Tupolev Tu-114 Tu-114D

The Havana service began on 10 July 1962 via Conakry, but American diplomatic pressure closed the African stopovers one by one: Guinea after four flights, then Dakar after three, then Algiers after three more. The Soviet answer was to empty the aircraft of passengers and fill it with fuel. The Tu-114Ds refuelled at Olenya near Murmansk and crossed the Barents Sea towards the Caribbean; strong headwinds could force an emergency stop at Nassau in the Bahamas, an American military field. One of the three was written off in 1962 and the other two reverted to the 200-seat standard between 1969 and 1970, once the Ilyushin Il-62 took over the route. It should not be confused with the Tu-116, also designated Tu-114D in some sources.