India - Navy Tupolev Tu-142 IN312
Anshul kadam
Damian Szymula - EPKK Spotter
MOXWB
Kuba Balcerski
Guillermo Canaveris
Dennis Janssen
Sandor Vamosi
Nico Berger
Simon Van Assche
Bas van der Spek
Vladimir Pouche
Artur Zak
Klaas Reinder Sluijs
Jaco Spruyt
Per Voetmann
Dawid Jędras
Higor Pereira
Andrei Shmatko
Saúl Naranjo Mourinho
Oleksii Karpenko
JACD
Roman N.
Rod Dermo
Aron Teppert
Krzysiek Dz
sewery
Stefan Thomas
DK
David James Clelford
Juan Manuel Gibaja
Sebastian Wajda
Javier González
Gaushal Gandhi
Piotr Gryzowski
Image ID: 1455467
Views: 1672
Operator: India - Navy - IN312
Aircraft: Tupolev - Tu-142
Airport: India - Mumbai - Chhatrapati Shivaji Intl (BOM / VABB)
Category: Main database
Photo taken on 2014-1-3 by Vaibhav Shah [Contact]
Camera setting: Canon EOS 60D, 1/50s, f/5.0 at 43mm ISO 400
Photographer's remark
(5.4.2022, 18:44 CET)
Blast from the past! My luck with military aircraft has been pretty bad ever since I started plane spotting. Mumbai Airport sees very light (negligible) military traffic and I usually miss whatever comes here. But Thank God I didn't miss this one! The Tupolev Tu-142 (Bear) is a Soviet long range maritime reconnaissance and anti-submarine warfare (ASW) aircraft derived from the Tu-95 turboprop strategic bomber. Indian Naval Air Squadron 312 "Albatross" operated 8 Tu-142s. They were delivered to Indian Navy in 1988 and were based at INS Rajali at Arakkonam, Tamil Nadu. For 29 years they were the guardians of the Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal, patrolling for long hours at a stretch. The Bear has a combat range of 6,500km and can fly at maximum speed of 925 km/h, making her the fastest long range turboprop bomber aircraft in the world. When I first came to know about her arrival at Mumbai I thought it was just a rare fuel stop. The next day, I heard an aircraft land on Runway 14 which had a very weird prop sound. I quickly searched for Tu142 landing video on YouTube and turns out the sound I had heard matched the sound of the aircraft in the video. I got her arrival the following afternoon and I thought she had left later that day. But I was wrong. On the morning of 3rd Jan, me and my friend Rohit Pitale went to spot Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 787. It was 5am and was pitch dark. We literally had zero clue of the existence of the Bear at the airport until we met our friend Atamvir Multani (who asked us to wait for something special) and moments later the Bear started one of her 4 turboprop engines. Within seconds the tranquillity of the dawn was taken over by the loud drone of the monster Kuznetsov NK-12. A single NK-12 drives two large four-bladed 6.2 m (20 ft) diameter contra-rotating propellers. It is the most powerful turboprop engine to enter service. By the time she made her way to the holding point, her sound was deafening and thrilling. I could feel my heart beat faster than usual and the ground shaking violently. This Tu-142 is THE LOUDEST aircraft I have spotted till date. Once you experience the unique sound of those NK-12s, you won't forget it for the rest of your life. The entire time the aircraft was in front of me, I was in awe and soaking all in. Standing a few feet away from the TU142 is one of the highlights of my plane spotting career. It was a very smoggy winter morning and her take-off roll was slow and long. She disappeared in the smog after lift-off and the silence returned. We later came to know that she was performing sorties out of BOM for a few days and this was her last ever take-off. In her 29 years long career she came to Mumbai only once and we were extremely lucky enough to spot her. I wish I had taken some videos of her while she was waiting in all her glory. Indian Navy retired these beautiful Tupolev TU-142s on 27 March 2017 during a ceremony held at the INS Rajali air base. They were replaced with the smaller but very capable Boeing P-8 Poseidons. This airframe IN312 is preserved and displayed in a Museum at Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh. I hope to visit this Museum soon and see this Legendary aircraft once again. I will make a video of her this time! This shot is dedicated to my friends Rohit and Atamvir.
1 Gaushal Gandhi
(5 April 2022 - 19:08 CET)
Wonderful shot, once in a lifetime moment and a beautifully written caption Baingan !
2 Vaibhav Shah
(6 April 2022 - 17:00 CET)
Thank you Gaushal. :)
3 Simon Van Assche
(6 April 2022 - 22:48 CET)
Incredible catch ! Well done !!
4 Vaibhav Shah
(7 April 2022 - 08:41 CET)
Thanks a lot Simon! :)
Terms and Conditions |
About |
FAQ |
Photo Use |
Privacy Policy |
Online 1399 (35 members)
© 2006-2024 Airplane-Pictures.net |
E-mail us: Team@Airplane-Pictures.net
All photos are copyright © to their respective photographers and may not be used without permission.