Entered service in 1959 and based at Moscow. One of the few equipped with navigation aids to permit operations in the West. Transferred to Aeroflot Ukraine in 1971 and was retired in 1979 when airframe life expired. [In the 1960s you could still get up close and personal with airliners at major airports. Experiences like these lads are having is what made many of us have a lifelong obsession with aviation - both at work and play.]