5 ms·
>(by copying, rivet-for-rivet, some interned B-29s) Not quite. The Tu-4 was a very close copy of the B-29, but the sheet metal the Soviets had available was sl
by commandar 12y ago
>(by copying, rivet-for-rivet, some interned B-29s)
Not quite. The Tu-4 was a very close copy of the B-29, but the sheet metal the Soviets had available was slightly thicker (and thus heavier)than American sheet metal, which required some engineering to work around.
- jacquesm 12y agoIt was the difference between 'metric' and numbered gages that had this effect. They took the next standard size up but still ended up with a plane that weighed almost the same as the B-29. Makes you wonder how much weight the B-29 could have still saved.