The Tu-144 broke apart during an unscheduled flourish at the 1973 Paris Air Show, killing all six crew members and eight ...

To many, when they think of supersonic airliners, they instantly think of Concorde. The joint Anglo-French aircraft that served for nearly 30 years, ferrying people across the Atlantic at Mach 2.

Not to be outdone by their aviation rivals in the west, the Soviet Union built and briefly flew its own supersonic commercial jet, the Tupolev Tu-144. Sixteen were built and a handful remain. Only one ...

At the 1973 Paris Air Show, the Soviet Tu-144 tried to outshine Concorde before 250,000 spectators. After a steep climb, ...

But you may not know the Soviets had their own version of the Concorde called the Tupolev-144. It was nicknamed the “Communist Concordski,” and it actually flew before the Anglo-French Concorde. But ...

Here’s What You Need To Remember: The Tu-144 reportedly flew a paltry 102 flights, only 55 of which actually carried any passengers. Compared to its arch-rival Concorde, the Tu-144 was a fiasco, ...

Editor’s Note: Read more unknown and curious design origin stories here. When the Soviet rival to Concorde made its first foreign appearance at the Paris Air Show in 1971, everyone was impressed. In ...

When the first Tupolev Tu-144 thundered its way into aeronautical history 50 years ago, lifting off from Zhukovksy airfield on the last day of 1968, much of the supersonic programme remained cloaked ...

Editor’s Note: Read more unknown and curious design origin stories here. When the Soviet rival to Concorde made its first foreign appearance at the Paris Air Show in 1971, everyone was impressed. In ...