Once The World’s Only Active Jetliner Design: The Story Of The Tupolev Tu-104

Following the Second World War, during which jet engines were developed, European, American, and Soviet engineers were all hard at work in the race to prove their technological prowess by putting a jet-powered airliner in the sky. In May of 1952, the British were the first to the finish line, putting the de Havilland Comet into service with flag carrier British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC).