Tupolev Design Bureau TU-144S CCCP-77144 1:400 Scale Herpa HE562720

T144

The Tupolev Tu-144 is a supersonic passenger airliner developed by the Soviet Union's Tupolev design bureau. First introduced in commercial service in 1977, the Tu-144 was the world's first supersonic transport aircraft to fly, having made its maiden flight in December 1968, two months before the Anglo-French Concorde. Powered by four Kuznetsov NK-144 or Kolesov RD-36-51 turbojet engines, the Tu-144 could carry up to 140 passengers at a cruising speed of Mach 2.0 and an altitude of 18,000 meters. The aircraft featured a distinctive ogival delta wing, retractable canard foreplanes, and a drooping nose for improved pilot visibility during landing. Despite its technological ambitions, the Tu-144 suffered from significant technical difficulties, a fatal crash at the 1973 Paris Air Show, and high operating costs. It entered limited scheduled service between Moscow and Alma-Ata but was withdrawn from passenger operations in 1978 after only 55 commercial flights. The Tu-144 subsequently served in a research and cargo role and remains a significant symbol of Soviet aerospace ambition.

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