Tupolev Tu-114 was the Soviet long-haul passenger airliner, developed in the late 1950s.
In August of 1955, in response to market demand, Совет министров СССР (the Council of Ministers of the Soviet Union) issued a directive No. 1561-868 for the creation of a new long-haul passenger airliner. This task was then assigned by Министерство авиационной промышленности СССР (Ministry of Aviation Industry of the USSR) to ОКБ «Туполев» (Tupolev Design Bureau), following the order no. 571.
With the aim to avoid issues related with early jetliner designs and their complicated introduction into market, the team led by Н. И. Базенков (N.I. Bazenkov) opted for the already proven solution – the four-engine turboprop aircraft, based on the Tu-95 design.
The new project was initially designated the Tu-95P but also had an additional company designation – «самолёт 114» (“Aeroplane 114“). Later, the second number was adopted as the airliner official name, the Tupolev Tu-114.
Although generally based on the Tu-95 airframe, the airliner was designed as a low-wing monoplane with an enlarged fuselage. This, together with huge contra-rotating propellers forced the construction team to use an unusually high landing gear. It made the Tu-114 significantly higher than other airliners of the era and created additional challenges during its operational service.
On 15 November 1957, approximately two years since its development was launched, the Tu-114 ´Moscow´ performed its maiden flight, operated by a test crew led by А. П. Якимов (A.P. Yakimov).
Regular commercial operations of the Tu-114 began only on 24 April 1961. The service began with domestic routes only but soon the national Soviet carrier, Aeroflot, started to successively enhance the Tu-114 operations with international destinations, such as Belgrade, Copenhagen, Havana, Montreal, New Delhi, Paris and Tokyo.
In addition, the Tu-114 set several world records in maximum speed on a closed circuit and altitude with payload of 25 to 30 tonnes categories. All those records stand until today, as the then existing Group 2 (turboprop) was later discontinued and split into several sub-groups.
For many years, the Tu-114 was the fastest propeller-driven aircraft in the world. On 24 March 1960, the aeroplane achieved the speed of 871.38 kph (541.45 mph) over a 1,000-kilometre closed circuit.
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