"John Carrier" wrote
. Absurd. The Bear was approx. 200 mph SLOWER than the Stratofortress.

Not at cruise altitude it wasn't. The bears I intercepted were clocking .8
IMN, about 480 KTAS. At altitude, the Buff isn't that much faster,
certainly not "200 mph" faster.

And they would fly from Murmansk to Havana unrefueled at that speed.