Tupolev Tu-104
Former Soviet airliner / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The Tupolev Tu-104 (NATO reporting name: Camel) is a retired medium-range, narrow-body, twin turbojet-powered Soviet airliner. It was the second to enter regular service, behind the British de Havilland Comet and was the only jetliner operating in the world from 1956 to 1958, when the British jetliner was grounded due to safety concerns.[1]
Tu-104 | |
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Aeroflot Tupolev Tu-104A at Arlanda Airport in 1972 | |
Role | Narrow-body jet airliner |
Manufacturer | Tupolev OKB, Kharkiv Aviation Factory, Kazan Aircraft Production Association, Omsk Aviation Plant 166 |
Designer | Andrei Tupolev |
First flight | 17 June 1955; 68 years ago (1955-06-17) |
Introduction | 15 September 1956 (Aeroflot) |
Retired | 1981 |
Status | Retired |
Primary users | Aeroflot ČSA |
Produced | 1956–1960 |
Number built | 201 |
Developed from | Tupolev Tu-16 |
Variants | Tupolev Tu-110 Tupolev Tu-124 |
In 1957, Czechoslovak Airlines – ČSA (now Czech Airlines), became the first airline in the world to fly a route exclusively with jet airliners, using the Tu-104A variant between Prague and Moscow. In civilian service, the Tu-104 carried over 90 million passengers with Aeroflot (then the world's largest airline), and a lesser number with ČSA, while it also was operated by the Soviet Air Force. Its successors included the Tu-124, Tu-134, and Tu-154.