(Photo: 1987, Soviet Air Force Tu-95 escorted by US Navy F-14A)
In 1952, the Soviet Union flew its first Tu-95 "Bear"strategic bomber. This turboprop plane was designed to fly great distances (up to 10,000 miles) to drop nuclear weapons inside the United States. During the Cold War, these planes occasionally flew with their deadly payloads menacingly close to US airspace.
Now obviously you're thinking: "I've got to own one!" Well, it looks like the mysterious German seller has pulled it down from eBay. Hopefully this is only a temporary measure and it'll be back online soon.
Sean Gallagher of Ars Technica says that the plane is a Tu-95MS built in 1987. It's a variant designed to fire cruise missiles. It was owned by the Ukrainian Air Force and comes with only 454 flight hours on the odometer.
The bomber is a fixer-upper. The seller says that "It is necessary to make a technical service and prolongation of the data limit." But that's nothing that a good shade tree mechanic can't tackle.
-via Glenn Reynolds