Antonov's Heavy Transports-Red Star V18 (Paperback)

~ Yefim Gordon (Author)

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Product Description

The need for the development of the An-22 'big lifter' originated with the advent of intercontinental ballistic missiles and tactical systems which required a heavy-lift port aircraft for rapid deployment. This dictated the huge size of the An-22; it was powered by four mighty 15,000-ehp Kuznetsov NK-12 turboprops driving eight-bladed contraprops.

The An-22 created a veritable sensation when it entered flight test in 1965. The aircraft soon made its mark in several major airlift operations, as well as in the Afghan War. It was also used for developing remote regions of the Soviet Union and relief operations.

The Soviet answer to the C-5 Galaxy came in 1982 with the all-new An-124, named Ruslan after a Russian epic hero. With its 392-ton take-off weight and 120-ton playload, the An-124 overshadowed everything that had existed before. Originally a military freighter, it soon found itself a stable niche on the civil market due to its ability to haul outsize and ultra-heavy loads. The Antonov OKB astounded the world again in 1989 with the 600-ton An-255 Mriya designed to carry components of the Energiya/Buran space transport system piggy-back.

Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Midland; illustrated edition edition (March 10, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1857801822
• ISBN-13: 978-1857801828
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.4 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #491,829 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars For Soviet/Russian aviation, Yefim Gordon is the best..., June 18, 2005

By	A. G. Corwin - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

One of the better books in the Red Star Aviation series, Antonov's Heavy Transports is a fascinating look at the Antonov OKB and its design for some of the world's most effective, and most elegant, heavy transport aircraft.

The book, chock full of photographs, documents the first Antonov heavy lifter, the An-22, which made a smashing debut at the Paris Air Show. The quality and effectiveness of this design is evident in its longevity. Only now, almost 40 years after production began, is the An-22 being phased out. The AN-124 CONDOR heavy lift transport, built in response to the debut of the US C-5 Galaxy, was a masterpiece of Antonov design and function. Though used mostly as an oversize cargo carrier today rather than in Russian Air Force service, it is the cargo carrier of choice for charter airlines like Volga-Dnepr and set over 100 world records for heavy tranports, broken only by the An-225. Even the American military has chartered the CONDOR to deliver supplies to the Middle East, Central Asia, and around the world. An offshoot of the CONDOR, the AN-225 MRIYA(Dream), NATO name COSSACK, is the world's largest airplane. With 6 turbofan jet engines and a split tail, the enormous MRIYA was a hit at every air show it attended, from La Borget to Farnborough. Utterly unique in its cargo carrying capabilites, it was designed by Antonov to transport the BURAN space shuttle. With the demise of the Soviet space program, the Mriya was refurbished and has become the plane of choice for tranporting oversized cargo of 150 tons or more.

The final plane is the An-70, a four engine turboprop heavy lift transport envisioned as a STOL competitor to the C-17 and replacement of the An-22. Gordon discusses its troubled history of joint Russian/Ukrainian financing and 2 prototype crashes, which led the Russian Air Force to pull out from the project. The Ukrainian Air Force has now decided to fund at least 2 production aircraft to enable the An-70 to begin production and continue Antonov's transport legacy, and the aircraft is receiving considerable attention from countries like China, the Czech Republic, and Hungary as the transport of the future.

All of the Red Star series, and all aviation books by Gordon, utilize his wealth of Soviet and Russian design histories and photographs to bring the aviation enthusiast a complete and detailed look at the four major Antonov OKB transports. A must have for aviation buffs.