well, an intention is something different entirely from actually achieving the real thing…

That doesn’t mean it wasn’t the first SST design to fly. It spawned the most capable SST, the Tu-144D, which had the ability to carry more passengers over a longer distance than the Concorde…

Yes, but not by carrying fee paying passengers.

I never said it was by carrying passengers. Doesn’t change the fact that the Tu-144 was the first SST to earn money, just like a redesign doesn’t change the fact that the Tu-144 prototype wasn’t the first SST in the air. Even the Concorde had some redesigns before entering service, so do you throw out the first Concorde prototype flight as well?