Red Star 21: Antonov's Jet Twins: The An-72/-74 Family: No. 21 - Tapa blanda

The need to provide a state-of-the-art jet successor to the ubiquitous An-26 led Antonov to develop a twin-turbo-fan tactical airlifter, the An-72, which made use of the Coanda effect, improving wing lift and field performance dramatically. The prototype flew in 1977, but it was not until the mid-1980s that production began in Khar'kov. The baseline military airlifter soon spawned a wide selection of derivatives. First was the An-74; originally conceived as a specialized version for Arctic and Antarctic support, it entered production as an ordinary civil transport. Concerted efforts by the Antonov OKB to enhance the capabilities of the An-72/An-74 family led to the development of the An-72P armed border patrol version, the convertible cargo/passenger An-747T and An-74TK, the An-74S flying hospital and the radically redesigned An-74TK-300 with engines on underwing pylons - an arrangement which improved the all-important economic efficiency. The most intriguing An-72 derivative was the unorthodox An-71 AEW aircraft; originally meant for shipboard operations, it was prevented from entering production by the political and economic situation.

The latest addition to Midland's popular Red Star series is this study of the interesting short take off and landing (STOL) aircraft developed by Oleg K. Antonov's Design Bureau in the 1970s. The book details the development history and provides full information on all the significant technical aspects of these light short take-off and landing jet transports. Military and civilian versions of these STOL aircraft were developed in tandem. The testing and operational use of the An-72 light military transport is considered as is that of its commercial twin brother, the An-74. Coverage includes their operations in the Arctic regions which are of particular interest. Due mention is made of the specialised military versions including the An-72P border patrol aircraft and the unorthodox An-71 AEW&C aircraft with a rotodome on top of the vertical tail, as well as the significantly redesigned An-74-300. A comparison will be made with the An-72's US counterparts, the YC-14 and YC-15, which did not achieve production status.