Холодная война в небе: как совершил свой первый полёт «сверхзвуковой стратег» М-50

On October 27, 1959, the strategic bomber M-50 made its first flight. The crew, consisting of test pilot Hero of the Soviet Union Nikolai Iosifovich Goryainov and test pilot Anatoly Semenovich Lipko, lifted the plane into the sky.

The first flight, which lasted 35 minutes, was successful. However, the M-50 could not overcome the sound barrier, stopping at a speed of M=0.99. In the period from October 28, 1959 to October 5, 1960, instead of the planned 35 flights, the M-50A made only 11 test flights with a total duration of 8 hours 33 minutes. The maximum speed reached during the tests was 1090 km/h.

It was assumed that the temporarily installed VD-7A engines would be replaced with new ones, with which the aircraft was to overcome the sound barrier. Despite this, all work on the M-50 and its modification M-52, designed to achieve the design indicators of range and speed, was stopped.

The reasons for this decision were multifaceted. On the one hand, the ambitious tasks set for the M-50 were on the verge of the technological capabilities of that time. The development and implementation of new, more powerful engines required significant time and financial resources, which were probably redirected to other, more promising projects.

On the other hand, the changing geopolitical situation and the development of new types of weapons, in particular, intercontinental ballistic missiles, could make the concept of a supersonic strategic bomber less relevant.

The aircraft, despite its impressive appearance and advanced engineering solutions for its time, remained in history as one of the most ambitious, but never fully implemented projects of the Soviet aviation industry, a symbol of striving for the unattainable horizon of speed and power.

M-50 (NATO codification: Bounder) is a project of a Soviet supersonic strategic bomber developed by the Myasishchev Design Bureau. One prototype was built - M-50A.

Technical characteristics of the aircraft:

• Length: 58.7 m.
• Wingspan with engine nacelles: 25.1 m.
• Height: 8.65 m.
• Wing area: 290.6 m².
• Empty weight: 59,600 kg.
• Maximum take-off weight: 238,000 kg.
• Fuel weight: 170,000 kg.
• Maximum speed: 1900–2000 km/h.
• Practical range: 11,000–12,000 km.
• Practical ceiling: 15,000–16,000 m.
• Crew: 2 people.

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