Antonov An-22

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antonov_An-22

The Antonov An-22 "Antei" (Russian: ??-22 ?????, An-22 Antej; English Antaeus)
(NATO reporting name "Cock") is a heavy military transport aircraft designed by
the Antonov Design Bureau in the Soviet Union. Powered by four turboprop engines
each driving a pair of contra-rotating propellers, the design was the first
wide-body transport aircraft and remains the world's largest turboprop-powered
aircraft to date. The An-22 first appeared publicly outside the Soviet Union at
the 1965 Paris Air Show. Since then, the model has seen extensive use in major
military and humanitarian airlifts for the Soviet Union.

The aircraft was designed as a strategic airlifter, designed specifically to
expand the Soviet Airborne Troops' capability to land with their then-new BMD-1
armoured vehicles. The An-22 cargo hold can accommodate four BMD-1s compared to
only one in the An-12.

It also has the capability to takeoff from austere, unpaved, and short
airstrips, allowing airborne troops to perform air-landing operations. This is
achieved by four pairs of contra-rotating propellers, similar to those on the
Tupolev Tu-114. The propellers and the exhaust from the engines produce a
slipstream over the wings and large double-slotted flaps. The landing gear is
ruggedized for rough airstrips, and, in early versions, tire pressures could be
adjusted in flight for optimum landing performance, although that feature was
removed in later models.

The An-22 follows traditional cargo transport design with a high-mounted wing
allowing a large cargo space of 33 m in length and a usable volume of 639 m³.
The forward fuselage is fully pressurized and provides space for 5 to 8 crew and
up to 28 passengers, but the cargo space is pressurized to only 3.55 PSI / 0.245
bar allowing for a lighter airframe. A door equipped with pressure bulkhead is
located at frame 14, separating the cargo attendant's compartment from the main
cargo compartment. This allows the rear cargo doors to be opened during flight
for paratroops and equipment drop. Like the An-12, the aircraft has a circular
fuselage section. The An-22 has set a number of payload and payload-to-height
world records.

The An-22 has the general appearance of an enlarged version of the earlier
Antonov An-12 except that it is fitted with a twin tail. This gives the An-22
better engine-out performance, and reduces height restrictions for hangars. Also
of note are large anti-flutter masses on the top of each tail.

A proposed civil airliner version capable of seating 724 passengers on upper and
lower decks was planned but wasn't constructed. (For comparison, a typical
Boeing 747 can carry 400–500 passengers.)


Role
Strategic airlifter

National origin
Soviet Union

Manufacturer
Antonov

First flight
27 February 1965

Introduction
1967

Status
In service

Primary users
Soviet Air Force
Aeroflot
Antonov Airlines

Produced
1966–1976

Number built
68

The An-22 was originally built for the Soviet Air Force and Aeroflot (the state
airline). Rearming from An-12 in the Air Force began in July 1974. Several
Military Transport Aviation units were equipped. The 12th Mginsk Red Banner
Military Transport Aviation Division (based at Migalovo) was one of the units
which had its three regiments entirely equipped with the An-22s. Another unit
that operated it was the 566th Solnechnogorsk Military Transport Aviation
Regiment, which used the An-22 from 1970 to 1987.

An early use of the An-22 was to deliver Soviet humanitarian aid to Peru in July
1970 following the Ancash earthquake. One An-22 disappeared on 18 July during
these relief flights. An-22s were also used to deliver Soviet military aid to
Egypt and Syria during the Yom Kippur War in 1973, to Angola in 1975, and to
Ethiopia in 1977.

The An-22s from Migalovo were used for the initial deployment of the Soviet
Airborne Troops (VDV) during the 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. One An-22
was shot down near Kabul on 28 October 1984, at takeoff, with about 250
casualties as the aircraft was used as troop carrier, probably shot down by a
SA-7 missile. In 1980, one An-22 crashed at Vnukovo Airport while two crashed at
Migalovo (in 1992 and 1994).

In 1984, military An-22s were used to deliver Mi-8 helicopters to Ethiopia
during drought relief operations.

In 1986 the aircraft of the 8th Military Air Transport Aviation Regiment from
Migalovo were used to deliver materials for the Chernobyl disaster relief
operation.

During 1987 the An-22s were used to deliver military equipment to Angola. A year
later the military An-22s were used to deliver 15,000 tons and 1,000 personnel
for the 1988 Armenian earthquake relief operation.

The An-22 aircraft were often seen at the Le Bourget Air Show, and in 1988
delivered an engine from An-124 to the Farnborough Airshow.

In late 1980s, the An-22s were used to deliver Internal Troops to many regional
conflicts during and after the breakup of the Soviet Union. In 1995 they
deployed the Russian peacekeeping force from the 98th Guards Airborne Division
during the Bosnian War.

Approximately 45 An-22s remained in service by the mid-1990s, mostly with the
Russian Air Force, but these are slowly being replaced by the bigger
turbofan-powered Antonov An-124. The remaining An-22s appear to be operated by
an independent military transport aviation squadron at Migalovo base in Tver.

As of December 2018, six An-22s were in service with the 76th Military Transport
Air Squadron at Tver, with only three aircraft airworthy. They are planned to
remain in service until 2033.

Specifications (An-22)

General characteristics
Crew: 5–6
Capacity: 28–29 pax / 80,000 kg (176,370 lb) maximum payload
Length: 57.92 m (190 ft 0 in) approx (dependent on nose config.)
Wingspan: 64.4 m (211 ft 3 in)
Height: 12.53 m (41 ft 1 in)
Wing area: 345 m2 (3,710 sq ft)
Airfoil: root:TsAGI S-5-16 ; tip: TsAGI S-5-13
Empty weight: 114,000 kg (251,327 lb)
Max takeoff weight: 250,000 kg (551,156 lb)
Fuel capacity: 43,000 kg (94,799 lb) maximum
Powerplant: 4 × Kuznetsov NK-12MA turboprop engines, 11,000 kW (15,000 shp) each
(equivalent)
Propellers: 8-bladed contra-rotating constant-speed reversible-pitch propeller

Performance
Maximum speed: 740 km/h (460 mph, 400 kn)
Range: 5,000 km (3,100 mi, 2,700 nmi) with maximum payload
10,950 km (6,800 mi; 5,910 nmi) with maximum fuel and 45,000 kg (99,208 lb)
payloadWing loading: 724.6 kg/m2 (148.4 lb/sq ft) max
Power/mass: 0.1789 kW/kg (0.1088 hp/lb) max
Take-off run: 1,300 m (4,265 ft)
Landing run: 800 m (2,625 ft)




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