It was returned to tanker configuration in the 1980s. (55-3127 was later converted to the NKC-135A airborne laboratory configuration to support the Limited Test Ban Treaty of 1963. It was so close that its special anti-radiation paint was scorched. As it continued to fly away from the blast, the shock waves finally caught up to bomber at a distance of 115 kilometers (71 miles), 8 minutes, 20 seconds after they had released the bomb.Īt the same time, a secret United States Air Force Boeing JKC-135A Stratotanker instrumentation aircraft, Speed Light Bravo, 55-3127, had flown closer to ground zero to gather data about the air burst. Major Durnovtsev’s Tu-95 was approximately 39 kilometers (24 miles) away for “ground zero” at the time of the explosion. “Big Ivan” with first stage parachute deployed. The retarding parachute is beginning to deploy. A Tu-16 instrumentation aircraft is just behind, on the bomber’s left quarter. Major Durnovtsev’s Tupolev Tu-95V “Bear A,” carrying the RDS-220 bomb to the target. A bright flash of light lasted for 30 seconds and finally faded away after 70 seconds.Ĥ5 seconds after detonation, the nuclear cloud reached a height of 30 kilometers (19 miles), then spread outward, reaching a maximum diameter of 95 kilometers (59 miles). After falling for 3 minutes, 8 seconds, at 11:33 a.m., the bomb detonated 4,000 meters (13,123 feet) above the surface of Novaya Zemlya. The bomb was retarded by parachute to allow the Bear time to escape the blast effects. The Tu-95 dropped the RDS-220 from an altitude of 10,500 meters (34,449 feet) over the D-II test range, 15 kilometers (9 miles) north of the Mityushikha Strait on Novaya Zemlya. Fully assembled RDS-220 three-stage radiation implosion thermonuclear bomb, with retarding parachute in place, at Arzamas-16. The bomb was variously known as “Big Ivan” or “Tsar Bomba” (King of Bombs). It was 8 meters (26.25 feet) long, with a diameter of 2.1 meters (6.89 feet), and weighed approximately 27,000 kilograms (59,525 pounds). The Tu-95 carried a single RDS-220, a three-stage radiation-implosion thermonuclear bomb. Major Durnovtsev’s mission was to carry out the Soviet Union’s 130th nuclear weapons test. Some sources say that the two bombers were escorted by a flight of fully-armed fighters. 3709), under the command of Colonel Vladimir Fedorovich Martynenko. The Tu-95 was accompanied by a Tupolev Tu-16 instrumentation ship (No. The bomber carried a nine-man crew, including navigator Major Ivan Nikoforovich Mite. 5800302, under the command of Major Andrey Ergorovich Durnovtsev of the 409th Heavy Bomber Air Regiment, departed Olenegorsk Air Base, 92 kilometers (57 miles) south of Murmansk, at 9:30 a.m. 5800302 carrying the RDS-220 bomb.ģ0 October 1961: At 9:30 a.m., specially modified Tupolev Tu-95V “Bear A” bomber, No.
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