Myasishchev M-4

The Myasishchev M-4 Molot, meaning Hammer, was a four-engined Soviet strategic jet bomber designed by Vladimir Myasishchev in the 1950s to give Long Range Aviation a way to strike targets in North America. The first prototype flew on 20 January 1953 and the type entered service in 1955, powered at first by Mikulin AM-3A turbojets and later by RD-3M-500 engines. It fell well short of its specified range, so production was stopped and then restarted as the re-engined 3M with Dobrynin turbojets and an inflight refuelling probe. A display of 18 aircraft on May Day 1954 set off Western fears of a bomber gap, which led the United States to build thousands of B-47 and B-52 bombers. The M-4 and 3M mostly served as maritime reconnaissance aircraft and then as tankers, the last tanker leaving service in 1994.