Antonov An-26


The Antonov An-26 is a twin-engined turboprop civilian and military transport aircraft, designed and produced in the Soviet Union from 1969 to 1986. It is the third member of the Antonov An-24 family, coming after the An-24 and An-30, while preceding the An-32 and cancelled An-132. The An-26 was eventually license-produced in China as the Xi'an Y-7, which eventually evolved into the Xi'an MA60 airliner.

Development

While the An-24T tactical transport had proved successful in supporting Soviet troops in austere locations, its ventral loading hatch restricted the handling of cargo, and in particular vehicles, and made it less effective than hoped in parachuting men and supplies. As a result, interest in a version with a retractable cargo ramp increased, and the Antonov design bureau decided in 1966 to begin development on the new An-26 derivative, in advance of an official order. The cargo ramp was based on that design and allowed the cargo deck to be sealed and pressurised in flight. When loading cargo, it could either be lowered to allow vehicles to be driven in, or slid beneath the aircraft's fuselage, so that cargo could be loaded straight in off a truck bed. In March 1968, the OKB received official permission to begin development. Particular attention was given to the military mission, and the majority of early An-26 production was delivered to the VTA.
Using the majority of the An-24 airframe, it has high-set cantilevered wings, wing-mounted twin turboprops with a turbojet engine in the starboard nacelle for use as an auxiliary power unit and also for extra take-off thrust, plus long main undercarriage legs. The An-26 includes military equipment, such as tip-up paratroop canvas seats, an overhead traveling hoist, bulged observation windows and parachute static line attachment cables. It can be configured in 20–30 minutes from the troop transport or freight mission to the medical evacuation role with up to 24 stretchers fitted.
The An-26 made its public debut at the 27th Paris Air Show at Le Bourget where the second prototype, CCCP-26184, was shown in the static aircraft park.
The An-26 is also manufactured without a license agreement in China by the Xian Aircraft factory as the Y-14, later changed to be included in the Xi'an Y-7 series.

Total production

Operational history

The An-26 has a secondary bomber role with underwing bomb racks. The racks are attached to the fuselage in front of and behind the rear landing gear. In the bombing role it was extensively used by the Vietnam People's Air Force during the Cambodian–Vietnamese War and Sudanese Air Force during the Second Sudanese Civil War and the War in Darfur. Russian Forces have also trained with the An-26 as a bomber. In 1977, the Afghan Air Force received the An-26 aircraft and in 1986, they had 36 of them which were used for airborne assaults conducted by the Afghan Army's commando and parachute battalions and two military transport squadrons.
One An-26 was involved in the Purulia Incident in 1995 in which arms were dropped in the Purulia district of West Bengal, India. The reason behind the drop is not disclosed to the public due to national security.

Variants

;An-26
;An-26-100
;An-26 Nel'mo
;An-26 Pogoda
;An-26 Polyot
;An-26 Sfera
;An-26 Shtabnoy
;An-26A
;An-26ASLK
;An-26B
;An-26B
;An-26B Tsiklon
;An-26B-100
;An-26BL
;An-26BRL
;An-26D
;An-26K Kaira
;An-26K Kaplya
;An-26KPA
;An-26L
;An-26LL-PLO
;An-26LP
;An-26M Spasatel
;An-26P
;An-26P Prozhektor
;An-26REP
;An-26RL
;An-26RR
;An-26RT
;An-26RT
;An-26RTR
;An-26S
;An-26Sh

Non-USSR /-Ukrainian versions

;An-26SM
;An-26M
;An-26ST
;An-26T
;An-26Z-1
;Xian Y-7H
;Xian Y-14

Operators

Military operators

File:Hungarian Air Force Antonov An-26 departs RIAT 14thJuly2014 arp.jpg|thumb|Hungarian Air Force Antonov An-26 departs RIAT at RAF Fairford, England
UGA – OAO – LO – Home BaseCIS
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Tula294thTulaTula Air Enterprise
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Irkutsk134thIrkutsk-1Baikal Airlines
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KomiPechoraPechoraKomiavia;Komiinteravia
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2nd Krasnoyarsk126thKrasnoyarsk-SevernyyKras Air
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Pskov320th / 2nd SquadronPskovPskov Avia
LithuanianVilnius277thVilniusLithuanian Airlines*
MagadanAnadyr'150th / 2nd SquadronAnadyr'-Ugol'nyyChukotavia
1st Magadan185thMagadan-SokolKolyma-Avia
SeymchanSeymchanNW Aerial Forestry Protection Base
MoldavianKishinyov407thKishinyovAir Moldova
North CaucasianKrasnodar241stKrasnodarALK Kuban Airlines
1st Krasnodar406thKrasnodar
TajikLeninabad292nd / 2nd SquadronLeninabad
Training Establishments DirectorateKVLUGA KirovogradUkraine State Flight Academy
TurkmenKrasnovodsk360thKrasnovodskTurkmenistan Airlines/Khazar
Tyumen'Salekhard234th / 5th SquadronSalekhard
2ndTyumen'357thTyumen'-RoschchinoTyumen'AviaTrans
UkrainianDnipropetrovsk327thDnipropetrovsk-Volos'kieDniproavia
KirovogradKirovograd-KhmelyovoyeAir URGA
Simferopol84thSimferopolAviakompaniya Krym / Crimea AL
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1st Perm'Perm'-Bolshoye SavinoPerm Airlines
1st SverdlovskSverdlovsk-Kol'tsovoUral Airlines
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SaranskSaranskSaransk Air Enterprise
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Mirnyy190thMirnyyAlmazy Rossii – Sakha
Yakutsk139th / 3rd SquadronYakutsk
GosNII GVF Moscow - Sheremet'yevo-1

*note: Lithuania was not a CIS country.