Editing Antonov An-12 (section)

==Operational history==
[[File:Antonov An-12B P7-AirdropPlatform Krakau-Luftfahrtmuseum 20210907-2wp.jpg|thumb|P-7 airdrop platform for use with An-12 aircraft. Equipped with MKS-5-12P parachute system. Loaded weight 4000-4900 kg. First used at the October Storm exercises near Erfurt, GDR. Last dropped in Poland 1986.]]

===Soviet Air Forces===
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 (code name)|Cargo 200]]" or coffins with the bodies of deceased soldiers. To this regard, the aircraft was nicknamed "'''Black Tulip'''" ([[Russian language|Russian]]: «Чёрный тюльпан»); the origin of the nickname is unclear. There are quite a few monuments in Russia named {{ill|Black Tulip (monument)|lt=Black Tulip|ru|Памятник «Чёрный тюльпан»}} to commemorate the killed during the Afghan War.<ref name="«Чёрный тюльпан»: почему советские солдаты в Афганистане так назвали самолёт АН-12">{{cite web |url=https://russian7.ru/post/chyornyy-tyulpan-pochemu-sovetskie-so/ |title="Чёрный тюльпан": почему советские солдаты в Афганистане так назвали самолёт АН-12 |work= Русская Семёрка |access-date=7 April 2020 |url-status= live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200408002824/https://zen.yandex.ru/media/russian7/chernyi-tiulpan-pochemu-sovetskie-soldaty-v-afganistane-tak-nazvali-samolet-an12-5d72bcd2aad43600adac70c1 |archive-date=8 April 2020  }}</ref>