https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tupolev_Tu-91
The Tupolev Tu-91 (NATO reporting name Boot) was a Soviet carrier-borne attack
aircraft. It was built only in prototype form, and was converted into a
land-based aircraft after Joseph Stalin's death in 1953 cancelled the aircraft
carriers being designed.
Following the end of World War II, Stalin ordered an aggressive naval expansion
to counter the US naval superiority. It called for building extra warships and a
fleet of aircraft carriers. In order to equip the proposed carriers, Soviet
Naval Aviation required a long-range carrier-based strike aircraft, capable of
attacking with bombs or torpedoes. The Tupolev Design bureau decided on a
single-engined turboprop aircraft, designated Tu-91 to meet this requirement.
The Tu-91 was a low-winged monoplane with dihedral wings. It was powered by an
Kuznetsov TV-2 engine mounted mid-fuselage, driving a six-bladed contra-rotating
propeller in the nose via a long shaft. The crew of two sat side by side in a
cockpit in the aircraft's nose, protected by armour plating. It could carry a
heavy load of torpedoes or bombs on pylons under the fuselage and under the
wings, and had a gun armament of two cannon in the wing roots and two more in a
remotely-controlled tail turret.
After the death of Stalin in 1953, the planned fleet of carriers was cancelled,
but development of the Tu-91 continued as a land-based aircraft, the design
being revised to eliminate wing-folding and arresting gear. It first flew on 17
May 1955, demonstrating excellent performance, resulting in production being
authorized. However, after the aircraft was ridiculed by Nikita Khrushchev when
inspecting the prototype, the Tu-91 was cancelled.
Role
Naval attack aircraft
National origin
Soviet Union
Manufacturer
Tupolev OKB
First flight
17 May 1955
Status
Prototype only
Number built
1
Specifications (Tu-91)
General characteristics
Crew: 2 (pilot and observer)
Length: 17.7 m (58 ft 1 in)
Wingspan: 16.4 m (53 ft 10 in)
Height: 5.06 m (16 ft 7 in)
Empty weight: 8,000 kg (17,637 lb)
Max takeoff weight: 14,400 kg (31,747 lb)
Propellers: 6-bladed contra-rotating propeller
Performance
Maximum speed: 800 km/h (500 mph, 430 kn)
Range: 2,350 km (1,460 mi, 1,270 nmi)
Service ceiling: 11,000 m (36,000 ft)
Armament
Guns:
Bombs: up to 1,500 kg (3,306.9 lb) of bombs, rockets or a single torpedo
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