Description

Tupolev TU-22 (NATO reporting name – The Blinder) is the first Soviet supersonic bomber, which completed its maiden flight on the 7th of September 1959. Our Blinder was built in 1961 as TU-22R which meant it was a dedicated reconnaissance aircraft, although retaining its bomber capability at the same time. The serial number of the aircraft 07-05 meant that this Tupolev was a series 7 aircraft, 5th airframe in the batch.

Most of its flying career this TU-22R spent in the 199th Independent Long-Range Reconnaissance Aviation Regiment, based at Nizhyn Air Base (Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic). The 199th Regiment was responsible for flying reconnaissance missions to Germany, Austria, Greece, Bosporus, Sea of Marmara, Turkey, Iran and the Black Sea. To start with, Tupolev was wearing the designator ‘58 Red’, which at some point in the 1980’s was changed to ’31 Red’. The ’31 Red’ had flown for 30 years, which was the designated warranted lifespan of the aircraft set by the Tupolev Design Bureau. It completed its flying career in 1991. Followed by the fall of the Soviet Union, Independent Ukraine obtained approximately 55 TU-22s of various modifications, with 24 Blinders serving the 199th regiment. This aircraft had never flown with the Ukrainian Air Force and was first in the batch of four to be scrapped in March of 1994.

Fuselage Creations have managed to secure the metal from ’31 Red’ thanks to the retired aviation mechanic who was responsible for maintenance of this airframe along with the Ukrainian Aviation historian and TU-22 Blinder expert Vitaliy Suprun.