Sukhoi T-4

infobox Aircraft
name = T-4



caption = Sukhoi Т-4
national origin - Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
type = Strategic bomber
manufacturer = Sukhoi
designer = K.S.Chernykov (chief designer)
first flight = 22 August 1972
introduced =
retired =
produced =
number built = 4
number lost =
status = retired
unit cost =
primary user = Soviet Air Force
more users =
developed from =
variants with their own articles =

Sukhoi T-4, or "Aircraft 100", or "Project 100", or "Sotka" was a Soviet high speed reconnaissance and interceptor aircraft that did not proceed beyond the prototype stage. It is sometimes incorrectly named Su-100.

Development

Despite design similarities the Sukhoi T-4 was not intended as a Soviet equivalent of the North American XB-70 Valkyrie supersonic bomber, but was rather intended to take advantage of many of the XB-70's aeronautic innovations to develop a smaller reconnaissance and interceptor aircraft capable of reaching Mach 3. In this respect the T-4 is more closely a Soviet attempt to develop an aircraft comparable to the proposed North American XF-108 Rapier.

The T-4 was made largely from titanium and stainless steel, and featured a fly-by-wire control system but also employed a mechanical system as a backup. The aircraft's nose lowered to provide visibility during takeoff and landing. A periscope was used for forward viewing when the nose was retracted, and could be employed at speeds of up to 373 mph (600 km/h). Braking parachutes were used in addition to conventional wheel brakes. [ [http://www.moninoaviation.com/24a.html Air Force Museum - Monino, Russia ] ]

Testing

The first T-4, designated "101," first flew on August 22, 1972. The test pilot was Vladimir Ilyushin, son of famed aircraft designer, Sergei Ilyushin (ironically Vladimir never served in his father's bureau), and navigator Nikolai Alfyorov. It has flown only ten times for a total 10 hours and 20 minutes. It is believed to have reached at least Mach 1.3 using four Kolesov RD36-41 engines. These engines each produced 16,000 kgf (35,300 lbf or 157 kN) thrust with afterburners. The aircraft was designed to achieve speeds of up to Mach 3.0, but the program was canceled before the full performance of the aircraft could be reached. The T-4 is also believed to be the "aircraft 101" that set a 2000 km circuit speed record of Mach 1.89. This would seem to indicate that it couldn't cruise at its designed speed of almost Mach 3 and could be a reason the program was canceled.

Another reason of cancelling the project due to the VVS (Soviet Air Force) issuing the requirement of 250 T-4s. Meanwhile, some other high rank officers argued into gaining other more practical and supportive fighters instead of having such a huge flying steel plate in the air. When Marshal Andrei Grechko was made the Minister of Defense, he was told by a staff, "You could have your enormous MiG-23 order only if the T-4 would be abandoned". In an afterthought, perhaps it was a smart bargain because producing a T-4 would not be easier and cheaper than making an XB-70, which ended up being canceled due to cost overruns and technical difficulties.

urvivors

One T-4 survives today. Aircraft "101" is on display at the Monino Museum near Moscow. The serial numbers of the prototypes were "101" to "106". Only "101" and "102" were built, other additional prototypes "103" and "104" were under construction, "105" and "106" only existed on draft charts. Only the "101" completed all the test flights and flew the last test flight before the project was canceled on January 22, 1974. The rest of prototypes were scrapped.

pecifications

aircraft specifications

plane or copter?=plane
jet or prop?=jet

crew=2
length main=44.0 m
length alt=145,2 ft
span main=22.0 m
span alt=72 ft 2 in
height main=11.2 m
height alt=36 ft 9 in
area main=295.7 m²
area alt=3,183 ft²
empty weight main=55,600 kg
empty weight alt=123,000 lb
loaded weight main=114000 kg
loaded weight alt=258000 lb
max takeoff weight main=135,000 kg
max takeoff weight alt=297,000 lb

engine (jet)=Kolesov RD-36-41
type of jet=turbofans
number of jets=4
thrust main=4 х 16,000 kgs
thrust original= [Originally measured as 4 х 16,000 kgf.]

performance header=Performance (estimated)
max speed main=Mach 3.0
max speed alt=3,200 km/h 1,987 mph [http://www.airwar.ru/enc/bomber/t4.html#LTH уХИПК ф4 ] ]
cruise speed main=Mach 2.8
cruise speed alt=3,000 km/h 1,863 mph
ferry range main=7,000 km
ferry range alt=4,347 mi
ceiling main=20,000-24,000 m
ceiling alt=66,000 ft
climb rate main=
climb rate alt=
loading main=
loading alt=
thrust/weight=

avionics=

armament=

References

External links

* [http://www.moninoaviation.com/24a.html Sukhoi T-4 "Sotka" at the Russian Air Force Museum]
* [http://www.aviastar.org/air/russia/su-100.php]

ee also

aircontent

related=

similar aircraft=
* Avro 730
* XB-70 Valkyrie

sequence=

lists=
* List of fighter aircraft
* List of military aircraft of the Soviet Union and the CIS

see also=