In article .net,
Steven P. McNicoll wrote:

"Keith Willshaw" wrote in message
...

The Tu-104 was in service before the Comet 4 and 707
for sure.


The Tu-104 began passenger operations in September 1956.

I once flew to Moscow in one during the
mid 70's , strange aircraft with that glazed nose one
almost expected to see a bombardier sitting there.

The Tu-104 was essentially a modified Tu-16 bomber.

Same wing and engines, IIRC, very different fuselage. About the
same relationship as there was between Tu-95 and Tu-114.

Believe the glazed nose was for ground handling. It persisted
into several later Sov.U. airliner designs which were certainly
unrelated to any military type (and led to the radar sitting
atop the tailfin, rather than in the nose as in western designs).

--
Andy Breen ~ Not speaking on behalf of the University of Wales....
Nieveler's law: "Any USENET thread, if sufficiently prolonged and not
Godwinated, will eventually turn into a discussion about
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