Antonov An-12
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The Antonov An-12 (Russian: Антонов Ан-12; NATO reporting name: Cub) is a four-engined turboprop transport aircraft designed in the Soviet Union. It is the military version of the Antonov An-10 and has many variants. For more than three decades, the An-12 was the standard medium-range cargo and paratroop transport aircraft of the Soviet air forces. A total of 1,248 aircraft were built.<ref name="AirInternational"/>
Design and developmentEdit
Developed from the Antonov An-8, the An-12 was a military version of the An-10 passenger transport. The first prototype An-12 flew in December 1957 and entered Soviet military service in 1959. Initially, the aircraft was produced at the State Aviation Factory in Irkutsk, Siberia. From 1962, production was transferred to Tashkent, where 830 were built. Later, production moved to Voronezh and Kazan.<ref name="AirInternational"/>
In military use, the An-12 has capacity for up to 100 fully equipped paratroopers or Template:Cvt of cargo, which is loaded through the rear loading ramp/door.<ref name="AirInternational"/>
In terms of configuration, size, and capability, the aircraft is similar to the United States-built Lockheed C-130 Hercules.Template:Citation needed Soviet military and former-Soviet An-12s have a defensive tail gun turret.
Chinese productionEdit
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In the 1960s, China purchased several An-12 aircraft from the Soviet Union, along with a license to assemble the aircraft locally. Due to the Sino-Soviet split, the Soviet Union withdrew its technical assistance. The Xi'an Aircraft Company and Xi'an Aircraft Design Institute reverse-engineered the An-12 for local production, and the first flight of a Chinese-assembled An-12 was delayed until 1974 after USSR ceased production in 1973.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
In 1981, the Chinese version of the An-12, designated Y-8, finally entered production. Since then, the Y-8 has become one of China's most popular military and civilian transport/cargo aircraft, with many variants produced and exported. A Tu-16/H-6 bomber navigator cockpit design was chosen for the Y-8 instead of the original An-12 shorter navigator cockpit design, as the H-6 bomber had been in serial production for some time.<ref name="AirForceWorld.com_Y8_navigator_cockpit">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Although the An-12 is no longer in use either in Russia or in Ukraine, the Y-8 is upgraded and produced in China. The latest Y8-F600 is a joint venture between the Shaanxi Aircraft Company, Antonov Aeronautical Scientific Technical Complex (ASTC), and Pratt & Whitney Canada. The Y8-F600 has a redesigned fuselage, western avionics, PW150B turboprop engines with an R-408 propeller system, and a two-crew glass cockpit.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Operational historyEdit
Soviet Air ForcesEdit
The aircraft first took flight in 1957 and was produced in the USSR until 1973. It was used in a variety of roles from search and rescue operations to equipment transportation. Its most significant use was seen during the Soviet-Afghan War. Among Soviet soldiers, it was infamously known that the plane would take off from Afghanistan to Tashkent with "Cargo 200" or coffins with the bodies of deceased soldiers. To this regard, the aircraft was nicknamed "Black Tulip" (Russian: «Чёрный тюльпан»); the origin of the nickname is unclear. There are quite a few monuments in Russia named Template:Ill to commemorate the killed during the Afghan War.<ref name="«Чёрный тюльпан»: почему советские солдаты в Афганистане так назвали самолёт АН-12">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
VariantsEdit
{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}} In addition to its basic cargo transport role, the An-12 was adapted as a platform for a wide variety of specialist tasks and some 30 different variants were produced. Upgrades included increased take-off weights and additional fuel capacity. The upgraded variant An-12BP became the standard tactical transport of the Soviet and other air forces.<ref name="AirInternational"/> In 2019, it was announced at the military "Army-2019" Forum that Russia started working on an armed ground-attack and close air support variant of the An-12, similar to the American AC-130.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In 2021, it was announced that the gunship will not be based on the An-12 after all, as it did not meet the requirements for a "flying gunner."<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
OperatorsEdit
Currently, the An-12 is popular with cargo operators, especially those in the CIS, Africa and the Indian subcontinent.<ref name="Gordon An-12">Gordon, Yefim & Komissarov, Dmitry. Antonov An-12. Midland. Hinkley. 2007. Template:ISBN Template:Page needed</ref>
Civil operatorsEdit
On 8 January 2009, following numerous incidents involving the An-12 in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) issued a temporary ban of the An-12 from UAE airspace.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> On 1 March 2010, the ban was made permanent after the An-12 failed a GCAA airworthiness evaluation.<ref> Template:Cite news </ref>
CurrentEdit
- {{#invoke
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- {{#invoke
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- Air One (Mexico)
- {{#invoke
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- {{#invoke
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- Aerovis Airlines
- Antonov Airlines
- Cavok Air
- Meridian
- Motor Sich Airlines
- Ukraine Air Alliance
- Volare Airlines
- SRX<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref>
FormerEdit
- Balkan Bulgarian Airlines<ref>Endres 1979, p. 189.</ref>
- Air Sofia
- CAAC Airlines;<ref>Endres 1979, p. 15.</ref> see also Shaanxi Y-8
- Asia Cargo Airlines
- Air Mark
- {{#invoke
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- Darta
- Ghana Airways – The sole An-12 was delivered in October 1961. Withdrawn from use in 1962 and returned to the Soviet Union in 1963.<ref>Vintage Russian. Props and Jets of the Iron Curtain Airlines, Airlife Publishing, Shrewsbury 1998, Template:ISBN.</ref>
- Iraqi Airways<ref>Endres 1979, p. 401–402.</ref>
- {{#invoke
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- LOT Polish Airlines<ref>Endres 1979, p. 351.</ref>
- {{#invoke
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- Azza Transport<ref name="african migs p244">Template:Harvnb</ref>
- Badr Airlines<ref name="african migs p244" />
- Juba Air Cargo<ref name="african migs p244" />
Military operatorsEdit
CurrentEdit
- People's Air and Air Defence Force of Angola<ref name="fiwaf15 p32">Hoyle Flight International 8–14 December 2015, p. 32.</ref>
- Chadian Air Force<ref name="World Air Forces 2022">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref>
- Ethiopian Air Force<ref name="fiwaf15 p37">Hoyle Flight International 8–14 December 2015, p. 37.</ref>
- Template:KAZ<ref name="fiwaf15 p41">Hoyle Flight International 8–14 December 2015, p. 41.</ref>
- Nigerian Air Force – 12 An-12s in service
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- Russian Aerospace Forces<ref name="fiwaf15 p46">Hoyle Flight International 8–14 December 2015, p. 46.</ref>
- Russian Naval Aviation<ref name="fiwaf15 p46"/>
- Sudanese Air Force<ref name="fiwaf15 p48">Hoyle Flight International 8–14 December 2015, p. 48.</ref>
- Uzbekistan Air and Air Defence Forces<ref name="fiwaf15 p53">Hoyle Flight International 8–14 December 2015, p. 53.</ref>
FormerEdit
- {{#invoke
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- The Afghan Air Force operated 12 from 1981 through 2001. One of their An-12s which defected to Pakistan is preserved at PAF Museum, Karachi
- Bangladesh Air Force operated from 1973 to 1980s, now all retired
- {{#invoke
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- Czechoslovak Air Force: Czechoslovakia's fleet numbering two was divided evenly between the Czech Republic and Slovak Republic upon split with Slovakia. All CzAF An-12s were phased out of active service in the 1990s.
- Egyptian Air Force - 22 acquired<ref>Template:Harvnb</ref>
- {{#invoke
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- {{#invoke
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- The Indian Air Force inducted the first of these aircraft in 1961, when it raised No.44 Squadron "The Himalayan Geese". Six of these aircraft soon took part in airlifting army reinforcements to Ladakh during the Sino-Indian War of 1962. The An-12 was subsequently used to raise No.25 Squadron. The An-12s were also used as heavy bombers during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971. All IAF An-12s were phased out of active service in the 1990s. One of them is preserved at the Indian Air Force Museum, Palam, New Delhi.
- Indonesian Air Force – Retired in 1970
- Iraqi Air Force – Retired in 2003
- Mongolian Air Force - Retired 12 An-12<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref>
- {{#invoke
- flag||Poland}}
- Polish Air Force used two An-12B from 1966 until 1977 (crashed) and 1995<ref>Gołąbek, Adam: 13. Pułk Lotnictwa Transportowego in: Lotnictwo z szachownicą nr. 9 and nr. 10</ref>
- {{#invoke
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- Slovak Air Force received one An-12BP registered 2209 in 1993. It was sold to Moldavia in 1999 and now serves with Angolan Air Force.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}Template:Verify source</ref>
- The Soviet fleet was dispersed among many of the Soviet Union's successor states.
- Soviet Air Force
- Soviet Naval Aviation
- {{#invoke
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Accidents and incidentsEdit
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Specifications (An-12)Edit
See alsoEdit
ReferencesEdit
FootnotesEdit
SourcesEdit
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