Archival photo of Concorde F-WTSA flying over Soviet Tu-144 at Paris Airshow, Orly, June 1973. Captured by Stuart H Bourne
© Stuart H Bourne / Quality Aviation Photos International.
This rare archival photograph captures a dramatic moment at the 1973 Paris Airshow, with French pre-production Concorde F-WTSA flying directly over the Soviet Tupolev Tu-144 on static display at Orly Airport. The image symbolizes the Cold War-era supersonic rivalry between East and West, as both aircraft represented the pinnacle of aerospace ambition from their respective nations.
F-WTSA was a French-built pre-production Concorde, used for final-phase testing and public demonstrations. Its flypast over the Tu-144 occurred just hours before the tragic crash of the Soviet aircraft on 3 June 1973, marking this photo as a poignant record of aviation history.
Photographed by Stuart H Bourne, the print is produced on gloss archival paper, ideal for collectors, historians, and enthusiasts seeking authentic documentation of Concorde’s airshow legacy and the supersonic race of the 1970s.
Today, F-WTSA is preserved at the Musée Delta near Orly, while the Tu-144 legacy is honored at museums across Russia. For technical history and airframe details, see the Heritage Concorde archive.
