M-4 Bison airplane model. First flying soon after the first flight of the B-52 Stratofortress, the M-4 initially impressed Soviet officials, however, it soon became clear that the bomber had an insufficient range to attack the United States and still return to the Soviet Union. Only several of the original production M-4s were actually put into service.
The M-4 was first displayed to the public in Red Square, on May Day, 1954.
To remedy this problem, the Myasishchev design bureau introduced the '3M', known to the West as the 'Bison-B', which was considerably more powerful than the previous version. This new model first flew in 1955. Among other things, two of the five original gun barbettes were removed to lighten the aircraft.
Production of the Bison aircraft stopped in 1963, by which time 93 of them had been built. The last aircraft, an M-4-2 fuel tanker, was withdrawn from service in 1994.
Mahogany wood. Scale: 1/100. Wingspan: 19.5 inches, Length: 18.5 inches
