Tu-4 (China)

This page is about the Chinese heavy bomber Tu-4 (China). For other versions, see B-29/Tu-4 (Family).

Description

The ' is a rank Chinese heavy bomber with a battle rating of (AB), (RB), and (SB). It was introduced in Update 1.91 "Night Vision".

General info

Survivability and armour

• 60 mm Bulletproof glass in front of the pilots.
• 6.5 mm Steel plates in front of the pilots.
• 6.5 mm Steel plates behind the pilots.
• 6.5 mm Steel plates in front of tail control tractions.
• 6.5 mm Steel plates boxing around rear dorsal gunner and beam gunners.
• 6.5 mm Steel plate behind the rear ventral turret.
• 60 mm Bulletproof glass in front of tail gunner.
• 6.5 mm Steel plate in front of tail gunner.

Do not be fooled even with its powerful defensive armament, it does have weak spots.

While playing the Hunter F 1 or the Vautour IIA, it is easy to send this monster of an aircraft back to base with just one burst. Engaging in a head-on is recommended, as the pilots have little protection, usually knocking them both out.

However, the Tu-4 is a monster of an aircraft in terms of its profile and size, making it very easy to hit. Wings and the tail control are weak spots, so hitting the wings will result in severe wing damage on the Tu-4, forcing it to return to base or even sending it back to the hangar.

While flying the Sabres, try to aim for the fuel tanks in the wings. Most of the time, just set the fuel tanks ablaze, or even blowing off the wing, sending the foe back to the hangar.

Do not engage the Tu-4 from the six! Engaging the Tu-4 at its tail, especially from below, is asking for trouble. Always try to engage the Tu-4 from the top, or in head-ons, the fuselage turrets have dead zones when engaging from >~70 degrees.

Modifications and economics

Crew training

Experts

Aces

Research Aces

Reward for battleAB / RB / SB

/ /  %

/ /  %

Modifications

Armaments

Suspended armament

The Tu-4 (China) can be outfitted with the following ordnance:

• 40 x 100 kg FAB-100 bombs (4,000 kg total)
• 40 x 250 kg FAB-250M43 bombs (10,000 kg total)
• 12 x 500 kg FAB-500 bombs (6,000 kg total)
• 20 x 500 kg FAB-500 bombs (10,000 kg total)
• 8 x 1,000 kg FAB-1000 bombs (8,000 kg total)
• 8 x 1,500 kg FAB-1500M-46 bombs (12,000 kg total)
• 4 x 3,000 kg FAB-3000M-46 bombs (12,000 kg total)

Defensive armament

The Tu-4 (China) is defended by:

• 2 x 23 mm NR-23 cannons, front dorsal turret (275 rpg = 550 total)
• 2 x 23 mm NR-23 cannons, rear dorsal turret (275 rpg = 550 total)
• 2 x 23 mm NR-23 cannons, front ventral turret (250 rpg = 500 total)
• 2 x 23 mm NR-23 cannons, rear ventral turret (500 rpg = 1,000 total)
• 2 x 23 mm NR-23 cannons, tail turret (275 rpg = 550 total)

Usage in battles

The below tactics can be used in all games modes:

Like most planes of its class, the Tu-4 relies on its defensive turrets for aerial combat. A few good hits from its 10 x 23 mm guns can send an attacker back to base, with critical damage or, if not, credit the player with the victory. Maxing out the crew stats is a good idea, it will allow the player to focus more on flying while the AI does the gunning. Don't get too arrogant, remember, the Tu-4 is a huge plane. It is easy to hit, and as mentioned above, especially when the opponents could be jets.

All in all, pay attention to the aircraft's surroundings. The Tu-4 can easily net the team a win so don't let the feeling of invincibility get imbued, or the only reward will be a fiery end.

With this bomber's high battle rating, you should be actively looking out for enemy vehicles. It is possible for an attacker to have a relative closing speed of over 1000 km/h. Relying solely on the spotting system will allow some fighters to get so close it will be impossible for you to react. It is especially common for the enemy to approach either in a 30° cone straight ahead or to trail behind and below you, generally outside gun range before pulling up sharply.

When first starting with this aircraft, the payload option is 40 x 100 kg bombs which are able to destroy numerous bases. One of the best ways to maximize the payload's effectiveness, 15 x 100 kg bombs are needed for one base. The A.I. gunners will be able to defend the plane as bombs are dropped from the bombsight until switching back to the pilot seat, ready to head to next objective. The best option for base bombing is the 8 x 1500 kg payload. A single bomb will be enough to destroy a base, provided you do not miss.

Once the Tu-4's bombing run is complete, start descending towards the friendly airfield; enemy fighters will be hunting for the Tu-4, so be more alert. The Tu-4 has a very powerful defensive system installed with 5 turrets, each with two 2 x 23 mm cannons, so the Tu-4 should be able to defend itself reasonably well. If you believe that landing would be putting the aircraft in grave danger, it is worth considering to instead stay high and shoot down approaching fighters, calling out your position will often lower the stigma associated with this action.

Do not rely on the AI gunners. Most of the time the Tu-4 will face top rank jets including Hunter F 1s and F2 Sabres. These adversaries are usually experienced and will not foolishly tail the bomber for long and try to engage at ranges greater than 1 km or engage in a head-on pass. These manoeuvres render the AI gunners largely useless. Laying down a stream of 23 mm rounds is recommended, but beware of jamming. Hits can be scored within 1.5 - 2 km, if somebody is tailing the Tu-4 or engaging in a head-on pass, they can also occur at greater ranges. Combine the turret shooting with a defensive style of flying to utilize it to its full potential; the Tu-4 offers good handling for its size. Be very careful when putting the Tu-4 into a dive. It is just as prone as any other aircraft to suffering structural damage if its limitations are exceeded. Do not rely on flaps to slow down, their weak construction will let you down.

The two most dangerous opponents of the Tu-4 are the S.O.4050 Vautour IIA and the Hunter F 1. With their 30mm cannons, one burst will be devastating against the Tu-4. The F-86F-2 is also a dangerous opponent, with four 20 mm cannons with a very high velocity and rate of fire.

When down tiered, the most dangerous opponents are the Me 163 B, the Me 262 C-2b and the R2Y2 KAIs. All equipped with 30 mm cannons, they are able to send the Tu-4 back to the hangar within one burst. The 163's and KI-200 extreme mobility are something to be wary of. It isn't uncommon for bomber pilots to lose track of the attacker after a fly by.

Don't underestimate the other Sabres, such as the F-86F-40 and the CL-13A. Their 12.7 mm machine guns can do a lot of damage, crippling or setting the Tu-4 afire, which could end the match for the plane there.

Do not consider any enemy bomber or attacker as a neutral or even friendly party. It is quite common for Canberra's or even B-57's to try and engage you if the opportunity presents itself.

Manual Engine Control

MEC elements
Mixer	Pitch	Radiator			Supercharger	Turbocharger
		Oil	Water	Type
Controllable	Controllable Auto control available	Not controllable Not auto controlled	Controllable Not auto controlled	Combined	Controllable 1 gear	Auto controlled

Modules

Tier	Flight performance		Survivability	Weaponry
I	Fuselage repair	Radiator
II		Compressor	Airframe		KD-3	KD-4
III	Wings repair	Engine		Turret 23 mm
IV		Engine injection	Cover	New 23 mm cannons (turret)	BD-4

Pros and cons

Pros:

• This aircraft currently has the highest payload in the game of up to 12,000 kg (26,455 lbs)
• Very strong and fast climber once flight performance modifications have been purchased (compressor, engine, and engine injection)
• Offers effective defensive turrets that have very few dead zones
• Lots of ammo for defensive armaments
• Almost identical to the B-29 in terms of performance
• All payload options are internal and has next to no effect on flight performance
• Gunners are located separately from the gun turret with the exception of the tail turret
• Multiple Tu-4s single-handedly win games, if left ignored by the enemy team
• Stock-friendly grind
• Rewarding experience, if plane survives the match
• With a good gunner crew, this aircraft can defend itself from most fighters coming to attack it, due to its 23 mm turrets
• Easy to learn, similar learning curve as the B-29
• A good game can be extremely rewarding in Silver Lions, especially if using a booster.

Cons:

• Usually will lose Silver Lions after playing the Tu-4 due to the immense repair costs (40 097 Silver Lions spaded)
• Does not offer any payload modification immediately, unlike the B-29
• Prone to fires and wing damage
• Slightly less engine power than the B-29
• Will be ripped to shreds by cannons with the calibre of/larger than 20 mm, especially the MK 108 and the ADEN/DEFA 541
• Matchmaking will make this aircraft face top rank jets such as the Sabre, Hunter and the Vautour
• Unable to reliably defend itself from multiple opponents attacking at once from multiple directions
• Huge aircraft, making it easy to spot from distance and making it close to impossible to miss
• Has a low dive top-speed
• Takes a while to reach an optimal altitude
• Landing gear takes a long time to deploy and retract
• Wings are considered weak spots, damaged wings will hinder the plane's control
• Flaps are one piece, making it frequent for a wing to lose the whole piece at once. This can affect lift significantly.
• Can be hard to handle during landing, especially on short runways.
• Takes a while to reach the ground (in one piece)

History

Describe the history of the creation and combat usage of the aircraft in more detail than in the introduction. If the historical reference turns out to be too long, take it to a separate article, taking a link to the article about the vehicle and adding a block "/History" (example: https://wiki.warthunder.com/(Vehicle-name)/History) and add a link to it here using the main template. Be sure to reference text and sources by using <ref></ref>, as well as adding them at the end of the article with <references />. This section may also include the vehicle's dev blog entry (if applicable) and the in-game encyclopedia description (under === In-game description ===, also if applicable).

Media

Excellent additions to the article would be video guides, screenshots from the game, and photos.

See also

Links to the articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example:

• reference to the series of the aircraft;
• links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.

External links

Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:

• topic on the official game forum;
• encyclopedia page on the aircraft;
• other literature.

Tupolev Design Bureau (Ту́полев Опытное конструкторское бюро)
Bombers	TB-3M-17-32 · SB 2M-100 · SB 2M-103 MV-3 · SB 2M-103 · SB 2M-103U · SB 2M-103U MV-3 · SB 2M-105
	Tu-2 · Tu-2S · Tu-2S-44 · Tu-2S-59 · Tu-4
Arkhangelsky Bomber	Ar-2*
Strike Aircraft	Tu-1
Jet Bomber	Tu-14T
Export	␗SB 2M-103U · ␗Tu-2S-44 · ␗Tu-4
	◔Tu-2S-59
	* While Andrei Tupolev was imprisoned, Alexander Arkhangelsky, second in command at Tupolev OKB was able to append his name to the final production series of the SB bomber.