| Soviet Strategic Cruise Missiles |
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Tsiolkovskiy pointed out in 1929 that the altitude of an aircraft does not have to be limited to the atmosphere if rocket propulsion was used. This article inspired numerous Soviet designers, and led to development of experimental and military rocketplanes in the Soviet Union during the 1930's and 1940's. German developments of rocketplanes, air-breathing cruise missiles, and ballistic missiles during World War II resulted in a reconsideration of some of Tsiolkovskiy's conclusions, however. Initially German engineers studied similar concepts, such as the Saenger-Bredt antipodal bomber. This futuristic missile would use a rocket sled for initial acceleration of a 100 tonne manned vehicle. The winged rocket second stage would fly a suborbital trajectory half way around the world, skipping off the earth's atmosphere like a stone skipping across the water. A one tonne bomb would be dropped an American city, and the spacecraft would finally glide to a landing at an Axis-controlled airfield in the Pacific on the other side of the world. A similar two-stage trans-Atlantic missile, the A-9/A-10, was designed by Werner Von Braun's team at Peenemuende. However further work late in the war indicated a Mach 3 ramjet cruise missile second stage was a superior technical solution compared to the pure rocket. However a ramjet must be moving at a speed near its cruise velocity design point before it can be ignited. Therefore a rocket first stage was still required to get the cruise missile up to ramjet ignition conditions. In both America and Russia design studies by captured German rocket engineers were commissioned for a high altitude cruise missile based on the Peenemuende work. In Russia, B Chertok of NII-8 took this preliminary design and elaborated it, including consideration of the key problem of long-range automatic astronavigation. Von Braun's team in America had designed a similar Hermes cruise missile in New Mexico in 1946. This used a V-2 as the first stage. The Hermes concept was elaborated by North American Aviation into the Navaho cruise missile. While these preliminary studies were underway the United States developed plans for delivery of nuclear warheads on the cities of the Soviet Union. These evolved through the Boiler, Frolic, and Half Moon plans, culminating in Plan Trojan in December 1948. Trojan foresaw attack of 70 Soviet cities with 133 atomic bombs. The number of nuclear-capable bombers rose from 60 in December 1948 to 250 in June 1950, and development of an intercontinental jet bomber, the B-52, was authorised in 1949. Stalin's response to this threat was authorisation to begin development of means of nuclear attack of the United States. Veteran aircraft designer Tupolev was tasked with development of an intercontinental bomber, while young rocket designer Korolev was to develop an intercontinental ballistic missile. After initial study Tupolev reported that it would not be possible to develop an intercontinental bomber using jet engines; his Tu-95 would use German-designed turboprops. However another designer, Myasishchev, claimed to be able to design an intercontinental jet bomber. Accordingly the Central Committee decree on 24 March 1951 created the OKB-23 Myasishchev design bureau. Myasishchev managed to complete the first prototype 103M (M-4 Bear) bomber ten months after go-ahead (compared with four years for the B-52). The 103M represented a tremendous increase in Soviet technology: altitude was increased by 50%, range doubled, and takeoff mass was four times greater than any previous Soviet aircraft.
The United States had meanwhile pursued development of the B-52 intercontinental jet bomber and Navaho cruise missile while declining to develop ballistic missiles. This difference with the Soviet bomber/ballistic missile approach led Academician Keldysh of the Academy of Sciences to from a group that raised the question of Soviet development of a similar long-range unpiloted aircraft.
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