Tupolev Tu-116

The Tupolev Tu-116 was a turboprop-powered long-range Soviet airliner converted from the Tu-95 strategic bomber, built in two examples. Like the Tu-114 it was developed from the Tu-95, and the two were designed in parallel, with the Tu-116 given priority because of Nikita Khrushchev's many visits abroad and his planned trip to the United States, when the Tu-114 might not be ready. It carried 24 passengers, including a cook, a flight attendant and a navigator-announcer, with ten to twelve armed guards when needed. All bombing and protective gear was removed and two cabins with a lavatory and service room were added. It was never used to carry the head of state and served the air force until the early 1990s.