A turboprop airliner released into a world where jets reigned supreme in the long-haul market, many scoffed at the idea that the Tupolev Tu-114 could actually compete with jet aircraft, that were supposedly more reliable, faster and cheaper than their turboprop cousins.
Yet the Tu-114 surprised the entire world, not only competing with other Soviet-made jet airliners, but often outshining them on the world stage.
Despite airliners like the Tu-104 and Tu-124 being more advanced (at least on paper) as they were jets, the sheer size of the Tu-114 and its incredible speed set the aviation world ablaze – and for good reason.
After all, it was arguably the most significant airliner of the 1960’s…
Pre-Tupolev Tu-114
What history remembers as the Tupolev Tu-114 can trace its origins back to the Tu-95 “Bear” strategic bomber and the Council of Ministers and Ministry of Aircraft Production’s directive No.1561-868.
In August 1955, the Tupolev Design Bureau (one of the Soviet Union’s two main commercial aircraft manufacturers along with Ilyushin) was commissioned to develop their famed Tu-95 into an airliner capable of flying 8,000 km (4,971 mi; 4,320 nmi).
Getting to work right away, Tupolev engineers began by evaluating which parts of the Tu-95 they could keep, which parts had to be modified, and which parts had to be completely redesigned.
Able to keep the wings, Kuznetsov NK-12 engines and empennage of the Tu-95, Tupolev engineers immediately set about developing a longer and wider pressurized fuselage capable of transporting 170 passengers in a standard configuration.
Though they did this successfully – drawing on their success
Development
Operational History
Aeroflot
JAL
Soviet Air Force
Khrushchev
Museum
Specifications
| Specifications | Tupolev Tu-114 |
|---|---|
| Length | 54.1 m (177 ft 6 in) |
| Wingspan | 51.1 m (167 ft 8 in) |
| Height | 15.44 m (50 ft 8 in) |
| Crew | 5 – 6 flight crew plus up to 10 cabin crew |
| Passengers | 170 – 224 |
| Cruise Speed | 770 km/h (480 mph; 420 kn) |
| Range | 8,950 km (5,560 mi; 4,830 nmi) |
| Service Ceiling | 39,000 ft (12,000 m) |
| MTOW | 171,000 kg (376,990 lb) |
How Safe Was The Tupolev Tu-114?
Today, Russian and especially Soviet-made airliners have a rather poor reputation when it comes to safety.
After all, between 1940 and 1991, Soviet state-owned airline, Aeroflot, who operated a fleet entirely composed of Soviet-made airliners like the Tu-114, was involved in 172 aviation incidents, resulting in nearly 10,000 fatalities.
By comparison, unofficial American flag carrier, Pan Am, was involved in only 76 aviation incidents during the same time, with only 1,575 fatalities.
Though there are many reasons why Aeroflot’s crash count and total number of fatalities are so much higher than Pam Am’s (and that’s not a cherrypicked example – you could do that with any Western flag carrier), the main culprit has long been poor Soviet craftsmanship at companies like Tupolev and Ilyushin (who made most of Aeroflot’s fleet), leading to poor design quality and ultimately, crashes.
Yet the Tu-114 is uncharacteristically safe. Of the 32 Tu-114s ever built, only one was ever involved in a fatal crash – that being the semi-famous Aeroflot Flight 065, which killed 21 of the 66 people on board.
The accident occurred on the evening of February 17 1966. That night, Flight 065 was supposed to take off, however, heavy snow caused the flight to be delayed whilst airport officials cleared the runway.
Finally cleared for departure, the crew was unaware not all of the runway had been cleared. As the Tu-114 hurled down the runway trying to pick up enough speed to take off, the left wing struck a mound of snow, causing engines three and four to strike the runway.
In the ensuing blaze, 21 passengers and crew were burned, including members of the Congolese and Soviet trade delegations on the board the aircraft (Flight 065 was scheduled to arrive in Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo for trade talks).
The only other Tu-114 incident happened before Flight 065, in August 1962.
Here, an Aeroflot Tu-114 was in for maintenance, when a junior engineer was working on the Tu-114’s electronics, and somehow managed to retract the landing gear whilst it was on the ground – despite the aircraft having safeguards to prevent this.
Thankfully, no one was killed and the junior engineer only had minor injuries. The Tupolev Tu-114, on the other hand, was damaged beyond repair and scrapped not long after.
Other than those two incidents, the Tu-114 flew over six million passengers and was generally considered the safest Soviet airliner, both by people in the East, and in the West.
Why Was The Tupolev Tu-114 so Great?
Legacy
Soviet Union
During the Cold War between the Communist East and Capitalist West, advanced airliners played just as big a role in trying to show the world the benefits of their ideology as fighter jets, nuclear weapons, ships, guns and ammo did.
As such, when the Soviets proved that the Tu-114 could keep up with even the most advanced Western-made jet airliners, many in the West were impressed – even if they didn’t want to admit it.
For the Soviet Union, this made sure that their commercial airliners were just as formidable as their fighters and bombers.
To commemorate this, the Soviet Union featured the Tu-114 (as well as other famous Soviet airliners) on a series of postage stamps starting in 1958 and continuing well into the 1960’s. Today, these stamps can be worth up to $15 in the right condition!
In addition, the Tu-114 also served a large role in the Soviet propaganda machine; especially during the Khrushchev era and the early Brezhnev era, often portraying Khrushchev’s state visit to the US.
Particularly, these film reels would focus on a heavily dramatized version of the West’s reaction to the enormous airliner. In some cases, they weren’t just heavily dramatized, they were entirely fictitious being recorded in the USSR, and “set” in the US.
Future Aircraft
What do you think abut the Tupolev Tu-114? Have you ever flown it? Tell me in the comments!