Nicknamed the “Concordski,” the Tupolev Tu-144 was the Soviet Union’s answer to Western aviation dominance — a

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Nicknamed the “Concordski,” the Tupolev Tu-144 was the Soviet Union’s answer to Western aviation dominance — and the first commercial plane to break the sound barrier. But behind its sleek futuristic design lay deep Cold War urgency. The Soviets rushed development to beat Concorde, which led to significant safety compromises. Tragically, one Tu-144 crashed at the 1973 Paris Air Show, killing six onboard and eight on the ground — a PR disaster that haunted its legacy.

Despite setting records, the Tu-144’s commercial life was short-lived. It only completed 55 passenger flights before being retired from civil use in 1978. Ironically, NASA later used a modified Tu-144 for supersonic research in the 1990s. What was once a Cold War trophy ended up helping future American aviation.

,SupersonicFlight ,Tu144 ,AviationHistory ,ColdWarTech ,EngineeringFails

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