Why Soviet Pilots Called It “The Booze Carrier”: The Tupolev Tu-22 Story

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  • Опубліковано 8 гру 2024

КОМЕНТАРІ • 3,7 тис.

  • @kyongkim702
    @kyongkim702 3 роки тому +4657

    'How can we make this disaster even more dangerous?'
    "Downward ejection seats?!"
    'You're promoted Yuri!'

    • @dudka_i
      @dudka_i 3 роки тому +292

      i think the f-104's designers definitely had that conversation as well

    • @voltsoftruthBSbuster
      @voltsoftruthBSbuster 3 роки тому +84

      Yes this caused a lot of pilots to take off and land the air craft inverted right up to the seconds the wheels would touch the ground.

    • @wayneburbage8900
      @wayneburbage8900 3 роки тому +41

      Not a bad idea. since on throttle up in response to a stall, a large aircraft falls wing first into the ground. When that happens there is no up or down. Yuri gets a Medal.

    • @vz-v
      @vz-v 3 роки тому +129

      Judging by the way this project was going ejecting up would probably have had them sucked into the engine.

    • @squirlmy
      @squirlmy 3 роки тому +23

      @@wayneburbage8900 what if the plane isn't stalling? What if the pilot's just taking a ton of shrapnel? Luckily there weren't many aerial exchanges of fire, but if there was, I'd want a plane with an upwards eject, thank you. Yuri will happily dispense with the medal, as long as he can walk away from the fight (also the mark of a "good landing".)

  • @DitoAldiSoekarnoPutra
    @DitoAldiSoekarnoPutra 3 роки тому +3935

    "this plane is extremely dangerous"
    *Booze tank added
    "I hereby declare that I am signing up as a candidate"

  • @trygveplaustrum4634
    @trygveplaustrum4634 2 роки тому +1350

    Man, imagine flying a plane called the *"Defectocraft."*

    • @HappyBeezerStudios
      @HappyBeezerStudios 2 роки тому +145

      I find "Errpr-plane" to be even more hillarious

    • @Visplight
      @Visplight 2 роки тому +125

      I think "errorplane" is a class-A pun.

    • @SethMcFartlane
      @SethMcFartlane 2 роки тому +14

      Or 'the Widowmaker'

    • @Visplight
      @Visplight 2 роки тому +29

      @@SethMcFartlane Lacks pun potential.

    • @AC-hj9tv
      @AC-hj9tv 2 роки тому +16

      Yolocraft

  • @caspa7
    @caspa7 3 роки тому +1483

    Army: "Sorry, but your husband died in a aircrash"
    Wife: "Njet! I decide when he gets to die, bring me to the morgue!"

    • @volo870
      @volo870 3 роки тому +170

      Wife: He doesn't have my permission to die!

    • @seand.g423
      @seand.g423 3 роки тому +55

      Doctors and staff *gesticulates illegally in fright*

    • @hillarysemails1615
      @hillarysemails1615 3 роки тому +157

      @@volo870 You joke, but I have a Russian wife.....
      If all the home repairs were made and wood cut for winter, then maybe I would be allowed to die.

    • @jur4x
      @jur4x 3 роки тому +32

      Sounds exactly like Russian wife :)

    • @joshflugel
      @joshflugel 3 роки тому +21

      Russian wife to dead husband at the morgue: Get up, or I will kill you 10 times over. *Actually works*

  • @TCOphox
    @TCOphox 3 роки тому +2260

    > The air conditioning system used Vodka
    > Unused Vodka coolant was drank straight from the plane
    Real life is stranger than parody.

    • @arthas640
      @arthas640 3 роки тому +211

      It was the Soviet union. At one point Lenin considered banning or severely cutting back alcohol production since it was considered an "opiate of the people" worse then religion, and supposedly gave up because he could neither fund his new nation without alcohol or defend himself from the coup that his followers insisted would happen directly after any restrictions in alcohol, since slavs will put up with alot so long as the vodka flows like water

    • @HeathHerring666
      @HeathHerring666 3 роки тому +16

      this makes sense, but not to americans.

    • @HeathHerring666
      @HeathHerring666 3 роки тому +7

      @J D here we have 4 americans^

    • @HeathHerring666
      @HeathHerring666 3 роки тому +1

      I win

    • @videosub5d
      @videosub5d 3 роки тому +3

      @@HeathHerring666 where..

  • @selfdo
    @selfdo 3 роки тому +295

    Andrei Tupolev supposedly boasted (or rued, depending on POV) that if the Politburo demanded a flying bulldozer, he could hang big enough turbofans on one and get it airborne. Judging by a few of the designs that came out of the Tupolev Design Bureau, I'd say he got the directive.

    • @Shaun_Jones
      @Shaun_Jones 11 місяців тому +13

      A similar thing is said about the American F4 Phantom: “With enough thrust, even a brick can be made to fly.”

    • @rebelgaming1.5.14
      @rebelgaming1.5.14 10 місяців тому +8

      ​@@Shaun_Jonesthe fortunate thing is that the F-4 had its issues ironed out without completely redesigning the airframe and slapping an M to the name.

    • @rtqii
      @rtqii 5 місяців тому +9

      @@Shaun_Jones That's a hell of an example... I grew up in St. Louis and a family member worked on that plane at the McDonnell facilities at Lambert Field. I got to tour building 101 where the Gemini capsules were assembled, the same building that Eliot See crashed into a few months later. -- The F4 was adopted by the Navy, Marines, and the Air Force... Phantom production ran from 1958 to 1981 with a total of 5,195 aircraft built, making it the most produced American supersonic military aircraft in history. Beginning with flight testing in 1959, the F4 set fifteen in flight performance records, including altitude and speed records. The design was pretty well settled during the R&D phase, and the plane was then customized on the assembly line for mission specific roles. During the Vietnam war every American Ace flew the F4. It's a hell of plane, a rock solid workhorse that ended up a multirole platform with both tactical and strategic importance.

    • @selfdo
      @selfdo Місяць тому

      @@rtqii Supposedly the F4 had a bad rep in the beginning as a "widowmaker", not unlike a few other famous American aircraft of the times like the B-47, F-104, and their derivatives. From what I've read on this McDonnell-Douglas design, it was the first widespread multi-role fighter, growing out of an initial Navy requirement to upgrade the F-3 "Demon", later resulting in the entirely new aircraft (not unheard of in the post-Korean War era where again, military budgets got "tight" but an obvious need to match Soviet aircraft and rocket tech was seen) as a carrier-borne attack aircraft/interceptor. What's amazing is why the F4 initially came w/o cannon; it was felt at the time, about 1955, that with supersonic speeds becoming common, the days of "dogfighting" were past, rendering "fighters" of themselves virtually obsolete, as the ability to down enemy aircraft would rest with AA missiles. This would be proven quite WRONG in the skies over Vietnam about a decade later, with, in all irony, the more effective Soviet-supplied NVPAF fighter being the MiG-17 "Fresco", by then (1965) considered at best a secondary role aircraft. As for the Marines and the Air Force, which the USAF became the service branch that got the majority of Phantom IIs, that was more the doing of former Ford executive and "whiz kid" Robert McNamara, applying his business acumen to military procurement, dismissing the concerns of old Air Force "fighter jocks", whom were the majority of three and four-star USAF generals, that the F4 was a "flying kludge", a "brick", fine as a missile carrier and tactical bomber, but, with its poor turning abilities, no "fighter" at all! Improvisations like hanging cannon pods on existing F4s, and retrofitting them with internal cannon during their programmed depot maintenance cycle at the former McClellan AFB (Sacramento, CA), saved the reputation of the Phantom, and it became an Air Force favorite. Given that it was originally built as a carrier bird, it proved capable of taking a good deal of combat damage and still returning the pilot and "back seater" to base, something very much liked. Yes, the F4 Phantom was proof that given enough thrust, virtually ANYTHING can be made to fly, but redesigns and upgrades, some by foreign customers, especially the IAF, gave it a great amount of capabilities not originally foreseen, and it had a LONG career!

  • @ProjectFlashlight612
    @ProjectFlashlight612 3 роки тому +619

    "Great flight, comrades. Now let's go drink the plane's air conditioning fluid."

    • @gbormann71
      @gbormann71 3 роки тому +32

      Choosing between hung over and overheated.

    • @alebarros8468
      @alebarros8468 3 роки тому +15

      I'm from Brazil. I can understand old Soviet Union, because I live in a crazy place too.

    • @petermuller608
      @petermuller608 3 роки тому +9

      That's really close to the V2 crew drinking it's alcohol based fuel xD

    • @ProjectFlashlight612
      @ProjectFlashlight612 3 роки тому +4

      @@petermuller608 Great with fish

    • @thephi303
      @thephi303 3 роки тому +2

      @@petermuller608 Wenn der Kollege aus Russland an der Tanke erstmal ne Pulle Brennspiritus wegzischt und mit ein bisschen Eistee nachspült

  • @nonyabeeznuss304
    @nonyabeeznuss304 3 роки тому +2148

    I grew up on the wrong side of the iron curtain, and I VERY much remember saving face always taking precedent over fixing problems. I recall the factory my dad worked at deciding the solution to the facility consistently failing inspections was "stop inspecting."

    • @ingridclare7411
      @ingridclare7411 3 роки тому +58

      God, hahaha.

    • @grunthostheflatulent9649
      @grunthostheflatulent9649 3 роки тому +138

      That type of plan happens universally, humans are humans, after all.

    • @jamesgornall5731
      @jamesgornall5731 3 роки тому +129

      Oh this one is common to all of our shitty systems. Someone who offers up timely yet unwanted warnings is normally perceived as a coward, panicmonger etc

    • @voidinheritant
      @voidinheritant 3 роки тому +11

      based soviet union

    • @jedimindtrix2142
      @jedimindtrix2142 3 роки тому +84

      We are all human and while I would definitely say the Soviet Union was not a paradise and had plenty of problems I don't want to demonize the entire lot of people. That's just ignorance. I'm sure there were plenty of good people who just wanted to get along and live their life and could very well do without any conflict. I think most of us would agree we have no personal issue with anyone from any nation for simply existing in that nation. It seems some people fall victim to these traps but not all. As far as modern day politics go I have no personal issue with Russian or Chinese people as an American. All of our governments, being ruled by people who do not live like normal people for the most part, force all kinds of conflict and propaganda about who they want to make us fear on us. We may have freedoms that the USSR didn't have but that doesn't mean that we weren't just as manipulated in a lot of ways similar to how the government of the USSR did to the people there.

  • @Moose6340
    @Moose6340 3 роки тому +4178

    The most Soviet airplane to ever Soviet. Failed to meet its targets, killed its pilots, stayed in service for decades, cooled by Stoli.

    • @Abigail-hu5wf
      @Abigail-hu5wf 2 роки тому +358

      Don't forget "had its lethality poorly covered up by the state despite absolutely everybody knowing and just shrugging and going Ah Well, That's Life"!

    • @selfdo
      @selfdo 2 роки тому +173

      Read "MiG Pilot: The Final Escape of Lieutenant Belenko". According to him, the Soviet V-VS personnel more or less operated in a state of varying degrees of inebriation.

    • @tyomikshkolnik7988
      @tyomikshkolnik7988 2 роки тому +57

      Not really. Us Russians have some brilliant engineers and decent planes. Some people just think Soviet planes suck :/

    • @selfdo
      @selfdo 2 роки тому +99

      @@tyomikshkolnik7988 The Soviet/Russian "top shelf" aircraft designs, along with their elite units, are as good as anything the West puts out. Trouble is, they never could produce them in quantity; the top interceptors, for example, were prioritized to defend Moscow. Even in a command economy, there are still financial constraints. Where Western analysts also miss the mark are that much of the older hardware isn't just scrapped or sold off, though that is done, they're delved down to reservist units. Not unlike what the USAF does with the Air National Guard. And despite operating outdated stuff, some of those "old boys" prove more effective than the "new kids on the block"!

    • @RideAcrossTheRiver
      @RideAcrossTheRiver 2 роки тому +40

      @@selfdo I love it when the term "the West" is used. There's no such place.

  • @VisagesSausages
    @VisagesSausages 3 роки тому +4070

    The Soviet Union would not be The Soviet Union without The Soviet Union

    • @hbtm2951
      @hbtm2951 3 роки тому +94

      That phrasing, i had to sub, really.

    • @Quackerilla
      @Quackerilla 3 роки тому +31

      profound

    • @ih302
      @ih302 3 роки тому +43

      Would not have been? Seriously though, if there is any one program/project that epitomizes the USSR, this is it.

    • @mikearmstrong8483
      @mikearmstrong8483 3 роки тому +118

      And being Russian, the phrase "and then it got worse" is practically a national motto.

    • @ildart8738
      @ildart8738 3 роки тому +56

      @@mikearmstrong8483 I think you mean "We wanted to get the best result, but got the usual result (хотели как лучше, а получилось как всегда)

  • @mepaulandleo823
    @mepaulandleo823 3 роки тому +922

    " The Soviet Union would not be The Soviet Union without...." is my new favorite saying now lol.

    • @getmeoutofsanfrancisco9917
      @getmeoutofsanfrancisco9917 3 роки тому +4

      Yep. Gotta love it lmao

    • @ttystikkrocks1042
      @ttystikkrocks1042 3 роки тому +23

      Came here to say this! Pass the vodka- err, "cooling fluid"

    • @cameik
      @cameik 3 роки тому +13

      Love that last send-off, with the newest version dropping a near supersonic tire bouncing off down the runway!

    • @juancarloscalle2831
      @juancarloscalle2831 3 роки тому +2

      Yeah, the catchphrase was, for me, suscribe at first sight

    • @silberfuchsag4746
      @silberfuchsag4746 3 роки тому

      My thoughts exactly >XD

  • @Carlosffaria
    @Carlosffaria 2 роки тому +76

    “Bullshot was deemed too inappropriate”
    MiG-15 and An-22: *am I a joke to you?*

    • @minmina-r3e
      @minmina-r3e 4 місяці тому +1

      i mean the mig 15 was named after an instrument. tho i have no words for the an22

    • @Pijawek
      @Pijawek 3 місяці тому

      ​@@minmina-r3e MiG-15 was named after a British dish.

    • @CM26617
      @CM26617 2 місяці тому +1

      Or an inordinately-large bit of lumber, take your pick.
      As for the AN-22, the Soviet reporting name was 'Antaeus'. The NATO reporting name, though, is best not repeated here, lest there'd be a lot of crowing from the sidelines.

    • @Attaxalotl
      @Attaxalotl 2 місяці тому +2

      Officially, the An-22 is named for a rooster; but we all know it isn't.

    • @NavigatorNarrowOne
      @NavigatorNarrowOne День тому

      lmao fr

  • @papasult11
    @papasult11 3 роки тому +784

    "Dmitri, we don't have any bottles to fit for our vodka"
    "Don't worry, I'll build one"
    **BUILDS AIRCRAFT**

    • @ankitbytes
      @ankitbytes 3 роки тому +27

      soviets being soviets

    • @Stormidze
      @Stormidze 3 роки тому +14

      delivery club - the begining

    • @arthas640
      @arthas640 3 роки тому +21

      American designers: keep slapping more 50 cals on it until it succeeds against the enemy
      Soviet designers: keep adding vodka until we win!

    • @Wok_Agenda
      @Wok_Agenda 3 роки тому +3

      Oy Blyat

    • @barelyasurvivor1257
      @barelyasurvivor1257 3 роки тому +2

      @@arthas640
      That, that's, just crazy enough to work

  • @caffeinatedbuffalosauce883
    @caffeinatedbuffalosauce883 3 роки тому +976

    “You’re in really good shape, do you workout?”
    “No, I fly a Tu-22”

    • @aldo3g
      @aldo3g 3 роки тому +30

      Do you even fly bro? 😹

    • @cerea9572
      @cerea9572 3 роки тому +56

      @@aldo3g *do you even luft bro?*

    • @AgentB7
      @AgentB7 3 роки тому +20

      "The reason for my biceps" is a long time running joke about Boeing 737.

    • @ztoob8898
      @ztoob8898 3 роки тому +34

      The B-24 Liberator had notoriously heavy controls. George McGovern flew them in WWII and said he won a lot of arm-wrestling contests in various bars by competing with his left arm (the one that works the yoke 99% of the time). [Source: The Wild Blue, by Stephen E. Ambrose]

    • @MikoyanGurevichMiG21
      @MikoyanGurevichMiG21 3 роки тому +6

      T-72 crew: "that's my bro!"

  • @ConstantineParganas
    @ConstantineParganas 2 роки тому +102

    In the 27 years I have been dealing with military aviation, this is hand down the ABSOLUTE BEST VIDEO I have ever watched. I applaud you sir. The TU-22 is now my favourite aircraft. The Defectocraft.

    • @dev2410
      @dev2410 Рік тому +2

      😂 I agree the tu-22 has also become my favorite aircraft because of all the trouble it caused the Soviets😂 I have my own nickname for it the flying turd because it was a piece of crap😂

  • @48917032
    @48917032 3 роки тому +530

    This plane takes a lot of courage to fly, so let's install a 225 L courage tank on board...

    • @halchander3435
      @halchander3435 3 роки тому +62

      We have a student...add another 175 L and make it a party!

    • @shvabzee
      @shvabzee 3 роки тому +12

      Soviet courage you know...

  • @ominous-omnipresent-they
    @ominous-omnipresent-they 3 роки тому +606

    "Error-plane"
    Noice. Props to the individual who coined that term.

    • @Valsorayu
      @Valsorayu 3 роки тому +18

      Maybe would have sounded something like "Ashebka-leot".

    • @EllAntares
      @EllAntares 3 роки тому +38

      @@Valsorayu ошибколет exactly that, actually. A pun on long forgotten thing offered by "language purity" people who tried to replace all borrowed words (a thing going in 1920-1940s). While "samolet" became standard replacement of "aeroplan", there was others - shibkolet or bystrolet(шибколет и быстролет) - a "swift flyer".
      PS: Another product of those people - the word "самокат" instead of "scooter" (now known as push-scooters) which was known since 1910s, but that one could be a translation of first brand of those - "Autoped"

    • @Valsorayu
      @Valsorayu 3 роки тому +19

      @@EllAntares Thank you for providing a succinct explanation to non-speakers. I was, myself, defending how Error-plane doesn't sound as silly in the native tongue.

    • @jintarokensei3308
      @jintarokensei3308 3 роки тому +5

      I liked the Defecto-plane better.

    • @engineerskalinera
      @engineerskalinera 3 роки тому +3

      @@jintarokensei3308 defectocraft but yeah

  • @CdA_Native
    @CdA_Native 2 роки тому +520

    In about 1994, I flew in a REAL Russian "Booze Carrier" from Vladivostok to Sakhalin Island. I was invited into the cockpit of the TU-154 by the pilot and immediately offered to sit in the jump seat behind the co-pilot. Also offered was a shot of vodka from a bottle in the seat pocket. Before I knew what was happening, we bounced down the runway and took off......

    • @etiennedauphin
      @etiennedauphin Рік тому +22

      I’d pay to hear you tell that story!

    • @hesperosshamshael2873
      @hesperosshamshael2873 Рік тому +20

      Well, I presume you survived.

    • @CdA_Native
      @CdA_Native Рік тому +59

      @@hesperosshamshael2873 Yes, but one hell of a headache the next morning!

    • @yusufsimanjuntak3578
      @yusufsimanjuntak3578 Рік тому +12

      I have flown in many Tu134s and 154s, I cannot imagine your story about vodka is true. you must be american?

    • @CdA_Native
      @CdA_Native Рік тому +26

      @@yusufsimanjuntak3578 Actually Yusuf, it is a true story. And after 5 years of living and working in Russia, I have MANY vodka stories to share!

  • @grahamsawyer831
    @grahamsawyer831 3 роки тому +374

    400 litres of vodka on board a combat aircraft? outstanding!!

    • @leolex1289
      @leolex1289 3 роки тому +22

      (!!!) ....which must be refueled every time after the flight, and with leaked, you can do whatever you want.

    • @mjfan653
      @mjfan653 3 роки тому +39

      I like how it's a given that some of it seeps into the cockpit during operations.
      because there is nothing more soviet than an slightly drunk bomber pilot

    • @mumblingretard2099
      @mumblingretard2099 3 роки тому +16

      @@mjfan653 just slightly? That's optimistic

    • @kevindubose6964
      @kevindubose6964 3 роки тому +16

      Gettin Bombed in a bomber!!

    • @PuerRidcully
      @PuerRidcully 3 роки тому +5

      @@mjfan653 That story was made up by the crew to keep the vodka in use. It's in the video.

  • @Ratzfourtyfour
    @Ratzfourtyfour 3 роки тому +734

    'Tovarish, what will be best coolant for air conditioning?'
    'Vodka.'
    'Sure nothing ever can go wrong if we use vodka.'

    • @absalomdraconis
      @absalomdraconis 3 роки тому +59

      Well, considering the alternatives (poisonous ammonia, extra flammable & freezing oxygen, freezing nitrogen, etc.), it sounds pretty good.

    • @CakePrincessCelestia
      @CakePrincessCelestia 3 роки тому +34

      They did that with the RP-21/22 radar on the MiG-21 series as well...

    • @juano31
      @juano31 3 роки тому +13

      This part of the story made my day

    • @kukamungaphobia924
      @kukamungaphobia924 3 роки тому +27

      They probably used the vodka to talk some poor pilot into flying that thing.

    • @clementwolf4081
      @clementwolf4081 3 роки тому +9

      torpedo juice... enough said?

  • @octaviovaladaoferreirinhad2689
    @octaviovaladaoferreirinhad2689 3 роки тому +9

    "The Soviet Union would not be the Soviet Union if..." That should be the name of one of your playlists, with several documentaries focusing on their idiosyncrasies. This is a great work, I'm sharing your channel with my friends.

  • @gordonlawrence1448
    @gordonlawrence1448 3 роки тому +159

    This reminded me of something that happened to an guy I know when he worked in the USSR. He is English but absolutely fluent in Russian. The first week he started he got some papers and went to see the head of the company to get them stamped. The boss told him the stamp was in his private paperwork cupboard. So he walked in and there was a guy (head engineer) drunk and asleep standing up against one of the stationery shelves. He came back to tell the boss and was told "Yes of course, it's Wednesday". Turns out they got a delivery of cleaning fluid every Wednesday and that cleaning fluid was very high purity ethanol. The boss had one of the small drums and there was a succession of people coming in with a cup that got half filled with that alcohol. Pretty much every single person sneaked into the office, sidled up to the boss with a cup and the boss poured them some. My friend recons he could write a comedy about what happened there if his writing skills were good enough.

    • @naamadossantossilva4736
      @naamadossantossilva4736 3 роки тому +6

      That is mind blowing.Did they dilute it with anything?

    • @selfdo
      @selfdo Місяць тому

      That boss took GOOD CARE of his workers...I guess in THAT manner, the USSR was indeed the "worker's paradise", at least on Wednesday afternoons!

    • @nd5301
      @nd5301 Місяць тому

      В моем офисе и сейчас точно так же проходит рабочий день среды.

  • @dimasakbar7668
    @dimasakbar7668 3 роки тому +605

    Pilot: its badly designed, its hard to fly, impossible to master, too slow for its use, and it kills us its pilot. We find it absolutely dete...
    Engineer: But it has vodka coolant of 200ltr which you can take home the rest after flight...
    Pilot: *cough absolutely determined to make Motherland proud with me as its pilot. Its an honour.

    • @Gaste11o
      @Gaste11o 3 роки тому +43

      double up my vodka for the trainer, comrade!

    • @NaturalBornLifeEnder
      @NaturalBornLifeEnder 3 роки тому +14

      I serve the Soviet Union!

    • @alexandero9936
      @alexandero9936 3 роки тому +34

      “Mama, I shall either come home drunk or die trying”

    • @klowen7778
      @klowen7778 Рік тому +3

      Yep, and especially these days, kinda describes the current state of Russian society in a nutshell....

  • @pacificostudios
    @pacificostudios 3 роки тому +209

    As remarkable as this story is, it is important to remember that Western militaries routinely overestimated the capabilities of Soviet aircraft. While overestimating Soviet capabilities helped prevent the Soviets from actually bettering the West, it sometimes led to Western militaries demanding weapons systems that exceeded the capabilities of Western designers. I recall reading in the Pentagon's "Soviet Military Power" book, passages where Israeli success over Soviet-built equipment was dismissed as being due to the low quality of the Arabs who flew them.
    That's why the MIG-25 that a defector landed in Japan in 1976 was so difficult to dismiss -- the capabilities of that plane had definitely been overestimated. What Western analysts underestimated was the quality of the Soviet airmen that flew these aircraft.

    • @thursoberwick1948
      @thursoberwick1948 3 роки тому +48

      The Arab airmen were awful though. The Israeli ones had training from Royal Air Force, USAF etc which the Arabs didn't. Whole different ball game.
      I think the USSR is a case of doing remarkably well with what they had which was an awful, corrupt political system and few resources. However they had some brilliant minds and tough people which made up for that.

    • @georgiishmakov9588
      @georgiishmakov9588 3 роки тому +11

      now imagine what would have happened, had Khrushchev done what Deng Xiaoping did 30 years early.

    • @TheBucketSkill
      @TheBucketSkill 3 роки тому +3

      @@georgiishmakov9588 Wouldn't be the Soviet Union. I can't even imagine them doing such a thing, especially since I consider them the "Real communists"

    • @theq4602
      @theq4602 3 роки тому +9

      It got so out of control that in the 50s and 60s the USAF had plans to build outrageously crazy things like S.L.A.M. Which would be a supersonic low altitude nuclear powered cruise missile.

    • @selfdo
      @selfdo 2 роки тому +16

      The Soviet Frontal Aviation's 324th Air Division, under command of Colonel Ivan Kozehdub, their top ace of the "Great Patriotic War", did rather well against USAF and USN aircraft, and even downed a few F-86 Sabres, in Korea in 1951 and 1952.
      As for Lt. Viktor Belenko's MiG-25, while it proved that some of the fears of the MiG-25's capabilities were groundless, it actually performed its intended role as a medium-range interceptor very well, with it's high speed, quick time to altitude, very high ceiling, and ability to carry enough missiles to down any American bomber. It was actually designed to intercept the B-58 Hustler and the B-70 Valkyrie at high-altitude. It was NOT a dog fighter, any F-4, not known itself for agility, or even a lumbering F-105 Thunderchief could handle it quite easily in any dogfight...IF they could catch it! While the size of its Tumansky engines led the American examiners to joking deduce that each MiG-25 squadron had to have its own refinery to supply fuel, and it's construction using a lot of STEEL indicated how "low-tech" it really was, it was an good example of cost-effect, or "value" engineering. It was noted how relatively simple it was to perform routine maintenance. In terms of "bang for the buck", including not only performing well in its designated role, but also in being a supersonic "Potemkin Village", the MiG-25 Foxbat was worth all the rubles expended.
      However, many cynics believe that indeed our CIA and those in the know knew about the MiG-25 all along, but it's "scary factor" was useful to wrangle funding out of Congress as the Vietnam War was winding down to pay for the F-14, F-15, and F-16 fighters to take it on. Which, of course, would never have happened.

  • @77thTrombone
    @77thTrombone 3 роки тому +618

    Oh, the Russian humor! Forget the history of technology, this video is a cultural icon! Best!

    • @speediskey3856
      @speediskey3856 3 роки тому +16

      errorplane lmao

    • @speediskey3856
      @speediskey3856 3 роки тому +1

      @Yuriy Yuriy yeah it's wordplay, earoplane and errorplane sound very similar and error basically means failure

    • @radarist6908
      @radarist6908 3 роки тому +3

      Hi guys.I’m living near air base where these aircraft were based.I saw the monument and this plane is very bid and beautiful.Also if you want to see about this plane I can recommend you some videos or photos.

    • @radarist6908
      @radarist6908 3 роки тому +8

      This air base named Ozerne near Zhytomer.This is Ukraine.

    • @kukulroukul4698
      @kukulroukul4698 3 роки тому

      @@radarist6908 :( doesnt matter...lets just move on with it

  • @paveldumitrescu7981
    @paveldumitrescu7981 3 роки тому +390

    Criminally underrated Chanel. Many channels with millions of subscribers don't even remotely reach such high production quality.

    • @diznartz
      @diznartz 3 роки тому +8

      Exactly

    • @Ratzfourtyfour
      @Ratzfourtyfour 3 роки тому +10

      Can't agree more. This channel is not just retelling Wikipedia articles like other channels do.

    • @g0679
      @g0679 3 роки тому +4

      Good for at least a Chanel No.5.

    • @johnclayton7471
      @johnclayton7471 3 роки тому +13

      Some great old footage, and just enough humour in the insightful commentary.

    • @ilovethe80s74
      @ilovethe80s74 3 роки тому +8

      I just discovered this channel and it is excellent. It reminds me of the military programs on the History Channel in the 90's and early 2000's.

  • @LifeAndMe99
    @LifeAndMe99 Рік тому +18

    Fun fact:
    In Romanian we use the word sphaga for the word bribe, haha fun to get to know its origins

  • @smokejaguarsix7757
    @smokejaguarsix7757 3 роки тому +1643

    "The Soviet Union would not be the Soviet Union if...." Insert any utterly fouled-up statement. Solid gold. Love it. Lmao!

    • @fdjw88
      @fdjw88 3 роки тому +87

      "if the plane itself was not mounted on two explosive engines"

    • @dixztube
      @dixztube 3 роки тому +9

      So hilarious

    • @brasingt
      @brasingt 3 роки тому +30

      Soviet Union would not be Soviet Union if you drive car! Car drive you!

    • @dixztube
      @dixztube 3 роки тому +11

      @@brasingt lol soon our elite tech overlords will have the cars driving us all

    • @jimaanders7527
      @jimaanders7527 3 роки тому +11

      I heartily agree 😃
      It's so appropriate.
      The narrator really worked that in nicely.

  • @Ultra_Hlebus
    @Ultra_Hlebus 3 роки тому +1876

    - Hey, John, do you remember the times when we got ourselves in a ridiculous arms race that have taken the world to the brink of nuclear annihilation multiple times?
    - When we also invested a tremendous amounts of money into stuff, half of which didn’t even work as intended? Yes, Ivan, I do.
    - I miss those times.
    - Me too.

    • @whatsaguygottado2669
      @whatsaguygottado2669 3 роки тому +22

      Here, here!

    • @JunkPhuJP
      @JunkPhuJP 3 роки тому +105

      Reminds me of that scene from “RED”, when two old spies from both sides share a vodka sharing memories of spying and trying to catch each other. One of them even said “Do you know how long it’s been since I killed someone?”

    • @silentdrew7636
      @silentdrew7636 2 роки тому +68

      Well, this aged... interestingly.

    • @timkenda8203
      @timkenda8203 2 роки тому +52

      anndddd we're back

    • @Ultra_Hlebus
      @Ultra_Hlebus 2 роки тому

      Yeah, we are back that hard, that Russians have to clear Ukraine from nazis

  • @SynchroScore
    @SynchroScore 3 роки тому +19

    I love how your video of the TU-22M includes one of the landing gear wheels flying off.

  • @sunso1991
    @sunso1991 3 роки тому +167

    This video reminds me of the old History channel or Discovery back in the 1995.
    when they actually showed you something amazing and interesting
    and you walked away learnt something about engineering, history, and design
    thank you Paper Skies!

    • @Houdini_Bob
      @Houdini_Bob 3 роки тому +8

      Discovery Wings - great program

  • @malusignatius
    @malusignatius 3 роки тому +263

    *Sees wheel fall off of Backfire when Paper Skies mentions developmental issues*
    Now that, that's A1 perfect timing right there.

    • @isolinear9836
      @isolinear9836 3 роки тому +1

      The Americans named it right the first time with their Americianisms: "Bullsh@t"

    • @donviitoriodasicachiavi5555
      @donviitoriodasicachiavi5555 3 роки тому

      @@isolinear9836 Nope.Beautie silver supersonic swan

    • @isolinear9836
      @isolinear9836 3 роки тому +2

      @@donviitoriodasicachiavi5555 Oh it certainly looked very sleek and schick. A Femme Fetale

    • @malusignatius
      @malusignatius 3 роки тому +2

      @@isolinear9836 Unlike the Blinder, the Backfire's actually a halfway-decent bomber though.

    • @volo870
      @volo870 3 роки тому

      Blinder was designed to do only one thing - to carry X-22 nuclear-tipped aircraft carrier missile. Uncannily big and bulky thing.
      Did it exceptionally well till Backfire substituted it.

  • @venonat80
    @venonat80 3 роки тому +29

    16:32 If you’re using Vodka in the operation of a Russian plane; it’ll take zero seconds for the operators and maintenance crews to get funny ideas.

    • @Shaun_Jones
      @Shaun_Jones 11 місяців тому +8

      In all honesty, this isn’t something unique to Russians. During WWII, American torpedoes were fueled by 180-proof ethanol. Because recreational alcohol is not permitted on US Navy vessels, a number of sailors would steal a little of their torpedo fuel, filter it through a loaf of bread to remove any toxins, and then water it down with canned pineapple juice until it was around 75 to 100 proof. I have actually made this recipe (using store-bought alcohol) and it’s actually pretty good.

    • @Mr-Trox
      @Mr-Trox 3 місяці тому +1

      ​@@Shaun_Jones Torpedo juice! It either makes you drunk or makes you blind.

  • @Name-ps9fx
    @Name-ps9fx 3 роки тому +1196

    I heard back in the 80’s that Soviet ground crews drank the “anti-icing” fluid...we thought “well there goes their kidneys!”
    No idea that vodka = anti-icing fluid

    • @EllAntares
      @EllAntares 3 роки тому +93

      In certain climate..yes. Though now they add fancy surfactant to it. Also at winter vodka was better than diluted antifreeze sold in car shop (the latter usually was too diluted due to theft)

    • @christianpethukov8155
      @christianpethukov8155 3 роки тому +53

      I heard brake fluid was mixed with fruit juice....holy crap that is some next-level alcoholism....😵

    • @HappyBeezerStudios
      @HappyBeezerStudios 3 роки тому +29

      flavourless alchol and water in a mixture typical of spirits. Who wouldn't try it.

    • @katrinapaton5283
      @katrinapaton5283 3 роки тому +47

      The Soviet airforce had it easy, the poor old army had to make do with their vehicles antifreeze. Sure, there was alcohol in there but itd probably make you blind.

    • @grahamstrouse1165
      @grahamstrouse1165 3 роки тому +64

      Kidneys doing just fine. Livers...not so much.

  • @cmdredstrakerofshado1159
    @cmdredstrakerofshado1159 3 роки тому +557

    So appropriate that the Tu22 man eater be chased by Germany's F 104 widow maker's

    • @bosbanon3452
      @bosbanon3452 3 роки тому +20

      I think Russian also have submarine called widow maker😂

    • @georgem4713
      @georgem4713 3 роки тому +5

      @@bosbanon3452 I think you are referring to this one : en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_submarine_K-19

    • @searchtron7601
      @searchtron7601 3 роки тому +2

      GREAT statement

    • @michaeldy3157
      @michaeldy3157 3 роки тому +8

      the starfighter was a scary plane for sure.

    • @nmspy
      @nmspy 3 роки тому +16

      @@michaeldy3157 *makes slight adjustment in trajectory*
      F104: SHIT HOW DO WE TURN

  • @_-ronin-_5521
    @_-ronin-_5521 3 роки тому +8

    Soviet Engineer 1: How do we make the coolant
    Soviet Engineer 2: Blyat just put vodka in it will be fine
    Soviet Engineer 1: Da good idea!

  • @frankknight7968
    @frankknight7968 3 роки тому +195

    Superb documentary. I was stationed in West Germany with the RAF Regiment in thevearly 1980s, equipped with Rapier missiles. We were told that Soviet forces were dependent on aircraft fuel for their serious alcohol addiction. We never took this seriously but this film bears that out!

    • @kukaew
      @kukaew Рік тому +1

      в интернете вас не обманут, просто верьте всему

    • @Melody_Raventress
      @Melody_Raventress Рік тому

      правда!

    • @nicox407
      @nicox407 Рік тому

      Ну это только избранные счастливчики могли себе позволить)

    • @leovang3425
      @leovang3425 11 місяців тому +2

      ​@@kukaewYou're trying to tell me Russians wouldn't drink free alchohol?

  • @climlim3569
    @climlim3569 3 роки тому +267

    "We call this plane, the spirit of Comrade Stalin."
    "Why is that?"
    "Because only a true dedicated communist will have the balls to fly in it."

    • @vk3139
      @vk3139 3 роки тому +43

      Alternatively, because it kills your own men

    • @Ganiscol
      @Ganiscol 3 роки тому +18

      Well, if it kills you, you clearly were not loyal enough!

    • @kvakerbillduck9500
      @kvakerbillduck9500 3 роки тому +9

      And flying this plane makes you a alkoholik, so truly soviet man plane.

  • @quillmaurer6563
    @quillmaurer6563 3 роки тому +110

    Notice a trend here: "The Soviet Union would not be the Soviet Union if they didn't [bad decision]" And nice to see the trend continued with the TU-22M, I get the sense a wheel falling off at 23:26 is representative of it's build quality. Overall fascinating video, I never would have guessed that it's "booze carrier" name would be because it actually was full of alcohol pilots and ground crews drank. I figured it would be a metaphor of some sort.

    • @Melody_Raventress
      @Melody_Raventress Рік тому

      I metaphor sex, but she slapped me and walked away...😢

    • @yaboileeroy3038
      @yaboileeroy3038 Рік тому +5

      I had to rewind the video to see if it was a wheel or just debris on the runway. Nope. One of the wheels just *fell off the fucking plane on takeoff.*

    • @Shaun_Jones
      @Shaun_Jones 11 місяців тому +2

      @@yaboileeroy3038 at first I was about to say that it was only a hubcap; but no, that’s definitely an entire wheel. “Sir, we just lost a main gear wheel!” “Do not worry, comrade; we still have 11 more!”

  • @ma61king
    @ma61king 3 роки тому +320

    "Error-plane"
    Looks like the USSR was well ahead in the wit race of the Cold War

    • @jamesbugbee6812
      @jamesbugbee6812 3 роки тому +23

      Great pun in English.

    • @tulsatrash
      @tulsatrash 3 роки тому

      True.

    • @jamesricker3997
      @jamesricker3997 3 роки тому +7

      I believe that was a response to America's gutless Cutlass

    • @philphilips1020
      @philphilips1020 3 роки тому +12

      I thought 'defector craft' was pretty good also.

    • @MichaelSHartman
      @MichaelSHartman 3 роки тому +2

      A phonics pun that I suspect wouldn't sound the same in Russian.
      Witty in English though.

  • @michaelfisher7170
    @michaelfisher7170 3 роки тому +92

    "So what happened to you, comrade?"
    "My seat fell out of the plane while on the ground, sir."
    "Good vodka at this hospital, no comrade?"
    "Very good, sir."

  • @233kosta
    @233kosta 3 місяці тому +2

    "This is air conditioner. Runs on vodka."
    "Sergei you're a genius!"

  • @johnthegreek7356
    @johnthegreek7356 3 роки тому +415

    When even the Russians don’t want to fly it, you know it’s bad

    • @laszlozoltan5021
      @laszlozoltan5021 3 роки тому +62

      that's why they were bribed with vodka in the system

    • @donviitoriodasicachiavi5555
      @donviitoriodasicachiavi5555 3 роки тому +10

      Hahaha @ John the Greek.You ever heard about F104 Starfighter the widow maker? hmm

    • @TheRumbles13
      @TheRumbles13 3 роки тому +8

      @@donviitoriodasicachiavi5555 or the bf109, many ground accidents

    • @armorer94
      @armorer94 3 роки тому +2

      From the people who brought you the zaprozhets automobile, the TU-22!

    • @pinkdispatcher
      @pinkdispatcher 3 роки тому +2

      @@donviitoriodasicachiavi5555 Most pilots loved the F-104, though.

  • @EFletc8985
    @EFletc8985 3 роки тому +160

    This was one of the best videos I’ve ever seen…the review of the air conditioning system is simply priceless. This man should have his own TV show, everyone would watch….simply a jewel of both education and entertainment 👍

    • @HECKAKYH-ADEKBATEH
      @HECKAKYH-ADEKBATEH 3 роки тому

      Its not entertainment, its real Soviet union problems which destroy the whole US propaganda of an evil dictatorship.

    • @mehmetgurdal
      @mehmetgurdal 2 роки тому +7

      Error why would he need a TV show?
      Tv is a dying platform. Decentralized media production is the future. Just give the man a like an sub.

  • @tomlindsay4629
    @tomlindsay4629 2 роки тому +93

    It really was a beautiful aircraft, no matter it's practical flaws.

  • @PeterBezemer
    @PeterBezemer 3 роки тому +321

    23:27 that wheel though

    • @Orgruk
      @Orgruk 3 роки тому +42

      It's ok, there's extra ones there. :)

    • @dennisyoung4631
      @dennisyoung4631 3 роки тому +24

      Yes, it *escaped.*

    • @jakobholgersson4400
      @jakobholgersson4400 3 роки тому +45

      All of the wheels had planned to defect with the rest of the plane, but that one bailed at the last minute.

    • @lycossurfer8851
      @lycossurfer8851 3 роки тому +16

      Extreme weight saving measures ensure landing weights are met 😁

    • @davidzitzman6511
      @davidzitzman6511 3 роки тому +5

      Gulag minivan.For engineers who could not bend aerodynamic principles.

  • @u10ajf
    @u10ajf 3 роки тому +234

    The Nato designation of blinder would have become most apt if they had used methyl alcohol instead....

    • @gbormann71
      @gbormann71 3 роки тому +3

      🤣 NATO anticipation.

    • @kgedeongedon5933
      @kgedeongedon5933 3 роки тому +2

      and they created a camp for the pilots who refused to fly it, it was called pripriat

    • @aeternusdoleo4531
      @aeternusdoleo4531 3 роки тому +3

      Should have just called it "Blender". Or, heh, "Bender".

  • @deadfishparty
    @deadfishparty 3 роки тому +37

    Would love to see your take on the Mig-29. Love hearing the unknown stories behind aircraft and the men & women behind them.

    • @nobodybecomessomebody1321
      @nobodybecomessomebody1321 Рік тому

      why 'men and women' if you can just say 'people''...

    • @deadfishparty
      @deadfishparty Рік тому +6

      @@nobodybecomessomebody1321 That was your take away from the comment,huh? Peoplekind 🙄.

  • @d3Rm0Nk
    @d3Rm0Nk 3 роки тому +273

    "Spontaneous rotation of the aircraft"
    100% something you want at super sonic speeds

    • @SnakebitSTI
      @SnakebitSTI Рік тому +23

      @mandellorian 12 SR-71 airframes were lost out of 32. It's a shockingly high loss rate, but there was only 1 fatality.

    • @georgyekimov4577
      @georgyekimov4577 Рік тому +3

      well i doubt it would be supersonic for long
      since spinning takes energy and increases drag
      althou the g force might increase drastically

    • @Solent19
      @Solent19 Рік тому +3

      ​​@@SnakebitSTIwell of course there were less fatalities in the sr71 because they used a tiny bit of common sense to use an upwards ejection seat...

  • @a.m.armstrong8354
    @a.m.armstrong8354 3 роки тому +750

    The entire spectrum of human nature can be studied through the history of the Soviet Union.

  • @PhilORourke
    @PhilORourke 3 роки тому +12

    What a thoroughly enjoyable series of life in the Soviet Military,I knew little about. Mixed with lovely parts of ironical humour, this series is professionally handled and a breath of much needed fresh air. Very glad I subscribed. Philip .Wirral. England. UK.

  • @Extremeredfox
    @Extremeredfox 3 роки тому +650

    First off, it's stories like these that prove it's a miracle that mankind hasn't wiped itself out with nukes either deliberately or by accident.
    2nd. Perhaps if the US had just delivered tons of vodka to the Soviets the Cold War would have quickly and easily ended.
    3rd. This is an amazing video.

    • @thomaskositzki9424
      @thomaskositzki9424 3 роки тому +52

      They would have rejected the western stuff. A friend of mine who worked in Russia in the 1990's said they had the best standart-issue Vodka imaginable. You could get totally hammered and wake up with absolutely no hangover, fresh as a morning breeze. I have never drank such good Vodka here in Germany so I doubt the US can do any better... ;)

    • @kirinokousaka7638
      @kirinokousaka7638 3 роки тому +9

      Pepsi, on the other hand...

    • @visassess8607
      @visassess8607 3 роки тому +2

      @@thomaskositzki9424 I guarantee the US has better vodka

    • @thomaskositzki9424
      @thomaskositzki9424 3 роки тому +8

      @Fremen I was talking about my German friend's experience with the stuff not the Russians. He wasn't a exceptonally well-trained drinker. The booze was as clean as it could get according to him, much cleaner than anything he ever drank in Germany.

    • @stuglife5514
      @stuglife5514 3 роки тому +23

      @@thomaskositzki9424 You haven’t had Appalachian moonshine yet brother, some of the purest stuff you’ll ever drink

  • @mah6786
    @mah6786 3 роки тому +115

    This was one of the prettiest aircraft ever built. And great at a party.

    • @hraharahra
      @hraharahra 3 роки тому +5

      Yes, it's gorgeous! Imagine what it was to see it without any previous knowledge of it on that airshow as western envoy!

    • @SPFLDAngler
      @SPFLDAngler 3 роки тому +7

      Beauty is in the eye of the beholder I guess.

    • @ilyanizhnik6874
      @ilyanizhnik6874 3 роки тому +5

      whaaaaaaaaat. well it's beautiful, yeah, but watch TU-160.

  • @bartbroekhuizen5617
    @bartbroekhuizen5617 2 роки тому +10

    The MiG 21-Bis also requires alchohol to operate its radar. And as an interceptor, its rather important to shut your radar off after you went in combat. To spot an enemy on radar, you need to manually turn on and off the radar every 1 minute, otherwise your no use when your alchohol tank is empty.

  • @12345fowler
    @12345fowler 3 роки тому +37

    That was a tremendous high quality documentary about this aircraft. Thanks for your good work.

  • @jpatt1000
    @jpatt1000 3 роки тому +40

    Great documentary, thanks! A note about the ejection system. Quite a few of the fatalities were due to a mistake of the ground crew. The ejection seats had a safety pin to prevent the seats being ejected with the hatches closed beneath them. After ratcheting the seats up into the flight position a lanyard connected to the safety pin was to be connected to the hatch. When the hatch was jettisoned the lanyard pulled the safety pin allowing the seats to be ejected. On a number of flights these lanyards were forgotten by the ground crew. Also, the airborne operator, in the rear cockpit facing aft, would be injured or killed during an ejection with the gear extended due to the hatches proximity to the nose gear.
    For all its faults and demanding nature the Blinder was still a fantastic looking jet and must have been a blast to fly when everything was working! For those who want to know more (including a synopsis of the accidents in Soviet service in which the reader will notice two distinct patterns of events that were causing most crashes) I recommend "Tu-22 Blinder by Sergey Burdin andAlan E Dawes. Very in depth history of the Blinder!

  • @lukeh2440
    @lukeh2440 Рік тому +4

    This is the type of channel I’m constantly on the hunt for. Well done. Keep up the great work

  • @Nerezza1
    @Nerezza1 3 роки тому +43

    I love that the wheel falls off the 22M on take off 🤣

  • @flechette3782
    @flechette3782 3 роки тому +75

    I love refrain, "The Soviet Union would not be the Soviet Union if..."

  • @spacelemur7955
    @spacelemur7955 Рік тому +24

    You, sir, are an excellent story teller. The line "The Soviet Union would not be the Soviet Union if... " is used to great effect.

  • @xmst5
    @xmst5 3 роки тому +32

    This channel is confusingly underrated

  • @AviationNut
    @AviationNut 3 роки тому +355

    Soviet union aircraft designers: "Sir the aircraft fell apart in the air"
    Aircraft manufacturer: "Great looks like it's ready for production".
    😂😂😂

    • @77thTrombone
      @77thTrombone 3 роки тому +20

      You left out the part:
      Design Yeam: did it reach a velocity above V_x?
      Messenger: "yes!" (or "almost," or "not quite")
      (Continue with your ending...)

    • @samuelgolian3535
      @samuelgolian3535 3 роки тому +10

      well its either ready for production or a long trip to Gulag :D

    • @martintaper7997
      @martintaper7997 3 роки тому +4

      Russia has always been a competent aircraft designing nation.

    • @christopherconard2831
      @christopherconard2831 3 роки тому +10

      It did not fall apart. It released unnecessary ballast holding it back from it's true speed potential.

    • @javasrevenge7121
      @javasrevenge7121 3 роки тому +1

      @@martintaper7997 You are sooo wrong

  • @coolyprice4730
    @coolyprice4730 2 роки тому +8

    I like how the last scene shows a TU22M taking off as one of the wheels liberates itself from the plane 😂

    • @Mart77
      @Mart77 Рік тому +3

      Probably was left untightened, you know, because of air-conditioning liquid :D

  • @howardhurtt6612
    @howardhurtt6612 3 роки тому +38

    Super informative. Beautifully researched and produced, and sparkling with post-Soviet humor.

  • @horatiu1527
    @horatiu1527 3 роки тому +126

    19:47 LOL "SHPAGA" or "șpagă" in romanian means bribe. hahaha it makes sense because vodka was used as bribe in Soviet Union.

    • @ImPedofinderGeneral
      @ImPedofinderGeneral 3 роки тому +1

      шпага means light narrow sword

    • @thilotherz9300
      @thilotherz9300 3 роки тому +3

      @@ImPedofinderGeneral Dude, why? It literally says that in the video. There even was a picture of a light narrow sword in the video. And then you say it means light narrow sword.

    • @ImPedofinderGeneral
      @ImPedofinderGeneral 3 роки тому +7

      @@thilotherz9300 do not pay attension - I answered before I watched the video =)

    • @ImPedofinderGeneral
      @ImPedofinderGeneral 3 роки тому

      @dražen g in russian there is probably almost same word for one of sorts of rope - shpagat (шпагат).

    • @ImPedofinderGeneral
      @ImPedofinderGeneral 3 роки тому

      @dražen g so it's the same rope I think, but we have "t" at the end of the word =)

  • @rexmyers991
    @rexmyers991 3 роки тому +7

    EXCELLENT video. I liked the factual details. Very interesting. My father was a B47 (and later a B52) bomber
    I lot. He told me how worried he was when the TU22 came out.

  • @機械神教
    @機械神教 3 роки тому +187

    basicaly this plane was a flying meme back in the cold war

    • @rushthezeppelin
      @rushthezeppelin 3 роки тому +5

      I was literally one comment above yours saying this thing is a flying meme....lmao.

    • @lil__boi3027
      @lil__boi3027 3 роки тому +16

      The true flying meme is yak-38
      Unstable in VTOL mode, so instead of designing a better thrust control system they designed a automatic ejection system that would trigger when the plane tilted in VTOL past 60 degrees, problem is that even in those tilting angles the plane is still controllable and it ended up making pilots very angry by suddenly ejecting them when they could recover the plane (dvelopers never fixed this)
      Also it had shit load and range, had a turn rate comperable to an F-4 and only 4 hardpoints, it would most of the time carry 2 IR AAMs as it was the best thing it could carry as it lacked BVR radar( mind you this fighter rule is air defence for it's aircraft carring cruisers and fleet)

    • @rushthezeppelin
      @rushthezeppelin 3 роки тому +7

      @@lil__boi3027 Wow, that's literally like having an internet troll for a plane lmao.

    • @MikoyanGurevichMiG21
      @MikoyanGurevichMiG21 3 роки тому +2

      @@lil__boi3027 at least they learned from that shitshow to make the Yak-141 whose much improved lift fan VTOL technology would later inspire the F-35B decades later(Lockheed funnily enough later collaborated with Yakovlev to learn about VTOL tech in the 90s). Too bad the USSR broke apart and Yakovlev ran out of funds to continue the project before that jet could ever see frontline service. At least in an ironic way the spirit of the Yak's VTOL hilariously lives on in the F35 of all jets

    • @lil__boi3027
      @lil__boi3027 3 роки тому

      @@MikoyanGurevichMiG21 yak-41(yak 141 is an export name it's just the same plane) have nothing to do with F-35
      Yak-41 uses axillary engines and the f-35 uses liftfan for VTOL
      Yes yak selled some VTOL stuff but the work on the liftfan is american
      Also cool profile pic bro I love Fishbeds

  • @slimyelow
    @slimyelow 3 роки тому +45

    Top Secret: B52 cabins are cooled with Kentucky Straight Bourbon.

  • @donaldbest1295
    @donaldbest1295 2 роки тому +8

    Absolutely a fabulous history with details I had never heard before about Soviet Air Force life. Congratulations for such a well-done presentation. Subscribed and looking forward to more from your channel. Cheers from Barrie, Ontario, Canada.

  • @MiG-21bisFishbedL
    @MiG-21bisFishbedL 3 роки тому +23

    Kudos to you for doing a sufficiently deep dive on a relatively obscure aircraft, one that's absolutely overshadowed by its contemporaries and successors.

  • @hordboy
    @hordboy 3 роки тому +79

    “The aircraft is crap!”
    “Let’s build it.”

    • @jamesradcliffe3985
      @jamesradcliffe3985 3 роки тому +11

      I think that was said about the F-35

    • @juliap.5375
      @juliap.5375 3 роки тому +8

      USA, 21 century, discussion about F-35:
      - “Comrades, we officially can’t accept this crap, USAF reject it”
      - “Let’s build few hundreds, then for good bribe they will accept it”
      But if talk seriously and return back to yearly 1950s, it was time when USA and UK prepared (and we know this even from documents) to total nuclear annihilation of territories beginning from Poland to North China, so it was irrelevant how worse was Tu-22, it existence literally defined, will hundreds millions of people, hundreds nations and cultures will survive or will be killed in total genocide. So, from this point of view Tu-22 is perfect, he saved at least my grandparents in Warsaw and in result I arrived. Regards to this plane.
      Thank you Tu-22 for my existence :)

    • @azeke8
      @azeke8 3 роки тому +5

      @@jamesradcliffe3985 The saddest/funniest part is when you compare it to F-22. F-35’s cost: $80-110 million. F-22 cost: $130 million. Yet, F-22 is so much better.

    • @sielentbrat4005
      @sielentbrat4005 3 роки тому +2

      ​@@juliap.5375 I don't quite get it... how did Tu-22, with first flight in 1959, helped in preventing any early 50s plan?

    • @goforbroke4428
      @goforbroke4428 3 роки тому +2

      @@azeke8 then you have the fact that the Chinese copied the tech in the f35 and f22 for much cheaper because Honeywell gave them all the specs.

  • @johnecoapollo7
    @johnecoapollo7 2 роки тому +51

    How the Soviet Union managed to survive for as long as it did is mindboggling

    • @davewilliams3315
      @davewilliams3315 Рік тому +10

      Proof that the non-existent supreme being has a sense of humor.

    • @sobolanul96
      @sobolanul96 Рік тому +3

      @@davewilliams3315 I always say that these kinds of people have their own god who takes care of them. Like the drivers on the road by my house. Every day they do dangerous overtakes with 0 visibility. We did not have a car crash in maybe more than ten years.

    • @davewilliams3315
      @davewilliams3315 Рік тому

      @@sobolanul96 Well, if there is a crash, I hope the driver keeps the truck out of your living room!
      Yeah, it is amazing how some people can get away with so much, and for so long. But if Russia continues on its present trend, it'll fracture within 5 years or so, I hope. And I can't wait to see what China will do with Siberia; there are places there where prime topsoil is 900 feet deep.

    • @Matt-xc6sp
      @Matt-xc6sp Рік тому +3

      @@sobolanul96 Turns out Roman Paganism was the right one, it’s just that they’ve gotten a little petty over the last 2200 years

  • @thomaskositzki9424
    @thomaskositzki9424 3 роки тому +595

    Love your easter european humor, your accent and the very interesting story! :D
    Greetings from Germany
    BTW: The Tu-22 was not special in killing it's pilots in those days: F-104 Starfighter, The BAC Lightning, the F-106 Super Sabres just to name a few, where all difficult to fly and caused many early deaths.

    • @PaperSkiesAviation
      @PaperSkiesAviation  3 роки тому +274

      I used to leave in Germany from `89 to `93. Germany probably the very country that changed my life. Watching the regular Germans and the way they live, for the first time in my life had made me think - "there's something wrong with the Soviet Union". And then it was impossible to stop that thought :).

    • @thomaskositzki9424
      @thomaskositzki9424 3 роки тому +73

      @@PaperSkiesAviation Wow, I feel honoured to hear from you personally. Truly I am. :)
      Also interesting what you said - I visited the DDR/East Germany in 1989 as a 7-year-old kid. It felt eerie - something was wrong there but all the grown-ups acted normal. Years later I read "1984" by George Orwell and I felt the exact same. There I realized that this is the way dictatorship feels like.
      If you have the time to answer: what did you notice back then?

    • @oneastrails
      @oneastrails 3 роки тому +22

      F-100 Super Sabre, F-106 Delta Dagger.

    • @davidlaporte6730
      @davidlaporte6730 3 роки тому +2

      In 1958, we would pass Selfridge Field on the way up North each summer.

    • @davidlaporte6730
      @davidlaporte6730 3 роки тому +1

      .. until 1964.

  • @7inrain
    @7inrain 3 роки тому +307

    "The Tu-22, the most dangerous aircraft in the Soviet Air Force."
    Lockheed Starfighter: "Hold my beer."

    • @mirandela777
      @mirandela777 3 роки тому +33

      add the SR71 - 40% crash rate....

    • @DFX2KX
      @DFX2KX 3 роки тому +29

      @@DIREWOLFx75 Exactly, the 104 was an Interceptor asked to do a Fighter-Bomber's job. And that's never going to end well.

    • @gbormann71
      @gbormann71 3 роки тому

      Wrong club.

    • @agwhitaker
      @agwhitaker 3 роки тому +15

      Hey ! I've got a great idea !
      This F 104 Starfighter is designed as a light-weight, high-altitude, high-performance, fair-weather interceptor.
      Let's load it up with a sch!tt-load of ground-attack ordinance.
      Then we fly it really low and very fast through heavy clouds and between great big mountains and see what happens !

    • @kb3khs
      @kb3khs 3 роки тому +4

      Sadly true. But when you use a tool for something other than what it was designed for... and poorly maintain it to boot.... you get bad results.

  • @mislam313
    @mislam313 2 роки тому +17

    In Germany it earned several less-charitable names due to its high accident rate, a common name being Fliegender Sarg ("Flying Coffin"). It was also called Witwenmacher ("Widowmaker"), or Erdnagel ("ground nail"), the official military term for a tent peg. Among Italian pilots its spiky design earned it the nickname Spillone ("Hatpin"), along with Bara volante ("Flying Coffin"). Canadian Forces, the aircraft were sometimes referred to as the Lawn Dart and the Aluminium Death Tube due to the high operational losses of 40% of airframes. So in this respect Tu-22 is not bad. Actually high speed flight was risky because a lack of Fly by wire flight control of some sort which was not common on that era of flight.

  • @helenprole2960
    @helenprole2960 3 роки тому +16

    I have learned more from this channel than any other aviation channel on youtube. Good work!

    • @PaperSkiesAviation
      @PaperSkiesAviation  3 роки тому +4

      Thank you, Helen! Your feedback means a lot to me!

    • @621Tomcat
      @621Tomcat 3 роки тому +1

      I think you might like Greg’s airplanes and automobiles as well :)

  • @bryanc4054
    @bryanc4054 3 роки тому +104

    The engineers knew full well what they were doing. Absolute bros.

    • @clementwolf4081
      @clementwolf4081 3 роки тому

      please watch the plane taking off at the end scene while saying that ... you should WHEELy get the right idea i think.

    • @Farweasel
      @Farweasel 3 роки тому +5

      @@clementwolf4081 Well, to be fair, they did probably assume the fitters would fasten the bloody wheel nuts

  • @L.J.Kommer
    @L.J.Kommer 3 роки тому +236

    Soviet Submarines- excellent
    Soviet Fighters- damn good
    Soviet IFVs/APCs- very good
    Soviet Warships- good
    Soviet Helicopters- good
    Soviet Tanks- good enough
    Soviet planes made by Tupalev- good God, don't let me die in this thing.

    • @super_slav91
      @super_slav91 2 роки тому +9

      TU-160 is great but.

    • @themetalstickman
      @themetalstickman 2 роки тому +3

      Tupolev=flying coffin?

    • @mikemulligan5731
      @mikemulligan5731 2 роки тому +37

      Seems like the majority of their forces are actually shit, they proved that they are pretty much a total mess in actual operations, right? I wouldn't put my money on their nukes not working, though.

    • @sooryan_1018
      @sooryan_1018 2 роки тому +1

      Tu-160>>>>>>

    • @weaselgunsru
      @weaselgunsru 2 роки тому +15

      @@themetalstickman only Tu-22 like an other first generation supersonic bomber, american B-58 Hustler. Subsonic Tu-16 has served for decades, Tu-95 for more than half a century, both have earned a reputation for being fairly safe machines.

  • @Saturnit3
    @Saturnit3 3 роки тому +9

    I didn't expect to watch this video from start to finish, but it caught me and I just couldn't stop.
    Such a professional and captivating piece of work! Great job!

  • @kemi242
    @kemi242 3 роки тому +159

    The Sovied Union wouldn't be the Soviet Union without having planes cooled with vodka.

    • @testaccount4191
      @testaccount4191 3 роки тому +4

      guess they could of put methanol in instead, probably could not trust the crew with not drinking it still.

    • @ImPedofinderGeneral
      @ImPedofinderGeneral 3 роки тому +4

      @@testaccount4191 result will be the same, but somebody will be poisoned with methanol

    • @testaccount4191
      @testaccount4191 3 роки тому

      @@ImPedofinderGeneral well i guess you know who was sneaking the coolant

    • @goforbroke4428
      @goforbroke4428 3 роки тому

      @@SMGJohn they probably just used pure alcohol, which is toxic.

    • @mikearmstrong8483
      @mikearmstrong8483 3 роки тому +2

      When I was in the USN in the 80s, we were briefed that although the Soviets had good torpedoes they were unlikely to be serviceable if a conflict came, because any ship on deployment had quickly had the alcohol fuel drained from the torpedoes.

  • @gabrocki
    @gabrocki Рік тому +8

    My favourite parts of your videos are the stories from the Soviet Union.
    You truly have to be there and see it for yourself to believe it.

  • @crazybrit-nasafan
    @crazybrit-nasafan 3 роки тому +29

    This is the first of your videos I have seen. Definitely liked and subscribed.
    Funny story I have concerning the TU22. Have you noticed that the TU22 and TU154 look very similar from the front underside when in silhouette? I was a teenage member of the Air Training corps. I could identify most military aircraft but knew little about civilian airliners, especially Soviet ones. (you just know where this is going, don't you 😂)
    When I was young I lived directly under the approach to Leeds Bradford Airport. I was washing my dad's car one day when I heard a large jet quite low. Looked up to see a large aircraft come right over my house that looked just like the TU22 I had read about in a recognition journal. The sponge dropped from one hand, the bucket from the other, my jaw dropped and I went cold with fear. For a few seconds I thought WW3 had srarted. It wasn't until the aircraft (a Balkan airlines TU154) flew directly overhead that I realised it wasn't a Blinder. Finished washing the car quickly and cycled up to the airport as fast as I could. It was the first Russian aircraft I had ever seen in real life.

  • @bond0815
    @bond0815 3 роки тому +36

    Very well done and entertaining!

  • @LegoTherapy
    @LegoTherapy Рік тому +15

    You have the talent of talking about nerd stuff while being more entertaining than most of stand-up stars. These 24 minutes were a real pleasure, thank you and cheers from Russia.

  • @jetaddicted
    @jetaddicted 3 роки тому +41

    Young, I thought it looked as misfit as could be, now I’ve grown a taste for it.
    And to learn that it came with loads of booze sure adds to my growing love for the Tu-22

  • @elennapointer701
    @elennapointer701 3 роки тому +144

    I see the longstanding Russian philosophy holds true: "Everything's Better With Vodka".

    • @PaperSkiesAviation
      @PaperSkiesAviation  3 роки тому +16

      :)

    • @fredperry1622
      @fredperry1622 3 роки тому +5

      This is stereotypes, Russians drink alcohol much less then Britain’s for example

    • @lucaskp16
      @lucaskp16 3 роки тому +3

      @@fredperry1622 and that is also missleading since alcohol is measured in LTs for each person but doesn't make diff between types. yeah russia doesn't appear to have a problem in paper since they drink like some European and American countries that have no such reputation for it. but those countries drink mostly beer with 3% alchool lvl not vodka the most drink thing in Russia with 40% alchool. so russia has a BIG problem with people there are drinking vodka like people in the west drink beer. not just russia several countries around russia have the same problem. and is not a new problem either since it traces back 300 years. in no western country a vodka bottle would be sold with a pop cap. only screw caps since normal people only drink 1/4 or 1/3 of a bottle at a time.

    • @fredperry1622
      @fredperry1622 3 роки тому +6

      @@lucaskp16 problems with vodka and Russians only in your head and in your fantasy. Western countries drink only beer...lol I’m smiling))))))) say it in England where they drink hard alcohol. In Russia Mach people prefer beer and low alcohol than vodka

    • @ilogos8124
      @ilogos8124 3 роки тому +4

      @@lucaskp16 Alcohol consumed per year is measured in pure alcohol volume, so what you are saying isn’t true. When measuring how much alcohol a nation consumes, they don’t simply measure the volume of alcoholic beverages, but also what type of beverage and it’s alcohol content. That’s why all alcohol consumption reports are in terms of pure alcohol. Russians don’t drink vodka like beer... it is very expensive for the average Russian.

  • @duster0669
    @duster0669 3 роки тому +7

    I was at RAF Upper Heyford 1980 to 1982. While there we heard stories told of the Soviet Air Force having problems keep de-icing fluid (ethanol) serviced in their airplanes because troops would drink it all. We laughed out loud at those stories. Now I see like many things the rumors were true. That's why they didn't want us spreading rumors.

  • @patrickunderwood5662
    @patrickunderwood5662 3 роки тому +8

    Early F-104s also had downward-firing ejection seats, IIRC. That came from another famous designer, Kelly Johnson. Paper Skies, your videos are awesome!

    • @selfdo
      @selfdo 2 роки тому +2

      So did the navigator on a B-47 Stratojet. I think the B-52 tail gunner, in the models where he actually was in the tail, also ejected downward.

  • @matchesburn
    @matchesburn 3 роки тому +42

    For once, UA-cam actually did something correctly and recommended me this channel and video - content I actually wanted to watch. Wish it had done it sooner. Subscribed!

    • @Leadblast
      @Leadblast 3 роки тому +2

      "UA-cam wouldn't be UA-cam if it wasn't run based on Soviet Union's doctrines"

    • @357-swagnumultramagax9
      @357-swagnumultramagax9 3 роки тому

      @@Leadblast ok boomer

    • @mehmetgurdal
      @mehmetgurdal 2 роки тому

      @@Leadblast I'll definitely be using this line on my future UA-cam channel :D

  • @dant.3505
    @dant.3505 2 роки тому +3

    At 14:12 that pilot looks like he had a traumatic time flying that plane. That is the look of being thankful it's over... For now.

  • @supressorgrid
    @supressorgrid 3 роки тому +63

    Consider the fact that even with all it's flaws, it was causing NATO to expend such resources to counter the percieved threat .
    In a way, that is a win.

    • @rakjy5628
      @rakjy5628 3 роки тому +15

      @@fragotron Claiming the russians are stupid is a strech man. they are not stupid. consider the sputnik-1 orbital flight just a few years earlier and this beast shows up.. it's a compelling case..

    • @supressorgrid
      @supressorgrid 3 роки тому +12

      @@rakjy5628 we spent millions developing an ink pen that would work in Zero gravity, Russians used pencils.
      Practicality has it's virtues.

    • @Infirito_Ekra
      @Infirito_Ekra 3 роки тому +20

      @@supressorgrid I'm pretty sure it's a myth, afaik in the early days both sides used pencils, but you really don't want a bunch of graphite dust floating around the spacecraft, so US developed new ballpoints with new ink which Soviets later ordered for themselves too.

    • @muhammadnursyahmi9440
      @muhammadnursyahmi9440 3 роки тому +18

      @@Infirito_Ekra especially since graphite is a conductor, and the last thing you want on a spacecraft is a fire caused by electrical short-circuit

    • @supressorgrid
      @supressorgrid 3 роки тому +1

      @@Infirito_Ekra apocryphal story perhaps but does show a difference in design philosophies.

  • @tombrunila2695
    @tombrunila2695 3 роки тому +7

    On the MiG-25 alcohol was used as coolant for the radar! Viktor Belenko tells in his book "MiG Pilot" how after each flight the coolant was drained and shared with the pilot and ground crew. Other MiGs also used alcohol as coolant for the radars. On the MiG-21 this restricted the time a radar could be in active mode.

    • @PaperSkiesAviation
      @PaperSkiesAviation  3 роки тому +7

      And not only MiGs but some other airplanes too (eg Beriev Be-10), as well as the helicopters (eg. Mi-24).
      It’s just the Tu-22 was the first and the most famous among others in that matter.

  • @Kualinar
    @Kualinar Рік тому +2

    When the Russian call one of their own plane something like «Man-Eater», «Defectocraft» or «Error-Plane», you KNOW that it can only be a very bad airplane.

  • @FoundAndExplained
    @FoundAndExplained 3 роки тому +15

    What a great video and series! look forward to watching more :)

  • @terryadams2652
    @terryadams2652 3 роки тому +7

    @Paper Skies, I am very impressed with the amount of DETAIL in the history of the aircraft.
    *I give the Tu-22 a grade of F, but i give you a grade of A+.*

  • @howie8582
    @howie8582 3 роки тому +6

    Very interesting and I love the tongue in cheek comments. You said this plane was the only heavy bomber in history not to have a co-pilot. Actually the highly successful Lancaster bomber (probably the most successful heavy bomber of WW2) did not have a co-pilot.

  • @mozzie2729
    @mozzie2729 3 роки тому +10

    High quality research and you found footage of the plane as well, great effort!

  • @LAFTENAGLIAUMA
    @LAFTENAGLIAUMA 3 роки тому +33

    "Plane caused more trouble for keeping it in service, than for the enemy" Great story, a plane to go into history with a funny side fact about "Shpaga"!

  • @brandonchild422
    @brandonchild422 Рік тому +3

    I just realized that the Tu-22M taking off in the last part lost one of its wheels on takeoff lol

  • @globalautobahn1132
    @globalautobahn1132 3 роки тому +15

    The “error-plane” had me rolling! 🤣🤣🤣🤣