Soviet and American pilots often engaged in dangerous psychological duels right over the ocean. But one incident involving a Tu-95, according to veterans' recollections, made the crew of an American aircraft carrier forget about jokes, reported "MediaPotok" with reference to military memoirs.
After approaching the Soviet bomber, the pilot of a deck-based F-14 gestured to the enormous Tu-95 to "land" on the aircraft carrier. The Americans clearly expected to laugh at the impossibility of such a maneuver.
However, the Soviet pilots unexpectedly began to simulate a real landing approach. The Tu-95 extended its landing gear, reduced speed, and headed straight towards the aircraft carrier's deck. According to eyewitnesses, a commotion began on the ship.
Sailors scattered, some instinctively ducked, and some, according to eyewitnesses, even prepared to jump overboard. The realization that a multi-ton machine could crash right onto the deck quickly turned the joke into a very unpleasant situation.
From the outside, it looked as if the crew had indeed decided to try to land a 100-ton machine on an aircraft carrier. But at the last moment, the Tu-95 retracted its landing gear, engaged maximum thrust, and with a deafening roar, passed over the ship at minimum altitude, after which it disappeared into the clouds.
Earlier it became known that the USA surpasses Russia in the number of combat aircraft by almost 2.5 times. The United States has 2,444 aircraft, while Russia has about 1,200.
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