An Antonov An-26 of the Polish Air Force.
The Antonov An-26 is a twin-engined turboprop civilian and military transport aircraft, designed and produced in Ukraine from 1965 to 1989.
After successful operations of the An-24T tactical transport in austere locations, interest in a version with a retractable cargo ramp increased. Initial studies for the retractable ramp were carried out as part of the projected An-40 medium transport. When given the go-ahead for the An-26 in March 1968 the Antonov OKB adapted the ramp design of the An-40 to the An-24 fuselage, thus was born the An-26. Particular attention was given to the military mission and the majority of early An-26 production was delivered to the VT-A.
Using the majority of the An-24 airframe, with its high-set cantilevered wings, twin turboprops and stocky main undercarriage, the An-26 included military equipment, such as tip-up paratroop canvas seats, overhead travelling hoist, bulged observation windows and parachute static line attachment cables. The An-26 made its public début at the 27th Paris Air Show at Le Bourget where the second prototype, U-26184 (c/n00202), was shown in the static aircraft park.
Users[]
- Afghanistan
- Angola
- Belarus
- Benin
- Bulgaria
- Cambodia
- Cape Verde
- Congo
- Cuba
- Czechoslovakia
- Ethiopia
- Guinea-Bissau
- Hungary
- Iraq
- Ivory Coast
- Laos
- Libya
- Lithuania
- Madagascar
- Mali
- Mongolia
- Mozambique
- Namibia
- Nicaragua
- Niger
- Peru
- Poland
- Romania
- Slovakia
- Somalia
- Soviet Union
- Syria
- Tchad
- Ukraine
- Vietnam
- Yemen
- Yugoslavia
- Zaire