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Tupolev Tu-104 family

The Tu-104 story, from first flight to lasting reputation

One of the world’s first successful jet airliners and the aircraft that put the Soviet Union into scheduled jet service almost immediately after Britain.

Tupolev Tu-104 family is a retired airliner built by Tupolev. It first flew in 1955, entered service in 1956, and went on to shape airline fleets, passenger journeys, and aviation memory.

First flight

1955

Service entry

1956

Seating band

50 to 100

Tupolev Tu-104 family is a retired airliner by Tupolev, first flown in 1955 and introduced in 1956, with typical seating for 50 to 100 and range up to 1,700 nautical miles.

Its history runs through the airlines that flew it, the routes it opened, the cabin experience it offered, and the variants that changed the family's role over time.

Range band

1,700 nm

Notable operators

Aeroflot · CSA

Source stack

  • Manufacturer heritage material
  • type certificate and planning data
  • museum and preservation references

Variants

Representative variants

Manufacturer pageForum hubCompare families

Variant

Tu-104B

Tu-104B is a retired member of the Tupolev Tu-104 family, known for the higher-capacity branch most associated with the family’s mature service.

Range 1,370 nm · Entry 1957

Specifications

Current public facts

Manufacturer
Tupolev
Program history
Class
Airliner
Aircraft category
First flight
1955-06-17
Program history
Service entry
1956-09-15
Operator records
Current status
Retired
Fleet references
Typical seating
50 to 100
Operator and cabin references
Range band
Up to 1,700 nm
Program literature
Cruise speed
470 kt
Planning data

Archive moments

Human context

The Tu-104 is remembered as raw jet age: fast, compromised, historically huge, and inseparable from the urgency of early Cold War aviation prestige.
Passenger memory matters here because airport routine, cabin atmosphere, and route geography are part of the aircraft story rather than side notes.

Timeline

Program milestones

  1. 1955

    First flight

    The Tu-104 begins flight testing and establishes the public shape of the family.

  2. 1956

    Service entry

    The family enters passenger or executive service and begins building its operating footprint.

  3. Today

    Archive afterlife

    Surviving aircraft, photographs, documents, and first-hand memories keep the program visible long after regular passenger service.

Related news

Editorial context

All news
No editorial dispatches are attached to this family yet. The aircraft record is live, and newsroom or archive coverage can be layered onto it later without changing the URL.

Forum threads

Community memory

Family hub