Editing Antonov An-2 (section)

===Military service===
[[File:AN2 R.jpeg|thumb|[[Ukrainian hryvnia]] depicting the An-2 airplane]]
[[File:Antonov An-2 Vientiane.jpg|thumb|An AN-2 of the Laos air force]]
The An-2 was operated in large numbers by the [[Soviet Air Force]] and [[Eastern Bloc]] forces. Its first military use was during the [[Korean War]] of the early 1950s.{{Citation needed|date=February 2018}}

The [[Vietnam People's Air Force]] (VPAF) operated the An-2 during the [[Vietnam War]] and occasionally used the type as an attack aircraft. During the 1960s, a single An-2 that was engaging [[South Vietnamese]] naval units was shot down by a [[United States Air Force]] [[McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II]] fighter.<ref name = "An-2"/>

On 12 January 1968, a clandestine [[TACAN]] site ([[call sign]]: ''[[Lima Site 85]]''/Phou Pha Ti) installed by the United States Air Force in Northern [[Laos]] for directing [[USAF]] warplanes flying from [[Thailand]] to [[Vietnam]] was [[Battle of Lima Site 85|attacked]] by three [[North Vietnamese]] An-2s. A pair of An-2s fired on the outpost using a mixture of machine guns and rockets while a third An-2 orbited overhead.<ref name="auto2">{{cite web |url=https://www.cia.gov/library/center-for-the-study-of-intelligence/csi-publications/csi-studies/studies/vol52no2/iac/an-air-combat-first.html |title=An Air Combat First |publisher=[[Central Intelligence Agency]] |access-date=4 February 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110623051940/https://www.cia.gov/library/center-for-the-study-of-intelligence/csi-publications/csi-studies/studies/vol52no2/iac/an-air-combat-first.html |archive-date=23 June 2011 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all }}</ref>

An [[Air America (airline)|Air America]] [[Bell UH-1]]B resupplying the site gave chase to the attacking aircraft. Using an [[AK-47]], the American crew (Ted Moore Captain, Glen Wood Kicker) succeeded in shooting down one of the An-2s while the second aircraft was forced down by combined ground and air fire, eventually crashing into a mountain. The surviving Antonov returned to its home base, Gia Lam, near Hanoi.<ref name="auto2"/>

During the [[Croatian War of Independence]] in 1991, a number of elderly An-2s previously used for crop-spraying were converted by the [[Croatian Air Force and Defense|Croatian Air Force]] to drop makeshift [[barrel bombs]]. They were also used to conduct supply missions to besieged parts of Croatia.<ref name="WAPJ 24 p145">Mader 1996, p.145.</ref>

The chief advantage of the An-2 was its ability to operate from small improvised airstrips. They frequently dropped supplies by parachute to isolated garrisons. At least one An-2 was shot down on 2 December 1991 over [[Vinkovci]], eastern [[Slavonia]], by a Serbian [[surface to air missile]] (SAM) with a salvo of [[2K12 Kub|SA-6s]].<ref>{{cite book |author1-last=Magaš |author1-first=Branka |author2-last=Žanić |author2-first=Ivo |date=2001 |title=The war in Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina, 1991–1995 |publisher=[[Taylor & Francis]] |page=58 |isbn=0-7146-8201-2}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19911202-1 |title=ASN Aircraft accident Antonov 2 9A-BOP Vukovar |publisher=Aviation-safety.net |date=2 December 1991 |access-date=8 March 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140308032622/http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19911202-1 |archive-date=8 March 2014 |url-status=live |df=dmy-all }}</ref>

[[North Korea]] has also operated An-2s. The [[Korean People's Army Special Operation Force]] has used the An-2 to infiltrate paratroopers.<ref name="NKSF">{{cite book |author-last=Bermudez |author-first=Joseph S., Jr. |title=North Korean Special Forces |publisher=[[Jane's Publishing Company]] |publication-place=Surrey, United Kingdom |date=1988}}</ref> 

During the [[2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war]], Azerbaijan operated unmanned An-2s for surveillance and bombing of Armenian defenses,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://hetq.am/en/article/123071|title=Azerbaijani Military Retools Old Crop Duster Planes as Attack Drones|date=31 December 2020|publisher=Hetq Online|access-date=15 October 2020|archive-date=24 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201224143026/https://hetq.am/en/article/123071|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://defence24.pl/sily-zbrojne/rakiety-przeciwlotnicze-kontra-antonowy-pulapki|title=Górski Karabach: Rakiety przeciwlotnicze kontra Antonowy-pułapki [WIDEO]|website=defence24.pl|date=2 October 2020 |access-date=2022-05-18|archive-date=2022-05-25|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220525190029/https://defence24.pl/sily-zbrojne/rakiety-przeciwlotnicze-kontra-antonowy-pulapki|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=2021-02-10|title=The next frontier in drone warfare? A Soviet-era crop duster|url=https://thebulletin.org/2021/02/the-next-frontier-in-drone-warfare-a-soviet-era-crop-duster/|access-date=2021-02-15|website=Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists|language=en-US|archive-date=2021-02-14|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210214092524/https://thebulletin.org/2021/02/the-next-frontier-in-drone-warfare-a-soviet-era-crop-duster/|url-status=live}}</ref> however the type of the drone was unknown as of October 2020.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://hetq.am/en/article/123071|title=Azerbaijani Military Retools Old Crop Duster Planes as Attack Drones|date=14 October 2020|work=[[Hetq Online]]|access-date=15 October 2020|archive-date=24 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201224143026/https://hetq.am/en/article/123071|url-status=live}}</ref> Armenian forces revealed footage of the alleged shootdown of an Azerbaijani An-2, according to video evidence at least 11 An-2 have been destroyed, with 10 confirmed as shot down and one crashing after takeoff.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.oryxspioenkop.com/2020/09/the-fight-for-nagorno-karabakh.html?m=1|title=The fight for Nagorno Karabakh|date=1 October 2020|access-date=2 October 2020|archive-date=24 June 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230624123029/https://www.oryxspioenkop.com/2020/09/the-fight-for-nagorno-karabakh.html?m=1|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.urdupoint.com/en/world/nagorno-karabakh-republic-claims-downed-azerb-1042185.html|title=Nagorno-Karabakh Republic Claims Downed Azerbaijani Aircraft|website=UrduPoint|access-date=2020-09-30|archive-date=2021-07-21|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210721102147/https://www.urdupoint.com/en/world/nagorno-karabakh-republic-claims-downed-azerb-1042185.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

On March 2, 2022, Russian An-2s were observed at [[Seshcha (air base)|Seshcha Air Base]], [[Bryansk Oblast]]. As the base is close to the [[Ukraine]] border, it was speculated that the aircraft were to be used in the [[2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Newdick |first=Thomas |title=Russia Appears To Be Preparing Its Ancient An-2 Biplanes For War In Ukraine |url=https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/44532/russia-appears-to-be-preparing-its-ancient-an-2-biplanes-for-war-in-ukraine |access-date=2022-03-08 |website=[[The Drive (website)|The Drive]] |date=2 March 2022 |language=en |archive-date=2022-03-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220305184944/https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/44532/russia-appears-to-be-preparing-its-ancient-an-2-biplanes-for-war-in-ukraine |url-status=live }}</ref>