In October 1947, history was made when Charles “Chuck” Elwood Yeager, piloting the Bell X-1, broke the sound barrier, achieving Mach 1 and ushering in the supersonic age. This groundbreaking feat ignited dreams of faster-than-sound commercial travel, and by the 1960s, several nations were vying to realize this vision. This era saw the birth of the first generation of Supersonic-transport (SST) aircraft, most notably the Concorde and the Tupolev Tu-144.
The Anglo-French Concorde project, born from a 1962 collaboration, became the most iconic symbol of this supersonic ambition. Simultaneously, the United States, under President John F. Kennedy, launched its own SST program, evaluating designs from aviation giants like North American, Boeing, and Lockheed. Boeing’s initial 2707 design eventually evolved into the refined 2707-300 model after securing the government contract. However, despite significant progress, the U.S. Congress ultimately cancelled funding in 1971, halting the American SST dream before a prototype could even take flight.
Amidst the backdrop of the Cold War, the Soviet Union also pressed forward, determined to lead the supersonic race. The Tupolev Tu-144, nicknamed “Concordski” in the West, achieved supersonic flight in 1969, preceding Concorde and briefly entering passenger service in 1977. However, the Tu-144 faced numerous challenges, including limited demand for premium supersonic travel within the Soviet Union. Its operational history was sporadic and short-lived, ceasing by the early 1980s.
While the Tu-144 struggled, the Concorde, after its own supersonic debut in 1969, garnered significant interest from major airlines, with initial orders for over one hundred aircraft. Ultimately, only Air France and British Airways committed to purchasing the Concorde, launching commercial supersonic-transport service in 1976. A key operational constraint was the sonic boom generated at supersonic speeds, restricting Concorde’s supersonic flights to transoceanic routes, mainly the lucrative transatlantic crossings. Despite this limitation and its premium ticket prices, Concorde became a symbol of luxury and speed, halving travel times compared to subsonic airliners. It provided uninterrupted service, primarily across the Atlantic, until a hiatus in 2000, resuming from 2001 before its final retirement in 2003, marking the end of an era for first-generation supersonic-transport.
