Now *that's* what I call a bomber plane (big images ahoy)

[editor]

It never went into production and (some?) of these are mock ups, but it sure was a beast!

http://www.pilotfriend.com/photo_albums/potty/8.htm
http://www.gizmowatch.com/entry/russian-flying-giants-like-nothing-seen-before/

 

[quimcunx]

The bottom one looks more like an airport than an aeroplane.

 

[Kanda]

The bottom one looks more like an airport than an aeroplane.

You'd look tiny next to that

 

[Boycey]

did anyone else see this one and immediately think of bowser's flying castle thing from mario 3?

 

[skunkboy69]

LOL thats some machine ffs.

 

[Griff]

That bottom picture is pretty scarey.

 

[pogofish]

Is that the Maxim Goriky?

If it is the one I'm thinking of, I think the mas grave for its crew was one of the best examples of constructivist art I've e seen yet - distinguished, yet somber & with that blend of tradition & modernity that few could match.

 

[chainsaw cat]

Mid 30s? Soviet?

What is it!?!?!?

 

[pogofish]

Yup. I'll have to check the exact date but mid-late 30s does ring a bell.

It was the pinnacle of Soviet aeronautics of the time & the prototype flew for some time, establishing air routes across the country.

 

[pogofish]

Here it is Yup, 1934-42. Two prototypes built, one with eight engines & the other with six.

Both crashed.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tupolev_ANT-20

ETA - Ahh, it is the Kalinin K-7, Early 30s.

One prototype, crashed.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kalinin_K-7

http://www.ctrl-c.liu.se/misc/ram/k7giant.html


Kalinin produced another slightly bonkers aircraft - the K12:

 

[pogofish]

The biggest bomber of them all still remains the Convair B-36 & that was in service (384 built) till the B52 outclassed it:

Alongside a B29, no small plane in itself. The B-36 had a 230' wingspan, compared to the Kalinin's 174'

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convair_B-36

Several preserved examples still exist.

 

[Roadkill]

That is one hell of an aeroplane...

Tbh bombers are one thing I can't muster much enthusiasm for, because almost inevitably their use involves killing and maiming a lot of innocent people. Fighter planes, warships etc mainly kill other combatants, but I look at a bomber and think of the pictures of cities after the Blitz.

That said, I do think the Avro Lancaster was a fine looking aircraft:

 

[berniedicters]

That is one hell of an aeroplane...

Tbh bombers are one thing I can't muster much enthusiasm for, because almost inevitably their use involves killing and maiming a lot of innocent people. Fighter planes, warships etc mainly kill other combatants, but I look at a bomber and think of the pictures of cities after the Blitz.

That said, I do think the Avro Lancaster was a fine looking aircraft:

If it's any consolation, just remember that the modern airline industry developed out of the technologies that were used to make long-range aerial bombing possible...

Just think: if it wasn't for the Dresden firestorm or Hiroshima & Nagasaki, and so on, we wouldn't have been able to have Club 18-30 sangriafests on the Costa del Sol, or monged-out zombiefests in Ibiza.

It's an ill wind...

 

[longdog]

I'm quite keen on the Tu-160

 

[pogofish]

Yup - Probably the one instance of a Soviet attempt to copy a US aircraft that actually exceeded the original in almost every important way.

See they started making them again recently.

 

[Giles]

For completely OTT designs that even the USAF gave up on as too expensive and impractical, there's the prototyped XB-70 Valkyrie, which I think looked pretty cool:

 

[pogofish]

Yes, a truly impressive aircraft - The Soviet attempt to best it was a complete wash-out though.

Far too heavy to get any real speed. They tried to do it with mainly sheet metal, where the original made extensive use of composites etc. There is a surving prototype at Monino. Will try to dig out a pic later.

 

[hipipol]

Wooden Wonder

Big payload, very fast, very few lost to enemy fire

Gotta be a winner, size not being everything, etc!!

 

[rubbershoes]

cant see any guns pointing backwards. surely a flaw for a slow plane

those forward ones look serious though

 

[pogofish]

Here we go:

The Sukhoi T-4 "Sotka" which never got faster than mach 1.3.

http://www.moninoaviation.com/24a.html

Lots more here:
http://www.moninoaviation.com/

Including some absolute jaw-droppers!

 

[bouncer_the_dog]

There is something about the Lancaster's gun turrets that make it so cool...

 

[teuchter]

Here we go:

The Sukhoi T-4 "Sotka" which never got faster than mach 1.3.

http://www.moninoaviation.com/24a.html

Lots more here:
http://www.moninoaviation.com/

Including some absolute jaw-droppers!