Cold War Spoofs

by Jim "Twitch" Tittle

Article Type: Military History
Article Date: December 19, 2002

Just Kidding

The Russians Are Coming! Tu-22

A 1962 “spoof” mission would go like this. At 3 A.M. a Soviet Tu-22 crew would take off from Eastern Siberia maintaining strict radio silence. It would climb to 50,000 feet and fly eastward towards Alaska. Once out over the Bering Straight the co-pilot would announce, “ No, not yet,” meaning that the ECM gear aboard was fulfilling its design function by jamming the U.S. ground stations ability to “see” them. “200 miles from Nome!” would come a contented exult from the radar operator. “We’ve beaten their…”

As he stopped talking dots would appear on his scope. “Here they come, dammit!”

“How many? How fast?” the pilot would query.

“Four coming fast. I’d say 1000 MPH and increasing,” would come the reply.

“Probably F-106s from Elmendorf,” the plane commander would figure. Damned new jammer still isn’t right,” he’d say as he pulled the nose homeward.

This scenario occurred innumerable times over the Cold War years, and of course, how many is classified. The movie Fail Safe built upon a theme that a malfunction in a U.S. bomber’s fail safe mechanism kept them on course to retaliate on Moscow and that when they could not receive radio abort orders due to Soviet jamming they’d passed the point of no return even though the President later talked to them in the clear when jamming was ceased.

The movie may have been fiction based on fact but NORAD was never “shut out” by any Soviet ECMs and the invisibly line was never penetrated by the Red air force. The interceptors pinched them off every time…that we know of.

NORAD’s deadly video games

If the reverse mission happened with U.S. B-58 bombers feeling out Russian defense reaction time we do not know about it officially. It is probable that it did occur with a Hustler closing on the Russian coast at 1,300 MPH, until the ship was picked up, then breaking off in a game of nuclear chicken.

The above scenario put the U.S. in the role that it was unaccustomed to—home defense. Previously it was American bombers assaulting enemy targets while interceptors scrambled to meet escort fighters.

The Contestants

While the Soviets had several long-range bombers, they never developed a long-range fighter. The huge turbo prop Tu-95 “Bears” were slow at 541 MPH maximum speed.

Tu-95 Bear

The Tu-16 Badger could make 650 MPH, so quicker “Schnell bombers,” to use the German phrase, were built. The Tu-22 “Blinder” could pull nearly 2,000 miles from a max fuel load but was still not as fast as it should be at 920 MPH.

It wouldn’t be until the Tupolev Tu-26 “Backfire” arrived in 1969 that the Soviets would have a Mach 2.5 bomber capable of 3,500 miles range. Air defense fighters like the 1,220 MPH F-101 and the 1,525 MPH F-106 with the slower 825 MPH F-102 were able to place the invisible skirmish line far off the North American continent due to their long (1,500 mile) ranges. They were able to turn back Soviet “spoof bombers” far enough out for them to realize that there was no hole in the fence and that massive amounts of aircraft would have been needed to penetrate just Alaska.

At the same time we did have a high Mach bomber in the 1,385 MPH B-58 with a 2,000-mile range after final in-flight refueling.

B-58 Crew-They Were Expendable

In a tail-on chase-down our interceptors were quite able to reel in a Tu-22 while only the MiG 21 could barely match the speed of a B-58 at 1,320 MPH, and not even exceed it. Sukoi “Fitters,” “Fishpots” and the Tupolev “Fiddlers” of the time were slower. And with ranges 900 miles or less they had substantially lower time to “seek” in the “seek and destroy” mission. The missiles of the Soviet fighters were questionable at that time too though SAMs were good enough to hit Gary Power’s U-2 in May of 1959.

Ring Of Fire

North America was ringed by several types of SAMs. The IM-99 BOMARC was 18’ long, could fly at Mach 4, a range of 400 miles, and could reach 100,000 feet high. Under ideal situations, a proximity fuse would set off its nuclear warhead in the midst of enemy bombers.

With a conventional or nuclear warhead the 20’ Nike-Ajax could fly at 700 MPH and reach 65,000 feet but range was only 25-miles. They were clustered in large numbers around probable and sensitive targets.

Quartet Of Nike-Ajax ready

The Nike-Hercules would have lived up to its namesake with a range of 75-miles at Mach 3 climbing to 150,000 feet with its nuclear warhead. Wonder what that would have done to the ozone layer?

The Nike-Zeus missile was made to counter the real threat: ICBMs coming in at 12,000 MPH. Still today an anti-missile missile is very hit-and-miss.

In the weapons bay of the F-106 Delta Dart was Hughes Nuclear Genie able to hone-in on bomber formations at 2,000 MPH and wipe them out with the nuke.

All these missiles were radar directed with computer guidance components considered crude by today’s standards but effective nonetheless. And missiles were the only armament the fighters had. No guns, though the F-106 later was retrofitted with the M-61. Early Sidewinders, Falcons and non-nuclear Genies were the principle armament.

Ground stations

Warning stations swept the skies continuously with radar and Navy picket ships ringed coastal waters armed with the proper gear to see any incoming threats. Before AWACS the sturdy Lockheed EC 121M Super Constellations were outfitted with the warning gear of the day in the dorsal radome and droned through their 4,500-mile missions. Three MIDAS (Military Defense Alarm System) satellites had 100-meter dishes to detect ICBM launches and would give up to thirty minutes to hunker down and retaliate.

Of course there were exciting times at NORAD when the primitive computers decided that there were over 100 ICBMS in-bound. Nothing else in the intelligence web or Canadian radar substantiated it so no alert was called. NORAD’s active radar had been reflecting off of the moon.

Four-star A.F. General Laurence Kuter headed up the conglomeration of 200,000 people and all the hardware along with Canadian Air Marshall C. Roy Slemon. It was these men who decided, as the impact threshold drew near, whether the radar bogies were real or aberrant anomalies on the electronic gear and if they should launch or wait. Working beneath the granite of NORAD’s Cheyenne Mountain must have made for interesting times to say the least.

General Kuter

The surreal state of things had scenarios that foresaw probable circumstances and events all dictated by the logic of the time.

If the Soviets were to come over the pole with bombers—an often heard probable route—the Canadians would attack first in CF 101 Voodoos with the USAF interceptors then putting big holes in the formations with the air-to-air nukes. The BOMARCS would further decimate them with their nuclear tips. Next hundreds of fighters would defend with even National Guard units involved. THEN more BOMARC and Nike batteries would clean up what was left. Of course some bombers might get through but the time would have been used after the first alert to retaliate and protect key military personnel along with the President and the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Certainly us civilians were on our own.

It is entertaining in hindsight to think that only 200,000 personnel with mostly untried missiles and creaky computers were all that stood between us and oblivion. When Premier Khrushchev made his famous “we will bury you” statement, we believed it.

The Planes

The *Suhkhoi SU-7 “Fitter” was the oldest semi- front line interceptor of the 1960-62 era with a respectable 1,056 MPH top speed at 39,370 ft. and a maximum 900-mile range. Power was provided from one 20,000 lb. thrust engine It was armed with two 30mm cannons and 19 55mm rockets. Ceiling was about 52,000 ft. Loaded it weighed was 26,455 lbs. Length was 57’ and wingspan was 29.25’

The delta wing *Sukhoi SU-9 “Fishpot” flew 1,190 MPH at 39,370 ft. thanks to its single 22,000 lb. thrust jet engine. Range maximum was similar to that of the SU-7 but ceiling was 55,000 ft. and it was better armed with four Alkali or two Awl AAMs. Weighing 27,000 loaded the plane had a length of 27.5’ and a wingspan of 57’.

The two-seat *Tu-28 “Fiddler” heavy interceptors were powered by two 12,250 lb. thrust engines making for a 1,036 MPH speed at 39,370 ft. Ceiling was not found in research but assume it to be about 55,000 ft. It was the only Soviet fighter with a long range—1,594 miles. It carried two Ash AAMs. Loaded weight was 94,797 while length was 98.5’ and span was 57.5’.

*Reference material of the period, and even modern material, is incomplete in all performance details published about the aircraft and the sources vary. Also ranges seem to be maximum ones with drop tanks.

MiG 21P deployed in 1962

MiG 21P “Fishbeds” in service were the front line interceptor succeeding the “F” in 1962 with their top speed of 1,320 MPH at 39,370 ft. and a ceiling of 58,000 ft. Max range was 1,260 miles. Clean it was only 683 miles. Armament consisted of a twin barreled Gsh-23 23mm cannon and a quartet of Atoll AAMs or 16 unguided rockets in packs. The F had a 30mm cannon and only a pair of Atolls. Power for the P was a 13,200 lb. thrust turbojet. Normal loaded weight was a light 18,800 lbs. Length was 44.1’ and span was 23.5’.

Tupolev Tu-22 “Blinders” had two 26,500 lb. thrust engines and could make 924 MPH at 40,025 ft. and could climb to 60,040 ft. Range was 1,926 mile on maximum internal fuel. The 3-4 man crew had a remotely operated 23mm NS-23 cannon in tail and an AS-4 “Kitchen” stand-off ASM in the internal weapons bay with nuclear bombs also housed there. It had the same medium-range mission role as the B-58. Max takeoff weight was 84,000 lbs. Its length was 133’ and span was 78’

The older Tupelov Tu-16 “Badger” was the B-52 of Russia though smaller. It mounted two 20,944 lb. thrust engines on the wing root good for 652 MPH at 19,685 ft. and a ceiling of 49,215 ft. Range was 4,475 miles and it was armed with seven 23mm NR-23 cannons in tail, dorsal, ventral and nose positions. Maximum weight was 167,110 lbs. It was 114.2’ long and had wingspan of 108.25’.

The Tu-95 “Bear” was the B-52’s size but had a quartet of 15,000 shp turbo-prop engines on the wings, good for only 541 MPH at 29,530 ft. and a ceiling of 41,010 ft. Range was long at 7,798 miles. It carried six NS-23s and 44,000 lbs. of bombs. Fully loaded this big boy weighed 414,469 lbs. Length was 162.3’ and the wing spanned 167.7’.

Convair F-102 Delta Daggers were powered by single 17,200 lb. thrust engine that propelled them to 825 MPH at 40,000 ft. They could reach 54,000 feet and range of 1,350 miles. They had six AIM-4As or four Falcon AAMs. Max weight was 31,500 lbs. The length was 68.4’ and the delta wing spanned 38.1’.

McDonnell F101B Voodoos had two 14,990 lb. thrust engines and a speed of 1,220 at 40,000 feet. Ceiling and range were 52,00 ft. and 1,550 miles respectively. The missile array was two AIR–2A Genies (non-nukes) & three AIM-4Es or three Super Falcon AAMs. This plane weighed 52,400 lbs, the length was 67.5’ and wingspan was 39.75’.

The Convair F-106B Delta Dart had two 24,500 lb. thrust engines to push it to a fast 1,525 MPH at 40,000 ft. It ceiling was 57,000 ft. Range was the sacrifice for speed with just 575 miles on internal fuel. But armament was considerable. Housed internally were

Last User of F-106- Air National Guard

four AIM-4Es or four Super falcon AAMS and one AIR-2A. Two AIR-2B nuclear Genies were carried in first line defense fighters. Fully loaded it weight 35,000 lbs. Its length was 70.8’ and the delta wing measured 38.4’.

Convair B-58A Hustler had four 15,600 lb. thrust engines on the delta wings. Speed was a phenomenal 1,385 MPH at 55,000 feet. Ceiling was 60,000 feet and range was 2,400 miles. An M-61 was housed in the tail and a huge detachable pod attached to the centerline carried fuel, ECM and nukes. The three-man crew’s mission was to come in at Mach 0.9 and then begin run-in at Mach 2 to the target. Maximum weight was about 164,000 lbs with a length of 96.8’ while the delta wing spanned 56.9’.

Boeing B-52Gs and Hs were, and still are, the heavy, long-range bomber in service. The H debuted in 1961. Eight 13,750 lb. thrust jets on the wings powered the big plane to 630 MPH at 40,000 feet. The ceiling was 55,000 ft. Range was a tremendous 9,200 miles. 30-40,000 lbs. of free fall nuclear weapons were carried in the bomb bay. Heavyweight king, the bomber weighed some 480,000 maximum loaded. Length was 157.5’ and the narrow wing spanned 185’.

It was a given that any aircrew of the time was on a one way mission whether they were in strategic bombers or interceptors. The Soviet aircraft would have been meat on the table with their slow speeds. But if just one got through…

Sources

• Green, Wm.
  The Complete Book of Fighters
  Smithmark Publishers, NY, 1994
  
  
• Green, Wm
  The Observer’s Book of Basic Aircraft
  Fredrick Warne & Co. Ltd., London, 1967
  
  
• Gunston, Bill
  The Encyclopedia of Modern Warplanes
  Aerospace Publishing Limited, London, 1995
  
  
• Lee, Asher
  The Soviet Air Force
  The John Day Co., N.Y., 1962
  
  
• Mars, David
  Umbrella Of Air Defense
  Life Magazine June 1962
  
  
• Munson, Kenneth
  Bombers
  The Macmillian Co., N.Y.,1966
  
  
• Taylor, John & Swanborough, Gordon
  Military Aircarft of the World
  Charles Scribner's Son, N.Y., 1979

 Printer Friendly