Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1956-06-26
Twining Sees
New Supersonic
Soviet Bomber
Reds Show Plane
AT Closely Guarded
Base Near Moscow

MOSCOW, June rs tA) Gen.
Nathan Twining. United States
Air Force chief of staff, has been
given a look at a new Soviet
bomber the Russians say can
|fly faster than sound.
The United States Air Force
does not yet have such a super
sonic bomber. The speed of
sound varies from 76O miles an
hour at sea level to about 66S
miles an hour at attitudes above
IS. 1000 feet.
The top United States airman,
a group of his aides and British,
French and other foreign mill
Iitary men were shown the new
iplane during a conducted tour of
the closely guarded Kubinka air
base, about 40 miles from Mos
Cow.
Today the American and Brit
ish air officers toured another
secret Soviet installation in the
Moscow area - the ZhukovSki
Air Engineering Academy. Re-
Iporters and photographers were
barred as they were yesterday
lat Kubinka.
Similar TO Canberra.
Gen. Twining said later the
new craft was a twin-engine,
light attack bomber. He thought
it probably was bit smaller
than Britain's B57 Canberra
Jet bomber, but British visitors
said it looked a little bigger
than the Canberra.
The foreign military men, who
were invited here to see Rus
sia's latest aviation achieve
ments, were told the new bomber
had never been shown before,
1t was not in the annual Soviet
air show Sunday for which Gen
Twining came to Russia.
The visiting officers toured
the base in jeeps, making only
one stop while viewing more
than 100 planes.
The stop came when Gen
Twining was invited by Ali
Marshal Pavel Zhigarev, Soviet
air force chief, and Marshal
Sergei Rudenko, Soviet air force
chief Of staff, to make a close
inspection of the new TU-104
Jet transport. The United
States officer was the only
member of the party invited to
enter the plane He said the
transport appeared to have the
general design and wings of q
Badger jet bomber, but still
was a new plane.
Pilots Show Skill
The TU-104 was the plane
which caused a Juror when il
visited Britain Just before the
visit there of Premier Bulganir
and Communist Party Boss Nj
kita Khrushchev.
Gen. Twining said Soviet pilots
demonstrated their skill for the
visitors. taking of in MIG-17s
in formations Of five. then cir
cling and showing their style oil
Ipeeling of.
"Their technique is good
said Gen. .Twining, lust like
ours"
Gen. Twining also saw a Fres-
co MIG-17. a Farmer MIG-ls
lof somewhat different shape
than the Might. and an all
weather Flashlight fighter. The
names given the planes are code
words used to designate the So
WET jet craft.
1--WE asked a lot of question;
and they were pretty good about
answering them" Gen. Twinine
said. They let US take our time
didn't hurry us at ALL"
Cameras Forbidden
Some American officers had
their cameras with them, but
were not allowed to take then
on the base.
British officials making the
tour said it was a valuable
closeup" but described it as a
"child's guide to the Soviet all
force"
When we asked the range of
planes we were shown, we were
told it was very great" the
Britons reported. when we
asked about the speed Of a GER
tain plane, we we're told very
great"
British Air Marshal Sir Rom
aid Ivelaw-C Chapman said the
ISoviets showed the foreign
visitors approximately what we
would be willing to put on dis
play at Marlborough" Farm
borough is the annual British
aircraft exhibition for foreign
military representatives and the
oonaral taiIh1ir