SOVIET'S COLD WAR BOMBER

Air Classics, Apr 2004 by Hulett, George

Examination of a strategic jet bomber that was once a very real threat

Myasishchev M-4 and 3M by Yefim Gordon (Specialty Press 800-895-4585, $29.95) is the story of the Soviet Union's first intercontinental jet bomber which was to have become a carrier of nuclear missiles and the Soviet answer to the Boeing B-52. Much to the surprise of many, the little-known Myasishchev bureau was chosen to do the job - it had been disbanded a few years earlier and reinstated solely to create such a bomber.

Known in the West as the Bison, the new bomber employed many innovative features (including a bicycle landing gear) and was created within the short period of just one year - Western military observers were stunned when the aircraft was formally unveiled at the 1953 May Day parade. The M-4 and the much-improved 3 M remained in service for 40 years until retired and scrapped in comliance with the START treaty.

The Bison also served as the basis for the VM-T Atlant specialized cargo aircraft designed to piggy-back the Buran space shuttle and components of the Energiya launch rocket. Also described in this book are the many projected derivatives of the M-4 designed in the 1950s, including long-range airliners.