Tupolev Tu-104

what is it?

The Tupolev Tu-104 (NATO reporting name: Camel) is a medium-range, narrow-body, twin turbojet-powered Soviet airliner. It was the second jetliner to enter regular service, after the British de Havilland Comet and was the only jetliner operating in the world from 1956 to 1958, when the British jetliners were grounded after several crashes. 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.

🔎How to recognise it: 2 jet engines · low wing · retractable tricycle gear · 34.5 m wingspan

base stats

• speed 950 km/htop speed
• range 2,120 kmwithout refuelling
• seats 115passengers
• size 78.1 tmax take-off weight
• built 201made in total

Bars compare against all aircraft: 3,500 km/h, 20,000 km, 850 seats; size and number built on a log scale up to 640 t (An-225) and 45,000 built (Cessna 172).

fun facts

• 🎂First flew 71 years ago, in 1955.
• 🏎️Top speed is 7.3× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
• 🚗Wingspan of 34.5 m: about 8 cars parked nose to tail.
• 🐘Fully loaded it can weigh as much as 13 African elephants (~6 t each).
• 🌍Range of 2,120 km: 12× Amsterdam to Brussels.
• 🏔️Can fly 1.4× higher than Mount Everest (8,849 m).

jet: Gas turbine pushing air out the back (turbofan or turbojet): fast and high-flying.

spec sheet

first flight

1955-06-17

introduced

1956

retired

1981

status

retired

number built

201

role

narrow-body jetliner

origin

🇷🇺 Soviet Union

makers

Tupolev, Kazan Aircraft Production Association, KhAZ, Production Corporation Polyot

engines

2× Mikulin AM-3M-500 / Mikulin AM-3

crew

7

passengers

115

length

40.1 m

wingspan

34.5 m

height

11.9 m

max take-off weight

78.1 t

top speed

950 km/h

range

2,120 km

ceiling

12,000 m

wings

low wing

landing gear

retractable tricycle gear

Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.