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

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The history of military aviation knows multiple examples of aircraft that appeared to be a complete failure. But nothing can beat the story of the first Soviet supersonic bomber - the Tupolev Tu-22. The troubles and the controversy of this bomber, that Tupolev himself referred to as “his most unfortunate creation”, could be seen through the variety of nicknames that the plane received during its career. Among the Russian pilots, the Tu-22 was called the “Pricker”, the “Man-eater”, as well as “Error-plane” and “Defectocraft”, but the most famous among all others was the name - “Supersonic Booze Carrier”.
Chapters:
00:00 - Tupolev
02:33 - Plane 105
07:02 - Tu-22
09:40 - Man-Eater
15:46 - Shpaga
21:11 - Blinder
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• Fighter that SHOT ITSE...
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[@kyongkim702]

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

[@dudka_i]

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

[@voltsoftruthBSbuster]

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]

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]

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

[@squirlmy]

@@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]

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

[@gavrilmilokumov5763]

Hahaha))) My Grandfather confirmed that story true.

[@bosbanon3452]

Mabuk bro🤔

[@lsrengines]

Lol!

[@arya31ful]

Dilarang mengemudi sambil mabuk. Cuman kalau terbang gak disebut.

[@lesserlogic9977]

Best incentive

[@Moose6340]

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]

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]

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]

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

[@selfdo]

@@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]

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

[@trygveplaustrum4634]

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

[@HappyBeezerStudios]

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

[@Visplight]

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

[@SethMcFartlane]

Or 'the Widowmaker'

[@Visplight]

@@SethMcFartlane Lacks pun potential.

[@AC-hj9tv]

Yolocraft

[@caspa7]

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

[@volo870]

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

[@seand.g423]

Doctors and staff *gesticulates illegally in fright*

[@hillarysemails1615]

@@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]

Sounds exactly like Russian wife :)

[@joshflugel]

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

[@VisagesSausages]

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

[@hbtm2951]

That phrasing, i had to sub, really.

[@Quackerilla]

profound

[@ih302]

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

[@mikearmstrong8483]

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

[@ildart8738]

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

[@selfdo]

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]

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

[@rebelgaming1.5.14]

​@@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.

[@CdA_Native]

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]

I’d pay to hear you tell that story!

[@hesperosshamshael2873]

Well, I presume you survived.

[@CdA_Native]

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

[@yusufsimanjuntak3578]

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

[@CdA_Native]

@@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!

[@TCOphox]

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

[@arthas640]

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]

this makes sense, but not to americans.

[@HeathHerring666]

@J D here we have 4 americans^

[@HeathHerring666]

I win

[@videosub5d]

@@HeathHerring666 where..

[@mepaulandleo823]

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

[@getmeoutofsanfrancisco9917]

Yep. Gotta love it lmao

[@ttystikkrocks1042]

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

[@cameik]

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

[@juancarloscalle2831]

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

[@silberfuchsag4746]

My thoughts exactly >XD

[@frankknight7968]

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]

в интернете вас не обманут, просто верьте всему

[@Melody_Raventress]

правда!

[@nicox407]

Ну это только избранные счастливчики могли себе позволить)

[@leovang3425]

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

[@Carlosffaria]

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

[@nonyabeeznuss304]

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]

God, hahaha.

[@grunthostheflatulent9649]

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

[@jamesgornall5731]

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]

based soviet union

[@jedimindtrix2142]

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.

[@godless-clump-of-cells]

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

[@Valsorayu]

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

[@EllAntares]

@@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]

@@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]

I liked the Defecto-plane better.

[@engineerskalinera]

@@jintarokensei3308 defectocraft but yeah

[@ConstantineParganas]

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]

😂 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😂

[@pacificostudios]

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]

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]

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

[@TheBucketSkill]

@@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]

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]

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.

[@caffeinatedbuffalosauce883]

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

[@aldo3g]

Do you even fly bro? 😹

[@cerea9572]

@@aldo3g *do you even luft bro?*

[@AgentB7]

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

[@ztoob8898]

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]

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

[@48917032]

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

[@halchander3435]

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

[@shvabzee]

Soviet courage you know...

[@venonat80]

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]

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.

[@quillmaurer6563]

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]

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

[@yaboileeroy3038]

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]

@@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!”

[@ProjectFlashlight612]

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

[@gbormann71]

Choosing between hung over and overheated.

[@alebarros8468]

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

[@petermuller608]

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

[@ProjectFlashlight612]

@@petermuller608 Great with fish

[@thephi303]

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

[@papasult11]

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

[@ankitbytes]

soviets being soviets

[@Stormidze]

delivery club - the begining

[@arthas640]

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

[@glifwsatti]

Oy Blyat

[@barelyasurvivor1257]

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

[@thefockn3831]

23:00 did I see that aircraft lose a wheel as it was taking off? 🤣

[@jamesalexander3530]

It was either a wheel or a crew member shot out from the belly. Holy Stalin!

[@SynchroScore]

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

[@grahamsawyer831]

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

[@leolex1289]

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

[@mjfan653]

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]

@@mjfan653 just slightly? That's optimistic

[@kevindubose6964]

Gettin Bombed in a bomber!!

[@PuerRidcully]

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

[@gordonlawrence1448]

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]

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

[@octaviovaladaoferreirinhad2689]

"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.

[@bartbroekhuizen5617]

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.

[@cmdredstrakerofshado1159]

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

[@bosbanon3452]

I think Russian also have submarine called widow maker😂

[@georgem4713]

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

[@searchtron7601]

GREAT statement

[@michaeldy3157]

the starfighter was a scary plane for sure.

[@nmspy]

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

[@77thTrombone]

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

[@speediskey3856]

errorplane lmao

[@speediskey3856]

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

[@radarist6908]

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]

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

[@kukulroukul4698]

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

[@coolyprice4730]

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

[@Mart77]

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

[@deadfishparty]

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

[@nobodybecomessomebody1321]

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

[@deadfishparty]

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

[@user-sn5cx1yt6v]

- 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]

Here, here!

[@JunkPhuJP]

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]

Well, this aged... interestingly.

[@timkenda8203]

anndddd we're back

[@user-sn5cx1yt6v]

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

[@Ratzfourtyfour]

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

[@absalomdraconis]

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

[@CakePrincessCelestia]

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

[@juano31]

This part of the story made my day

[@kukamungaphobia924]

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

[@clementwolf4081]

torpedo juice... enough said?

[@johnecoapollo7]

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

[@davewilliams3315]

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

[@sobolanul96]

@@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]

@@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]

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

[@mislam313]

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.

[@ianweniger6620]

You’re speaking of the F-104?

[@mislam313]

@@ianweniger6620 Ya

[@PeterBezemer]

23:27 that wheel though

[@Orgruk]

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

[@dennisyoung4631]

Yes, it *escaped.*

[@jakobholgersson4400]

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

[@lycossurfer8851]

Extreme weight saving measures ensure landing weights are met 😁

[@davidzitzman6511]

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

[@paveldumitrescu7981]

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

[@diznartz]

Exactly

[@Ratzfourtyfour]

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

[@g0679]

Good for at least a Chanel No.5.

[@johnclayton7471]

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

[@ilovethe80s74]

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.

[@spacelemur7955]

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

[@tomlindsay4629]

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

[@malusignatius]

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

[@isolinear9836]

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

[@donviitoriodasicachiavi5555]

@@isolinear9836 Nope.Beautie silver supersonic swan

[@isolinear9836]

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

[@malusignatius]

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

[@volo870]

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.

[@Name-ps9fx]

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]

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]

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

[@HappyBeezerStudios]

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

[@katrinapaton5283]

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]

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

[@_-ronin-_5521]

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!

[@lukeh2440]

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

[@u10ajf]

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

[@gbormann71]

🤣 NATO anticipation.

[@kgedeongedon5933]

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

[@aeternusdoleo4531]

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

[@sunso1991]

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!

[@bobc4d]

Discovery Wings - great program

[@09fungh]

Great well researched, well constructed and well produced video! Been watching a lot of your content lately. Keep up the good work 👍

[@PhilORourke]

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.

[@smokejaguarsix7757]

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

[@fdjw88]

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

[@dixztube]

So hilarious

[@brasingt]

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

[@dixztube]

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

[@jimaanders7527]

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

[@johnthegreek7356]

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

[@laszlozoltan5021]

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

[@donviitoriodasicachiavi5555]

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

[@TheRumbles13]

@@donviitoriodasicachiavi5555 or the bf109, many ground accidents

[@armorer94]

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

[@pinkdispatcher]

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

[@gergelygaal1456]

I just discovered this channel but I have to say, this was one of the best videos on KZbin I've ever seen for some reason. Excellent work, thank you very much!

[@brianchu3317]

This aircraft deserves to have its own movie.

[@ma61king]

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

[@jamesbugbee6812]

Great pun in English.

[@tulsatrash]

True.

[@jamesricker3997]

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

[@philphilips1020]

I thought 'defector craft' was pretty good also.

[@MichaelSHartman]

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

[@dimasakbar7668]

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]

double up my vodka for the trainer, comrade!

[@NaturalBornLifeEnder]

I serve the Soviet Union!

[@alexandero9936]

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

[@klowen7778]

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

[@donaldbest1295]

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.

[@wsk0350]

Wow, very informative, interesting, and entertaining - hats off to Tu-22 pilots. Thanks for producing and posting this.

[@d3Rm0Nk]

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

[@SnakebitSTI]

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

[@georgyekimov4577]

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

[@Solent19]

​​@@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]

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

[@johnjennings2672]

Jjjooojjjjpl

[@visionary_8865]

Dark side can be studied in American history

[@johnkristian]

not the good side.

[@WendiGonerLH]

@@visionary_8865 No more than anywhere else.

[@a.m.armstrong8354]

@@WendiGonerLH Who say Hu-Man runs anywhere else?

[@Hiznogood]

22:51 I don’t know if it was an oversight, but the Swedish fighter, J-35 Draken, was introduced 1960 (90 airplanes the first year). It had a top speed of 2 Mach and would had been a serious threat against the Tu-22 if it had flown over Swedish Airspace.

[@PaperSkiesAviation]

You're right. But I was talking about NATO specifically.

[@EFletc8985]

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]

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

[@mehmetgurdal]

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.

[@mah6786]

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

[@hraharahra]

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

[@SPFLDAngler]

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder I guess.

[@ilyanizhnik6874]

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

[@franknoort]

Wow! I love those documentaries you make. Going to watch them all. Thank you so much for sharing!

[@gabrocki]

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.

[@Extremeredfox]

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]

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]

Pepsi, on the other hand...

[@visassess8607]

@@thomaskositzki9424 I guarantee the US has better vodka

[@thomaskositzki9424]

@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]

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

[@michaelfisher7170]

"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."

[@JBM425]

The MiG-25 also required alcohol for cooling, as detailed in the book “MiG Pilot” by Viktor Belenko. Other Soviet aircraft probably used it, too.

[@user-qd8yy9lc4g]

It is better than in cases where soldiers will put ethanol in places it does not belong, like tank carburetors. Also real!

[@rexmyers991]

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.

[@climlim3569]

"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]

Alternatively, because it kills your own men

[@Ganiscol]

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

[@kvakerbillduck9500]

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

[@thomaskositzki9424]

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]

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]

@@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]

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

[@davidlaporte6730]

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

[@davidlaporte6730]

.. until 1964.

[@Yanushev]

From Wikipedia: "The Iraqi Air Force were particularly enthusiastic users of the gargantuan 9,000 kg (20,000 lb) FAB-9000 general-purpose bomb, which skilled Tu-22 pilots could deploy with impressive accuracy, using supersonic toss bombing techniques at stand-off distances and allowing the aircraft to escape retaliatory anti-aircraft fire. Usage of the FAB-9000 was so heavy that the Iraqis ran low of imported Soviet stocks and resorted to manufacturing their own version, called the Nassir-9."

[@rickee2652]

Second of your videos I've watched, loving the dry humour and deadpan tone. Will subscribe.

[@12345fowler]

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

[@PaperSkiesAviation]

Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it!

[@xmst5]

This channel is confusingly underrated

[@orneryokinawan4529]

It's only a few months old.

[@cacophonousantiquarian8803]

Thanks for the videos. I'm going through a rough time, and these provide excellent distraction.

[@GJones462-2W1]

Excellent doc on one of the strangest military aircraft that I've ever seen! Subbed, and well done!

[@Nerezza1]

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

[@slimyelow]

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

[@barrygrimes3919]

Im still laughing....thanks alot

[@roundedges2]

Upgraded to Jack Daniels now

[@duster0669]

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.

[@elektrolyte]

this has GOT TO BE the most hilarious SERIOUS documentary Ive watched all year. I love it. Instant subscribe

[@flechette3782]

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

[@horatiu1527]

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

[@ImPedofinderGeneral]

шпага means light narrow sword

[@thilotherz9300]

@@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]

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

[@ImPedofinderGeneral]

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

[@ImPedofinderGeneral]

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

[@djlondon7956]

Informative and enjoyable. Really appreciate your videos, thank you so much!

[@finczu]

great channel and movies, I`m surprised with such a small number of subscribers. keep up the good job, Man!!

[@hordboy]

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

[@jamesradcliffe3985]

I think that was said about the F-35

[@juliap.5375]

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 :)

[@argy007]

@@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]

​@@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]

@@argy007 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.

[@jpatt1000]

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!

[@MisteriosGloriosos922]

*Thank you for posting all of your videos. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!*

[@coltsinglearmy]

May your content always be this fascinating and you very successful! 😊

[@patrickunderwood5662]

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]

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.

[@bryanc4054]

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

[@clementwolf4081]

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

[@Farweasel]

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

[@billmasson5313]

Fantastic insights & truly LOL humor. Very entertaining! One note: at 10:50 you mentioned that this a/c was the only heavy bomber in history with one designated pilot. Not to quibble, but I think the Avro Lancaster was also a single-pilot heavy bomber. Keep the content coming! Fascinating stuff!

[@15kr]

You are correct. The flight engineer sat to the right of the pilot.

[@lord1todd]

Amazing video! Funny, well laid out and extremely informative.

[@crazybrit-nasafan]

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.

[@howardhurtt6612]

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

[@tacitus6384]

Those downward ejection seats are the blacked IRL comedy for aviation. They might as well installed a pop-out pistol in the cockpit that protrudes out of a hidden compartment to shoot the pilot when he pulls the ejection lever instead.

[@howie8582]

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.

[@AviationNut]

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

[@77thTrombone]

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]

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

[@martintaper7997]

Russia has always been a competent aircraft designing nation.

[@christopherconard2831]

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

[@javasrevenge7121]

@@martintaper7997 You are sooo wrong

[@enginerikli5895]

First F-104's had downward ejection, too.

[@AviationNut]

Also two of the six ejection seats on the B-52 also eject downwards.

[@Skaldewolf]

Better than shooting the pilot into the tailplane. unless you use a high-altitude interceptor as a nuclear fighter-bomber, hugging the German landscape.

[@billjamison2877]

They fixed that pretty quickly on the F-104. I don't think the Rooskies cared too much about their pilots except for the Vodka AC system!

[@oswaldoramosferrusola5235]

And a well known widow maker

[@deltavee]

Yup, killed Ivan Kinchloe who was possibly being groomed for a lunar mission one day.

[@morenofranco9235]

Nice One! Paper Sky! I love it! You left out the The Foxbat "Flying Restaurant".

[@PaperSkiesAviation]

To be honest initially this video was supposed to be about MiG-25. But when it came to the writing of the chapter about the Mig25’s alcohol tank (with “Massandra”), I had to say something about the first true “booze carrier” - the Tu-22. This “something” eventually ended up as the whole video about Tu-22. So Mig-25 is still in my list.

[@Larslegos]

I love all the old footage in this video. The past is like another reality to look into, which is very amusing to me

[@tombrunila2695]

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]

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.