The Tu-16 proved a versatile design, adaptable in a number of different roles. One of the most prominent was that of a raketonosets – the missile carrier – which resulted in the bomber serving as a launch platform for early land-attack cruise missiles and anti-ship missiles, all of which could be armed with nuclear warheads. The Tu-16K-10 was one of the most powerful sub-variants of this kind: it could be armed with the K-10 missile – the installation of which required the replacement of the glassed nose covering the navigator-bombardier’s position, with a large housing for a guidance radar. The huge weapon did not fit entirely into the bomb bay, but was installed semi-recessed, with the entire lower half of the fuselage and engine nacelle protruding underneath the aircraft. At least two K-10s equipped with live nuclear warheads were test-fired in the early 1960s. (Artwork by Tom Cooper)