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US Navy sailor recalls Soviet Tu-95 flying below flight deck level of his carrier
The Aviation Geek Club • • business
Key Points:
- The Tupolev Tu-95, known by NATO as the "Bear," is a large, four-engine turboprop strategic bomber first flown in 1952 and still expected to serve in the Russian Aerospace Forces until at least 2040.
- The Tu-95 has variants including the Tu-142 for maritime patrol and the Tu-114 passenger airliner, and was originally used to monitor NATO carrier task forces during the Cold War.
- Soviet Tu-95s were known for flying extremely close to US and Royal Navy aircraft carriers, sometimes even below the flight deck level, as recounted by former US Navy sailor Francis Smith.
- Smith described a rare experience witnessing a Tu-95 flying beneath the carrier’s flight deck, closely pursued by an F-4 Phantom tasked with intercepting the bomber if it posed a threat.
- This anecdote highlights the intense and close-range encounters between Soviet and Western military aircraft during the Cold War, with Smith later sharing the story with a former Russian Bear pilot.
