Antonov An-12

An-12
An-12 of Gomelavia in 2009
Role Civil and Military transport aircraft
Manufacturer Antonov
First flight 16 December[1] 1957
Introduction 1959
Status Active service with various airlines (especially cargo) and Air Forces
Primary users Soviet Air Force
Aeroflot
PLA Air Force
Produced 1957-1973
Number built 1,248
Developed from Antonov An-10
Variants Shaanxi Y-8

The Antonov An-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.

Contents

Design and development

The first prototype flew in December 1957. Over 900 had been built, in both military and civilian versions, before production finally ended in 1973. The An-12BP entered Soviet military service in 1959. In terms of configuration, size and capability, the aircraft is similar to the United States-built Lockheed C-130 Hercules. Military Soviet and former-Soviet examples have a defensive tail gun turret.

Chinese production

In the 1960s China purchased several An-12 aircraft from the Soviet Union, along with a license to assemble the aircraft locally. However, due to the Sino-Soviet split, the Soviet Union withdrew their technical assistance. It was not until 1974 that the first Chinese-assembled An-12 had its maiden flight. The Xi'an Aircraft Company and Xi'an Aircraft Design Institute worked to reverse-engineer the An-12 for local production.[2]

In 1981, the Chinese copy version of the An-12, designated Y-8, 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 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.[3] Although the An-12 is no longer made in Russia or Ukraine, the Y-8 continues to be upgraded and produced in China. The latest Y8-F600 is a joint venture between 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.[4] It is unknown whether the Shaanxi Y-8 remains in production, yet many determine it will remain in production for the foreseeable future.

Variants

An-12A series

The An-12A was an improved model with four additional fuel cells in the inner wing panels and 4,250ehp AI-20K engines.[5]

An-12B series

The An-12B was further improved, with detachable outer wings forming integral fuel tanks housing 1,390 litres (305.8 Imp.Gal.) each, reinforced wing centre-section to support the extra fuel weight, a separate Flight Engineer station, more powerful cargo-handling winches and a TG-16 APU in the port undercarriage fairing, which necessitated removal of the rear bomb pylons from the undercarriage fairings. Power was supplied by Ivchenko AI-20M engines with improved reliability at the same rating as the AI-20K. Some An-12B aircraft were built at the factories as commercial transports with all military or sensitive equipment removed, the designation for these aircraft was unchanged.[5]

An-12D series

The An-12D was developed from 1964 as an increased-payload version with new undercarriage, new tail unit similar to the Antonov An-24 and a fully pressurised fuselage of increased length and width incorporating a loading ramp in a cargo hold door. This project was not proceeded with but led to the An-40 STOL Transport.[5]

An-12M

The An-12M (Modifitseerovannyy – modified) was a standard-production aircraft fitted with 5,180ehp AI-20DM turboprop engines. Despite higher performance this upgraded An-12 was not proceeded with due to cancellation of the AI-20DM engines.[5]

An-12P series

An-12R series

An-12S

An-12T series

An-12U series

An-12V

An-40

The An-40, derived directly from the An-12D, was to have been powered by four 5,500ehp AI-30 turboprop engines and four 2,550kgp (5,260 lb-st) Kolesov RD-36-35 booster/brake engines, fitted with thrust reversers, in paired nacelles between the inner and outer turboprop engines. A full-scale mock-up was completed in 1965 but the VVS selected the larger and faster Ilyushin Il-76 for production instead.[5]

Other variants

An-12 variants without specific suffixes

Operators

Currently the An-12 is very popular with cargo operators, especially those in the CIS, Africa and the Indian subcontinent.[5]

Civil operators

In August 2006 a total of 179 Antonov An-12 aircraft remain in airline service. Major operators include: Air Guinee (4), Alada (5), British Gulf International Airlines (7), Avial Aviation (4), Heli Air Service (4), Scorpion Air (4), Tiramavia (4), Aerovis Airlines (5), Veteran Airlines (4), KNAAPO (5), Vega Airlines (6) ATRAN Cargo Airlines (4) and Volare Airlines (6). Some 77 other airlines operate smaller numbers of the type.[6]

On 12 January 2009, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) issued a temporary ban of the An-12 from flying over their airspace following runway incursions at Sharjah International Airport and the GCAA has advised operators to stop using the aircraft.[7][8] This ban was converted into a permanent one in Feb 2010.[9]

 Angola
 Bulgaria
 Canada
 People's Republic of China
 Egypt
 France
 Guinea
 Ghana
 Iraq
 Mexico
 Philippines
 Russia
 Soviet Union
 Sri Lanka
 United Arab Emirates
 Ukraine
 United States

Military operators

 Afghanistan
 Algeria
 Angola
 Azerbaijan
 Bangladesh
 Belarus
 China
 Côte d'Ivoire
 Czech Republic
 Czechoslovakia
 Egypt
 Ethiopia
 Guinea
 India
 Indonesia
 Iraq
 Iran
 Jordan
 Kazakhstan
 Kyrgyzstan
 Myanmar
 Nigeria
 Poland
 Russia
 Slovakia
 South Yemen
 Soviet Union
 Sudan
 Syria
 Tanzania
 Turkmenistan
 Ukraine
 Uzbekistan
 Yemen
 Yugoslavia
 Zimbabwe

Specifications (An-12)

Data from Global Aircraft,[12] Airliners.net[13]

General characteristics

Performance

Armament

Accidents and incidents

As of August 2011, more than 190 Antonov An-12s and Shaanxi Y-8s have crashed since the first prototype of the An-12 was severely damaged during a landing in mid-1958.[14]

Bans from airspace

The UAE General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) has announced an indefinite ban on the Antonov An-12 aircraft from the UAE's airspace, to be enforced from March 1, 2010 .[21] This follows a temporary ban on the aircraft in 2009 following an Antonov An-12 skidding off the Sharjah International Airport runway.

Commercial operation of the An-12 was prohibited in Russia following the Avis Amur accident on 9 August 2011. The ban was stated to be pending the completion of a risk assessment programme.[22]

In popular culture

In the 2005 movie Lord of War, the main character Yuri Orlov, played by Nicolas Cage, commonly uses an Antonov An-12 to transport weapons, and is later said to have "a fleet" of such planes. Andrew Niccol, the director of Lord of War, stated that they actually used one of Viktor Bout's An-12 aircraft in the movie. The plane was used in the 2009 movie Whiteout.[23]

See also

Related development
Aircraft of comparable role, configuration and era

Related lists

References

  1. ^ "Antonov official website". http://www.antonov.com/about/history/index.xml. Retrieved 15 August 2009. 
  2. ^ "Y8 Turboprop Transport Aircraft". Sino Defence. http://www.sinodefence.com/airforce/airlift/y8.asp. 
  3. ^ "Y8 navigator cockpit modification". AirForceWorld.com. http://airforceworld.com/pla/y8-transporter-china.htm. Retrieved 8 April 2011. 
  4. ^ "Y8F600 aircraft". Shaanxi Aircraft Industry. http://www.shanfei.com/2005_english/Product/Y8F600.htm. 
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at au av aw ax ay az ba bb bc Gordon,Yefim & Komissarov, Dmitry. Antonov An-12. Midland. Hinkley. 2007. ISBN(10) 1 85780 255 1 ISBN(13) 978 1 85780 255 9
  6. ^ Flight International, 3–9 October 2006
  7. ^ "GCAA issues temporary ban of Antonov An-12 from UAE airspace". http://www.ameinfo.com/181034.html. Retrieved 13 January 2009. 
  8. ^ "United Arab Emirates bans flights of Soviet-built An-12 aircraft". http://en.rian.ru/world/20090112/119454229.html. Retrieved 13 January 2009. 
  9. ^ "UAE bans ANTONOV An-12 aircraft from its airspace". The Times Of India. 19 February 2010. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/middle-east/UAE-bans-ANTONOV-An-12-aircraft-from-its-airspace-/articleshow/5590592.cms. Retrieved 19 February 2010. 
  10. ^ Vintage Russian. Props and Jets of the Iron Curtain Airlines, Airlife Publishing, Shrewsbury 1998, ISBN 1-85310-971-1.
  11. ^ Gołąbek, Adam: 13. Pułk Lotnictwa Transportowego in: Lotnictwo z szachownicą nr. 9 and nr. 10
  12. ^ "An-12 Cub". Global Aircraft. http://www.globalaircraft.org/planes/an-12_cub.pl. Retrieved 9 March 2006. 
  13. ^ "The Antonov An-12 & Shaanxi Y8". Airliners.net. http://www.airliners.net/info/stats.main?id=35. Retrieved 9 March 2006. 
  14. ^ Aviation Safety Network database An-12/Y-8 page retrieved August 10, 2011
  15. ^ Aviation Safety Network BL534 accident description retrieved August 10, 2011
  16. ^ "Five dead in Ukrainian plane fire at Luxor airport - Summary". The Earth Times. http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/256672,five-dead-in-ukrainian-plane-fire-at-luxor-airport--summary.html. Retrieved 20 February 2009. 
  17. ^ "Crash: Aero-Fret AN12 at Nganga Lingolo on 26 Aug 2009, impacted ground in a cemetery". Aviation Herald. http://www.avherald.com/h?article=41ecf6fe&opt=0. Retrieved 26 August 2009. 
  18. ^ "Crash: ATMA AN12 at Mexico on Apr 21st 2010, fire on board". Aviation Herald. http://avherald.com/h?article=42a6b436&opt=0. Retrieved 22 April 2010. 
  19. ^ Gomez, Jim (21 April 2010). "Cargo plane crashes in the Philippines; 3 dead". The Associated Press. http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hlh6Wy21hAzNisuQ9JdyeORIB-NAD9F7KAG80. Retrieved 21 April 2010. 
  20. ^ "Crash: Trans Air Congo AN12 at Pointe-Noire on Mar 21st 2011, impacted houses on landing". Aviation Herald. http://www.avherald.com/h?article=439b1572. Retrieved 22 March 2011. 
  21. ^ "Antonov An-12 Plane Banned From UAE Airspace". Bernama. 19 February 2010. http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v5/newsindex.php?id=476435. Retrieved 20 February 2010. 
  22. ^ Hradecky, Simon. "Accident: Avis Amur AN12 near Magadan on Aug 9th 2011, engine fire". The Aviation Herald. http://avherald.com/h?article=44102c56&opt=1. Retrieved 11 August 2011. 
  23. ^ "Deal With the Devil". Newsweek. 23 September 2005. Archived from the original on 29 May 2006. http://web.archive.org/web/20060529083830/http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9442606/site/newsweek/. Retrieved 8 December 2007. 
  • Gordon, Yefim, Dmitry Komissarov. Antonov An-12. Midland. Hinkley. 2007. ISBN(10) 1 85780 255 1 ISBN(13) 978 1 85780 255 9

External links