Antonov An-12 (Cub)

Antonov An-12 (Cub) History

The Antonov An-12 (NATO codename "Cub") was the main medium military transport for the Soviet Union and its satellites and allies during the decades of the Cold War. It operates in a form and function similar to the American Lockheed C-130 Hercules, which is very popular in the West. The An-12 was formerly known as the An-8, a twin-engine, high-wing, light military transport aircraft used by the Soviet Air Force and civilian airliner Aeroflot.

The An-10 was born from the An-8 as Aeroflot's extended fuselage four-engine passenger tug, and from there the military An-12 was delivered, retaining the former's four-engine design and high performance. Mounting the wings while introducing similarities to the previous An-8 designed rear cargo access ramp.

With more land to defend than any other superpower of the time, the Soviet Army faced the daunting prospect of finding ways to mobilize and transport large numbers of people, equipment and weapons to hotspots, regardless of whether where do they happen. As a result, the country went through a long period (and continues to this day) to develop medium and heavy freighters to perform this important logistical duty.

The An-12 was designed by the Russian Oleg Antonov, whose office is named after him. The first flight of the An-12 prototype took place on December 16, 1957, powered by four Kuznetsov NK-4 turboprop engines. The same prototype was badly damaged during a landing approach in 1958, which may be a symbol of the plane's unfulfilled existence. Further testing eventually cleared the An-12BP for military versions, which were equipped with four Ivchenko AI-20 series turboprop engines.

Production of this model spanned from 1957 to 1973, with 1,248 of them produced in various configurations and designations.

The value of platforms such as the An-12 lies in their short-range capabilities and transport characteristics. This is thanks in part to the high wing and four engine units. The high-mounted wings provide a strong lift mass and free the spinning propeller blades from ground crews moving outside the aircraft.

The raised tail section also allows unrestricted access to the cargo compartment via power doors and a loading ramp. With the cockpit so far ahead in design, the airframe can be used primarily to manage cargo, fuel supplies and other mission-related components. While traditionally unarmed, some Zn-12 variants feature a rear mounted 2 x 23mm NR-23 cannon to counter aircraft searches - a common practice observed on many large aircraft during the Cold War.

A typical crew consists of five people, including two pilots, a flight engineer, a navigator and a radio operator.

The aircraft is powered by 4 Ivchenko (now Progress) AI-20L turboprop engines, each rated at 4,000 hp. This gives the airframe a top speed of 480 mph and a cruising speed of 415 mph. The range on a full fuel is 3,540 miles.

Service is capped at 33,500 feet and rate of climb (load dependent) is 1,960 feet per minute.

The Cubs will serve a variety of other roles in both wartime and peacetime, chief among them being an airborne early warning (AEW) station, aerial refueling tanker, and junior aircrew instructor. During the Indo-Pakistani war, India received about 40 troops and converted some of them into bombers.

Likewise, Sri Lanka converted two transport aircraft into makeshift bombers in the ongoing battle with the rebel Tamil Tigers. After the Soviet-Central split in the 1960s and licensed production of kits for the An-12, China built the plane locally before reverse-engineering the production line and reintroducing it as the Shaanxi Y-8. The Y-8 family has likewise expanded to the various variants available, including a dedicated maritime reconnaissance variant.

The Soviet Cold War example was exported only to the Allies.

The An-12 is still in service today (2013), but its terrible accident record has prevented its use in some airspaces around the world. The series has experienced nearly 200 recorded crashes over its lifetime.

In fact, an An-12 was recently implicated in a December 2013 crash in Russia that killed five crew members.

The Antonov An-12 "Cub" series was finally officially replaced in Soviet/Russian service (among others) by the larger jet-powered Ilyushin IL-76 "Candid" series, which in turn remains in service today (2013).

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Antonov An-24 (Coke) History

The Antonov An-24 (NATO codename of "Coke") is a Cold War-era twin-turboprop utility aircraft sitll operated by various air powers of the world including the Russian Air Force. Its proven capabilities, and consistent modernization, have kept it at the forefront of the transport world. where its impact has been felt for decades.

First flown in prototype form on October 29th, 1959, the aircraft was formally introduced into service in 1962 and was produced from 1959 to 1979 to the tune of some 1,367 examples (though just over 100 are actively operated today - 2020). The line has also been manufactured by ally China as the "Y-7" and other variants include the An-26, An-30, and An-32.

An-24s were adopted to succeed an aging line of Ilyushin IL-14 transports introduced back in 1954 (1,348 were produced).

The related An-26 is a tactical transport complete with cargo ramp. The An-30 is used in the photographic-mapping role and carries specialized equipment. The An-32 is the An-26 developed for better handling of extreme weather conditions.

The An-34 is the unused designation for the eventual An-24T mark. The An-50 became an abandoned jet-powered project involving the An-24 design fitted with 4 x Ivchenko AI-25 turbofan engines - it was not furthered.

The An-24V production mark was crewed by three and could ferry up to 50 passengers. Overall length reached 77. 1 feet with a wingspan of 95. 9 feet, and a height of 27. 3 feet. Empty weight was 30,000lb against an MTOW of 46,300lb.

Power was from 2 x Ivchenko AI-24A turboprop engines developing 2,550 horsepower each driving 4-bladed AV-72 series constant-speed propellers measuring 12. 9 feet in diameter.

The aircraft could hope to reach speeds of 280 miles-per-hour out to a range of 1,500 miles (with full payload capacity reached) and its service ceiling topped at 27,600 feet. Rate-of-climb reached 375 feet-per-minute.

Current (2020) military operators of the An-24 include the North Korean Air Force (one example modified to serve in the Airborne Early Warning - AEW - role), the Russian Air Force and Navy, and the Ukrainian Air Force and Navy. Post operators include Afghanistan, Algeria, Angola, Bangladesh, Cuba, Czechoslovakia, Iran, Iraq, Poland, Vietnam and others.

Civilian market forms are also in use or have existed in the past.

Antonov An-24 (Coke) Specification

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