Myasishchev M-4 Bison
The Myasishchev M-4, NATO reporting name Bison, was a four-engined Soviet jet strategic bomber from Vladimir Myasishchev's design bureau, built to strike North America. It first flew on 20 January 1953 and went into production at Plant No. 23 in Moscow, but its range fell short of the intercontinental mission; the improved 3M, flown in 1956, became the main version. In all, 93 aircraft were built before production ended in 1963, yet the type's appearances over Moscow in 1954 and 1955 fed the American "bomber gap" scare. The family spent its later career largely as maritime reconnaissance aircraft and tankers, the last tankers retiring in 1994, and three airframes were converted into VM-T Atlant heavy-lift aircraft for the Soviet space programme.