Tupolev Tu-156
| Tupolev Tu-156 | |
|---|---|
| Type: | Air reconnaissance aircraft |
| Design country: | |
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The Tupolev Tu-156 ( Russian Туполев Ту-156 ) was a project for a Soviet Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS), which should replace the Tu-126 .
history
The Tupolev Tu-156 was the project proposal of the OKB-156 Tupolev to replace the Tu-126, also from Tupolev. The counter-rotating propellers of the four turboprop engines of the Tu-126 generated interference on the radar screen. The radar antenna belonging to the “Liane” system , which was located in a rotating radome , was also unable to detect low-lying targets and was therefore out of date. Therefore, the Soviet air force demanded a suitable carrier aircraft for the Schmel radar system (шмель, "Hummel"), which was planned from 1965 and developed from 1969 . After the Tu-126 and Tu-142 types, which were already in service, as well as a project based on the Tu-154 had proven unsuitable, Tupolev presented the Tu-156 as an alternative.
The Tu-156 would have been a completely new design, of which only a small number would have been produced. Built only as AWACS, the unit price, operation, maintenance and spare parts would have been associated with high costs. Therefore, instead of the Tu-156, it was decided to use a version of the Il-76 transport aircraft , as this was already in series production, saving time and costs for a new development while ensuring the supply of spare parts. This resulted in the Beriev A-50 . The airframe of the Tu-156 was not considered for any other task (e.g. as a passenger aircraft).
technology
The main technical characteristics of the Tu-156 are as follows:
The fuselage, vertical stabilizer and elevator are unchanged from the Tu-126 / Tu-114. Instead of the "Liane" radar antenna, which is attached to the fuselage with a central pylon, the Tu-156 would have had the "Schmel" radar on two struts, comparable to the arrangement of the radar on the E-3 or the A- 50 .
Instead of the two main landing gear with four wheels each, which retract into the landing gear containers typical of Tupolev on the wings, a main landing gear with three main landing gear legs with four wheels each was provided for the Tu-156, comparable to the main landing gear of the Il-86 .
Instead of the four Kuznetsov NK-12 turboprop engines, four Solovyov D-30 jet engines were provided. As with the E-3, these were arranged on individual pylons under the wing.
Apart from the changes due to the other engines and the main landing gear constellation, the wings would have largely corresponded to the wings of the Tu-126.
| Parameter | Data |
|---|---|
| crew | 9 |
| length | 52.5 m |
| span | 45.8 m |
| height | 14.6 m |
| Wing area | 307 m² |
| Empty mass | 107,350 kg |
| Max. Takeoff mass | 182,000 kg |
| drive | four Solovyov D-30 |
| Speed at stake | 720 km / h |
| Max. Operational altitude | 10,000 m |
| Range | 5,200 km internally, 6,800 km with air refueling |
Further use of the designation Tu-156
In the Soviet Union it was not uncommon for an aircraft project to be given the name used again when it was discontinued (an example is the Su-15 from 1948 and the Su-15 from 1962 ). A few years later the designation Tu-156 was used for a project for a production version of the Tu-155 powered by hydrogen or natural gas. The Tu-155 was a modified Tupolev Tu-154, in which one engine could be operated with hydrogen or natural gas, while the other two engines were operated conventionally with kerosene. Even the "second" Tu-156 designation did not lead to a real aircraft.
literature
- Jefim Gordon & Wladimir Rigmant: OKB Tupolev . Midland Publishing, 2000, ISBN 1-85780-214-4 .
- Jefim Gordon & Dimitri Komissarow: Ilyushin / Beriyev A-50 . Flightcraft Pen & Sword, 2014, ISBN 1-4738-2391-9 , pp. 3 .