Aleksey Tupolev

Aleksey Andreevich Tupolev was born on 20 May 1925 in Moscow. He was the son of the famed Soviet aircraft pioneer Andrei Tupolev.

Aleksey worked at the Tupolev Design Bureau in 1942–1949 as a factory designer. He graduated from the Moscow Aviation Institute in 1949.

During Soviet leader Khrushchev's visit to the U.S. in September 1959, he insisted on taking Tu-114 despite that its maiden long-distance flight only occurred in May. In order to guarantee the safety, Aleksey Tupolev was sent by his father Andrei, along as a sign of his confidence in the plane. Khrushchev later said, "We didn't publicize the fact that Tupolev's son was with us" for "to do so would have meant giving explanations, and these might have been damaging to our image".[1]

In 1961 was born his son Andrey Alekseevich Tupolev.[2]

Aleksey became chief designer of Tupolev Design Bureau in 1963 and general designer in 1973.

Aleksey Tupolev died on 12 May 2001. He was buried in Moscow.

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