Yes, it is a military cargo plane (the registration is real) which was in Aeroflot scheme, a common method in the USSR to cancel VTA aircraft. The tail turret is equiped with a 23mm dual gun.
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Posts:803 Joined: July 9th, 2011, 2:45 am
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To add to that, most of the post war soviet airliners were designed with placement for a tail gun so that if the Cold War turned hot, the civilian aircraft could be rapidly converted into additional military transport and in some of them bombers.
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Posts:803 Joined: July 9th, 2011, 2:45 am
Location: Victoria, Australia
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Most bombers continued to have tail guns until the 1960s and in a few case even until the 1970s. Before effective counter measures were developed and accurate guided missiles, air combat was still considered to be a close combat, gun vs gun affair. The Vought Crusader was the last of the gun fighters. It was only with good missiles that the gun was abandoned temporarily (early F-4s had no guns which many crews complained about).
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