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Aviation / Aerospace

Antonov An-12 (Cub)

Military Transport Aircraft [ 1959 ]

Despite its troubled service life, the Antonov An-12 Cub has found many global customers since its inception during the late-1950s.

Authored By: Staff Writer | Last Edited: 03/27/2020 | Content ©www.MilitaryFactory.com | The following text is exclusive to this site.

Image from the Russian Ministry of Defense; Public Release.

GO TO SPECIFICATIONS [+]

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The Antonov An-12 (NATO codename of "Cub") was the primary medium-lift military transport of the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies during the Cold War decades. It operated in similar form and function to the American Lockheed C-130 Hercules which proved exceedingly popular in the West. The An-12 held a direct origin to the An-8, a twin-engine, high-winged light military transport adopted by the Soviet Air Force as well as the civilian passenger airliner concern of Aeroflot. The An-10 was then born of the An-8 to become a four-engined passenger hauler with lengthened fuselage for Aeroflot and, from this, was delivered the military-minded An-12 - retaining the former's four-engine design and high-mounted wings while introducing a rear cargo access ramp akin to the preceding An-8 design.

With more land area to defend than any other superpower of the time, the Soviet military was faced with the daunting prospect of finding ways to mobilize and transport large amounts of men, equipment and weapons to hotspots wherever they may arise. As such, the nation went through an extended period of developing medium and heavy freighters (which continued to this day) to help fill this important logistical role.

The An-12 was designed by Russian Oleg Antonov whose bureau shares his name. First flight of an An-12 prototype was on December 16th, 1957 and powered through 4 x Kuznetsov NK-4 turboprop engines. This same prototype was then severely damaged on a landing approach in 1958, perhaps serving as a symbol of the aircraft's troubled existence still to be realized. Further testing finally cleared the type for military service as the An-12BP and these were outfitted with 4 x Ivchenko AI-20 series turboprop engines. Production of the type spanned from 1957 into 1973 to which 1,248 were produced under various configurations and designations.

The value of such platforms as the An-12 lay in their short runway capabilities and hauling qualities. This was aided, in part, by the high-mounted wings and four engine installations. The high-mounted wing allowed for strong lifting qualities while also clearing the spinning propeller blades from ground personnel moving around the outside of the aircraft. The raised tail unit also allowed unrestricted access to the cargo hold by way of a powered door and loading ramp. With the cockpit set well-forward in the design, the fuselage could largely serve to manage cargo as well as fuel stores and other mission-pertinent components. While traditionally unarmed, some Zn-12 variants featured a 2 x 23mm NR-23 cannon installation at the tail to counter perusing aircraft - a common practice seen in many large aircraft of the Cold War period. A typical crew numbered five personnel to include a pair of pilots, a flight engineer, a navigator and a radioman.©MilitaryFactory.com

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The aircraft was powered by 4 x Ivchenko (now Progress) AI-20L turboprop engines of 4,000 horsepower output each. This allowed the airframe a maximum speed of 480 miles per hour with a cruising speed of 415 miles per hour. Range with a complete fuel load was 3,540 miles. Service ceiling was listed at 33,500 feet with a rate-of-climb (depending on load) of 1,960 feet per minute.

The "Cub" would go on to fill a myriad of other roles in both wartime and peacetime, chief among these becoming an Airborne Early Warning (AEW) station, an aerial refueling tanker and primary crew trainer. India received some forty units and converted some as bombers during the Indo-Pak War. Similarly, Sri Lanka modified a pair of transports as ad hoc bombers in ongoing battles with Tamil Tiger rebels. After the Soviet-Chinese split of the 1960s and having acquired kits for license production of the An-12, China built the aircraft locally before reverse-engineering the line and reintroducing it as the Shannxi Y-8. The Y-8 line was equally broadened into a myriad of available variants including a dedicated maritime reconnaissance variant. Soviet examples of the Cold War were exported solely to allied nations.

The An-12 is still in active use today (2013) but it's terrible accident record had precluded its use across some airspaces of the world. The series has seen nearly 200 recorded accidents during its service lifetime. In fact, an An-12 has recently been linked to a December 2013 crash in Russia, killing five of its crew memebers.

The Antonov An-12 "Cub" series was eventually formally replaced in Soviet/Russian service (among others) by the larger, jet-powered Ilyushin IL-76 "Candid" line which, itself, continues in service today (2013).©MilitaryFactory.com

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Specifications

Service Year

1959

Origin

Soviet Union

Status

ACTIVE
In Active Service.

Crew

5

Production

1,248
UNITS

Antonov - Soviet Union

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National flag of the United Arab Emirates

Afganistan; Algeria; Angola; Armenia; Azerbaijan; Bangladesh; Belarus; Bulgaria; Burma; Canada; China; Czechoslovakia; Czech Republic; Egypt; Ethiopia; France; Georgia; Guinea; Ghana; India; Indonesia; Iraq; Iran; Ivory Coast; Jordan; Kazakhstan; Kyrgstan; Mongolia; Mozambique; Mexico; Nigeria; Philippines; Poland; Russia; Slovakia; South Yemen; Soviet Union; Sudan; Sri Lanka; Syria; Tanzania; Turkmenistan; United Arab Emirates; Ukraine; United States; Uzbekistan; Yemen; Yugoslavia; Zimbabwe

(OPERATORS list includes past, present, and future operators when applicable)

✓ Transport
General transport functionality to move supplies/cargo or personnel (including wounded and VIP) over range.

Length

108.6 ft
(33.10 m)

Width/Span

124.7 ft
(38.00 m)

Height

34.5 ft
(10.53 m)

Empty Wgt

61,729 lb
(28,000 kg)

MTOW

134,482 lb
(61,000 kg)

Wgt Diff

+72,753 lb
(+33,000 kg)

(Showcased structural values pertain to the Antonov An-12BK (Cub) production variant)

Installed: 4 x ZMDB Progress (Ivchenko) AI-20M turboprop engines generating 4,252 shaft horsepower each.

Max Speed

300 mph
(482 kph | 260 kts)

Ceiling

34,449 ft
(10,500 m | 7 mi)

Range

2,237 mi
(3,600 km | 6,667 nm)

Rate-of-Climb

1,960 ft/min
(597 m/min)

♦ MACH Regime (Sonic)

Sub

Trans

Super

Hyper

HiHyper

ReEntry

♦

(Showcased performance specifications pertain to the Antonov An-12BK (Cub) production variant. Performance specifications showcased above are subject to environmental factors as well as aircraft configuration. Estimates are made when Real Data not available. Compare this aircraft entry against any other in our database or View aircraft by powerplant type)

Usually none though some variants may be armed with tail-mounted 2 x 23mm Nudelman-Rikhter NR-23 series cannons.

Supported Types

Graphical image of an aircraft automatic cannon

(Not all ordnance types may be represented in the showcase above)

Hardpoint Mountings: 0

An-12 - Base initial production model; fitted with Ivchenko AI-20A engines of 4,000 horsepower

An-12A - Improved An-12; additional fuel cells; fitted with Ivchenko AI-20K engines of 4,250 horsepower.

An-12AD - Single example An-12 from Tashkent

An-12AP - An-12A with additional two fuel tanks

An-12B - Improved An-12; additional fuel stores; strengthened wing center; detachable wing elements; improved cargo handling; outfitted with improved Ivchenko AI-20M engines of 4,250 horsepower.

An-12B (LIAT) - Crash investigation platform modified from An-12B; single example

An-12B-30 - Proposed An-12 with AI-20K engines of 5,180 horsepower; increased cargo load capability.

An-12B-I - Electronic CounterMeasures (ECM) platform; seven examples

An-12BK - Improved avionics suite; increased cargo capacity; enlarged cargo door

An-12BK-IS - An-12BK models modified for ECM duty; 40 examples

An-12BK-PPS - An-12PP serving as ECM aircraft

An-12BKK - One-off VIP conversion with pressurized passenger cabin

An-12BKSh - Navigation Trainer based on An-12BK

An-12BKT - Aerial tanker version

An-12BKV - Proposed bomber/naval mine dispenser platform

An-12BL - Kh-28 aerial missile testbed

An-12BM - An-12B modified to serve in SATCOM role; single example

An-12BP - Additional fuel stores

An-12BPTs - An-12BP airframes modified for atmospheric research role; two examples

An-12BSh - Navigational trainer platform

An-12BSM - Improved commercial cargo hauler

An-12BZ-1 - Proposed aerial tanker

An-12BZ-2 - Proposed aerial tanker

An-12D - Proposed improved An-12; revised undercarriage; increased cargo hauling capabilities; new empennage.

An-12DK - Proposed variant outfitted with Ivchenko AI-30 engines of 5,500 horsepower

As-12D-UPS - Aerodynamic testbed laboratory

An-12M - Proposed modified An-12 with AI-20DM engines of 5,180 horsepower

An-12P - Additional two fuel tanks added

An-12PL -Arctic/cold weather environment conversion model; ski-type undercarriage arrangement

An-12PP - ECM variant

An-12PS - An-12B with Search and Rescue functionality

An-12R - Dedicated reconnaissance platform

An-12RR - Radiation reconnaissance platform

An-12RU - Proposed JATO (Jet-Assisted Take-Off) variant

An-12SN - Special mission airframe; improved cargo hauling capabilities for the transport of main battle tanks and similar; 1 x Mikulin RD-9 turbojet for added lift.

An-12T - Aerial tanker variant

An-12TP-2 - Long-range geographical survey platform; single example from An-12B line

An-12TA

An-12TB

An-12TBP

An-12TBK

An-12U - Aerodynamic airborne testbed

An-12UD - Extended range form

An-12UD-3 - Increased range variant

An-12VKP - Airborne Command Post; single example from An-12A line

An-40 - Based on An-12D model; outfitted with AI-30 engines of 5,500 horsepower; never adopted.

An-40PLO - Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) variant

An-42 - An-40 for aerodynamic airborne testing

Shaanxi Y-8 - Chinese local copy of the An-12BP model; various other variants developed since.

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