 during the Korean War.

Further development of nuclear bomb weapons in the USSR followed the path of increasing the power of charges while ensuring their compactness, which would make it possible to place ammunition on light jet bombers and even fighters of front-line aviation that solved tactical tasks. In some situations (if especially important targets on enemy territory were within the aircraft's range), tactical winged vehicles acquired a certain strategic status.

Subsequently, improved nuclear bombs of the RDS-2 type (38 kilotons) with plutonium and RDS-3 (42 kilotons) with uranium-plutonium filling were created and launched into series, and all previously released RDS-1 bombs were converted into RDS-2. Progress was evident: the power of the charges was doubled, and the mass, on the contrary, was reduced.

The RDS-3 bomb, which also received the female name "Maria", became the first nuclear weapon in our country tested not in an experimental ground version, but dropped from a Tu-4 aircraft on October 18, 1951.

According to the published materials of the veteran of the domestic atomic project EF Korchagin, as of January 1, 1953, the USSR nuclear arsenal consisted of 59 RDS-2 and 16 RDS-3 bombs concentrated in KB-11 storage facilities.

* * *

A milestone event was the creation in KB-11 of the compact nuclear bomb RDS-4 "Tatiana" for tactical aviation, namely for the Il-28 front-line jet bombers. In terms of its weight and size characteristics (the weight of the bomb was 1.2 tons), it did not differ from the usual high-explosive, and the nuclear charge for "Tatiana" was taken from the RDS-2. On August 23, 1953, she was tested by dropping from an airplane. The explosion power was 28 kilotons. To some extent, this should be considered a response to the appearance in the US Air Force of tactical jet bombers B-45 "Tornado", from one of which on May 1, 1952, a 19-kiloton nuclear bomb Mk.7 "Thor" was dropped. In principle, "Tatiana" could even be placed on Tu-2 piston bombers.

Directly under the RDS-4 in the OKB of Alexander Yakovlev, a "high-speed special-purpose bomber" Yak-125B was created, but it did not go into production because of the subsonic flight speed.

Following "Tatiana", Soviet scientists and designers created a tactical nuclear bomb 8U49 "Natasha", which was already carried by the supersonic aircraft of front-line aviation - the Yak-26 light bomber. Small-series Yak-26 aircraft and more advanced large-series front-line bombers Yak-28 were also armed with Tatyana.

Further optimization of nuclear charges allowed the specialists of NII-1011 (now VNIITF) to create a tactical atomic bomb of low power (five kilotons) 8U69, intended for use from the external suspension of supersonic aircraft. For this, 8U69, also known as "product 244H", had a special spindle-shaped shape with low aerodynamic resistance. Such a bomb weighed only 450 kilograms.

Under 8U69, modifications of the supersonic fighters MiG-19S (variant SM-9/9) and MiG-21F (E-6/9) of the Artyom Mikoyan Design Bureau were being finalized. These machines were successfully tested, but the supersonic fighter-bomber Pavel Sukhoi Su-7B was selected by the Air Force command at the turn of the 50s and 60s as the main carrier of the 8U69 nuclear bomb. It was he, and not the Yak-28, that became the main strike complex of Soviet front-line aviation for a whole decade.

In 1962, Su-7B aircraft were involved in the actual dropping of nuclear bombs at the Semipalatinsk test site. To use the 8U69 (one such thing was suspended on the ventral pylon), the Su-7B was equipped with a cunning device PBK-1. The abbreviation stands for “pitch-up bombing device”. It was an electromechanical mechanism that determines the moment the bomb is dropped. One of the main ways of using it from a Su-7B aircraft was a drop at a speed of 1050 kilometers per hour during a maneuver with a sharp climb to 3500-4000 meters (this is pitching). Unhooking at an angle of 45 degrees to the horizon at a distance of 6-8 kilometers from a ground target, the bomb flew towards it along a ballistic curve, and during this time the fighter-bomber itself stepped out of the attack so as not to fall under the shock wave of a nuclear explosion. On the way back, having met with enemy aircraft, he could also start a maneuverable air battle, using a pair of his 30-mm cannons.

In addition to the USSR Air Force, the air forces of Poland and Czechoslovakia were also equipped with Su-7B aircraft adapted for nuclear weapons. Of course, the atomic bombs for them were kept in Soviet special storage facilities and could be issued to the allies only in case of war. At the same time, the Czechoslovak and Polish pilots of the Su-7B constantly improved their skills in the possible use of nuclear weapons. For example, this is described in an interesting book published in 1996 by Czech author Libor Rezniak Atomovy bombarder Su-7 ceskoslovenskeho vojenskeho letectva. In other countries (India, Egypt, North Korea, etc.) Su-7B were delivered in a commercial version without a special suspension unit and without a PBK-1 device. However, "third-party buyers" were keenly interested in the spectrum of the Su-7B's capabilities, and it came to the point that, as the American press claimed, some Soviet engineers told the Egyptian general that the plane could carry nuclear weapons.

* * *

As for the heavy thermonuclear aerial bombs, the first models that entered service with the long-range (strategic) aviation of the Soviet Air Force were the RDS-6s and RDS-37 tested in 1953-1955.

The ground test of the RDS-6s thermonuclear warhead on August 12, 1953 became possible thanks to the use of lithium-6 deuteride by its creators, headed by Andrei Sakharov, as a solid fuel for the reaction of fusion of deuterium and tritium. Lithium-6, when bombarded with neutrons, forms the second component necessary for a thermonuclear reaction - tritium. At the same time, to guarantee the achievement of the required power of the RDS-6s charge, a certain amount of tritium was also introduced into it together with lithium deuteride. During the tests of the RDS-6s, a power of 400 kilotons of TNT equivalent was recorded - 10 times more than the maximum power of the then Soviet nuclear weapons based on a fission chain reaction. The letter "s" in the abbreviation RDS-6s meant "puff" - in the charge, thermonuclear fuel alternated with uranium-238. This scheme ensured the equalization of pressures in the "thermonuclear" and uranium during their ionization as a result of the explosion of a nuclear fuse and, accordingly, a high rate of thermonuclear reaction.

The RDS-6s became the first domestic hydrogen bomb to enter service with heavy (turboprop Tu-95 designed by Andrey Tupolev and jet M-4 by Vladimir Myasishchev) and medium (jet Tu-16) bombers.

In 1955, the USSR continued testing the models of combat hydrogen bombs improved by Sakharov's group. On November 6, a 250-kiloton RDS-27 aerial bomb with a charge in which only lithium deuteride was used as thermonuclear fuel was tested by an air explosion, and on November 22, a Tu-16 bomber dropped an especially powerful RDS-37 aerial bomb with a fundamentally new charge of the so-called two-stage type with radiation implosion (compression) of nuclear and thermonuclear material, enclosed in a separate "layered", as in RDS-6s, "secondary" module. Radiation compression was provided by X-rays during the explosion of the "primary" nuclear module. The body of the charge was made of natural uranium-238, and no tritium was used in the charge. In this bomb, the reaction of fusion of deuterium and tritium was added to the fission of uranium-238 nuclei. The total energy release during the RDS-37 test was 1.6 megatons of TNT equivalent.

The design of the RDS-37 charge formed the basis for subsequent developments. So the way was opened to the creation of ultra-high-yield thermonuclear ammunition. For scientists and designers, the matter did not become, and on October 30, 1961, a specially prepared Tu-95 heavy bomber (in a unique modification of the Tu-95V) dropped a hydrogen bomb "product 602" (aka AN602 or "Ivan ", Weight - 26.5 tons). The power of the explosion exceeded 50 Mt, which, however, was only half of the calculated one - they did not dare to check "Ivan" at full power. But it was still the greatest weapon test in the history of mankind.

At the suggestion of Khrushchev, "Ivan" was also nicknamed "Kuz'kina's mother", but this product, which did not fit into the bomb bay of the carrier ("Kuz'kina's mother" hung under the fuselage of the Tu-95V), was not accepted - it was intended solely to demonstrate the capabilities of the Americans and their allies Soviet atomic science and technology.

Subsequently, the Air Force received several more samples of nuclear and thermonuclear bombs for tactical and strategic purposes. For example, the Su-7B "gentleman's set" has been replenished with new special aviation bombs - the 500-kilogram RN-24 and the quite miniature (250 kilograms) RN-28. It is known that in addition to the Su-7B in the 60s, the Mikoyanites, whose projects did not go through in the late 50s, continued to be engaged in their "nuclear fighter". In 1965, they created the MiG-21N (aka E-7N) aircraft for the new generation RN-25 nuclear bomb. The high-speed operational-tactical reconnaissance bombers of the MiG-25RB family were also considered as carriers, and, what is remarkable, Western analysts for a long time did not even suspect about their potential.

As stated in the American magazine Aviation Week & Space Technology (issue of May 2, 1988) with reference to the US Department of Defense, out of 4,000 Soviet fighter aircraft, about a third were intended to deliver nuclear bombs. Among the ammunition mentioned is the RN-40 with a capacity of 30 kilotons, which was carried by the front-line fighter MiG-29. According to the information given by the American reference book on Soviet military aviation Russia’s Top Guns (Aerospace Publishing, 1990), one TN-1000 nuclear bomber was suspended on the Su-17 fighter-bomber, and two TN-1200s on the MiG-27. Bombs TN-1000 and TN-1200 (and others) entered the standard armament of the front-line Su-24. These aircraft (Su-24M), which can carry up to four "special" bombs, and today form the basis of the strike power of Russian tactical aviation, although they are already being replaced by the Su-34.

As for the long-range aviation of Russia, heavy bombers Tu-160, Tu-95 and medium Tu-22M can be considered as carriers of thermonuclear aerial bombs (presumably of the megaton class). However, the main weapons of these masterpiece machines are still not bombs, but nuclear-armed cruise and aeroballistic missiles. In this series I would like to see - in a reasonable amount, of course - the Russian analogue of the stealthy American B-2 (the global "surgical" means of using B-83 thermonuclear bombs) ...

Konstantin Chuprin

In mid-August, Commander-in-Chief of the Aerospace Forces of Russia Viktor Bondarev revealed the main "aircraft" intrigue of recent years - the name of the first Russian fifth-generation fighter. He said that the promising front-line aviation complex (PAK FA) will go into serial production as the Su-57. The aircraft has not yet earned an unofficial nickname, in contrast to its "ideological" predecessor - the Su-47 prototype, which the creators dubbed "Berkut" at the design stage. They are also racking their brains over the "nickname" for the new "stealth" fighter in NATO: since the beginning of the Cold War, Soviet aircraft in the West have always been assigned special designations, the so-called NATO reporting names. What names do Russian gunsmiths give their equipment and how does our probable adversary call it names?

"Traumatism" is coming to you

Traditionally, any weapon in Russia, be it a tank, a pistol, or an aircraft, is assigned an official letter or alphanumeric designation. The type of weapon, the name of the design bureau or the surname of the general designer, the year of creation, the project number and much more can be "encrypted" in it. In addition, most types of "shooters" and military equipment are assigned complex indexes from the ordering departments of the Ministry of Defense. But in everyday life, official and unofficial "nicknames" are most often used, which are given to weapons either by the creators or by the military.

The system can be traced in a number of directions in such designations. The most striking example is the "flower" series of Soviet and Russian self-propelled guns, howitzers and mortars: "Vasilek", "Carnation", "Akatsiya", "Peony", "Tulip". Rocket artillery is traditionally named after destructive natural phenomena: "Hail", "Hurricane", "Tornado", "Tornado". Powerful multiple launch rocket systems, capable of destroying an entire settlement in minutes, such names, you see, are very good.

The names of the rivers are extremely popular among gunsmiths - they were especially often called air defense systems: the Shilka and Tunguska complexes, the Dvina, Neva, Pechora and Angara air defense systems. However, there are many exceptions to this rule - self-propelled and towed artillery mounts "Msta", "Khosta", MLRS "Kama" (modification of "Smerch") and others.

Many types of weapons, equipment and equipment are named, in one way or another related to their "individual characteristics." The heaviest Russian intercontinental ballistic missile R-36M2 deservedly bears the proud name "Voevoda". This "general of all ICBMs" is capable of throwing as many as ten warheads with a capacity of up to a megaton each into enemy territory. The attack helicopter Mi-28 "Night Hunter", as you might guess, is "sharpened" for combat work in the dark. High-speed missile-torpedo "Shkval" is an absolute record holder in its class in terms of speed. Tank dynamic protection "Contact" is triggered upon contact with enemy ammunition. The winter camouflage coat was nicknamed "Blot" for its characteristic colors, and sniper camouflage suits popular in the special forces were called "Leshim" and "Kikimoroi". Indeed, a fighter in such an outfit looks like anyone, just not a person.

However, the overwhelming majority of Soviet and Russian weapons were named by their creators without any logic, being guided, rather, by the principle of the heroes of the feature film "Operation Y" - "so that no one would guess." For reasons of secrecy, humor, or just at random. How else to explain the fact that the experienced automatic grenade launcher TKB-0134 was nicknamed "Kozlik"? Or a heavy flamethrower system TOS-1 - "Buratino"? What guided the people who called the patrol ship "Cheetah", and the experienced floating vehicle UAZ-3907 "Jaguar"? Felines, as you know, are not the biggest water lovers. Armored medical vehicles for the Airborne Forces were baptized by a great lover of black humor. Comrade wounded, "Aibolit" is coming to you. Or be patient, fighter, "Injury" is close by.

Separate mention should be made of the names of various ammunition, which were clearly invented by very poetic people. Thermobaric warhead "Excitement" for shells MLRS "Smerch", 122-mm rocket 9M22K "Ornament" for "Grad", 240-mm rocket MC-24 with chemical warhead "Laska" and 220-mm propaganda shell "Paragraph ". Apparently complete. Against this background, the Phantasmagoria aircraft targeting station, the Balerinka 30-mm aircraft cannon, the Aistenok portable artillery reconnaissance radar and the Natasha Soviet tactical atomic bomb are somehow even lost.

"Hooligan" and "Mitten"

Naturally, any Western military man will go crazy if he tries to understand all the intricacies of our weapon-linguistic diversity. However, it is not easy for a Russian to understand why, for example, the strategic missile carrier Tu-160 (White Swan) is called Blackjack in the American press, the MiG-29 light fighter is called the Fulcrum, and the Ka-25 anti-submarine helicopter - "Hormone" (Hormone). It would seem that in the West, things with fantasy are even more abruptly than ours. However, NATO's code classification of Soviet and Russian aircraft is based on a very simple system.

Aircraft and helicopters of the Russian Aerospace Forces in the West are assigned names, the first letters of which correspond to their type. For example, fighters are given “nicknames” for the letter F. The Su-27 and all of its “descendants” up to the Su-35 received the “nickname” Flanker - “Flanking”, high-speed interceptors MiG-31 - Foxhound (“Fox hound ”), and Su-34 fighter-bombers became“ Football defenders ”(Fullback). In exactly the same way, the Americans give names to our bombers (bomber): Tu-95 and its modifications - Bear ("Bear"), Tu-22M Backfire ("Beating in the rear"), Tu-22 of earlier versions - Blinder ("Blinding ") etc.

Letter M (miscellaneous - miscellaneous) in the NATO classification designates all other types of aircraft: reconnaissance, combat training, early warning and others. These include the Yak-130 Mitten fighter-simulator, the A-50 Mainstay AWACS aircraft (Osnova), the Il-78 Midas tanker (Tsar Midas). The designations of transporters begin with C (сargo - cargo): Il-76 Candid ("Sincere"), An-124 Condor ("Condor"), An-12 Cub ("Puppy"). The names of the helicopters, as you might guess, begin with H (helicopter): Mi-24 Hind (Doe), Mi-28 Havoc (Ravager), Mi-26 Hoodlom (Hooligan).

It is worth giving the likely enemy their due: many of the nicknames are chosen quite aptly. But for the life of me it is not clear why our armored as a tank and armed to the teeth fighter-attack aircraft Su-25 NATO nicknamed "Frogfoot" (Frogfoot)?