Tupolev Tu-104

Tupolev · Soviet Union · first flew 1955 · airliner

The Soviet Union's first jetliner — a Tu-16 bomber reborn with a passenger cabin, and for two years the only jet airliner flying anywhere.

Recognition (WEFT)

W — Wings	Low-mounted, swept
E — Engines	2 × turbojet, embedded-mounted
F — Fuselage	38.85 m fuselage
T — Tail	Conventional

WEFT is AircraftIQ's four-point recognition method — how it works.

Spot it by:

Two turbojets buried in the wing roots
Glazed bomber-style nose on early aircraft
Swept wing with prominent gear fairings trailing behind

Bomber bones show clearly: engines buried in the wing roots beside the fuselage, a glazed nose on many aircraft, and undercarriage pods trailing off the wing. No pylons, no pods — the jet exhausts emerge beside the tail of the wing root.

Specifications

The Tupolev Tu-104 has a length of 38.85 m (127 ft).
It has a wingspan of 34.54 m (113 ft).
Its maximum speed is 950 km/h (590 mph).
Typical crew: 5.

Figures are for the representative variant described above; marks differ. See how AircraftIQ sources figures.

History

Tupolev converted the Tu-16 bomber into the Tu-104 with astonishing speed, flying it in 1955. Between the Comet's grounding and the 707's debut, Aeroflot's Tu-104 was briefly the world's only jet airliner in service, stunning Western observers when it landed at Heathrow in 1956.

Variants

The Tu-104A and 104B stretched capacity from 50 towards 100 seats; a smaller derivative, the Tu-124, followed the same recipe at reduced scale.

Where you'll see it

Never a British type, but its 1956 London appearance is part of aviation lore. Retired from Aeroflot in 1979; survivors are preserved at Russian museums including Monino.

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