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Further Reading

Antonov An-10 Cat

The An-12 aircraft is a military development of the civilian An-10, a four-engine turboprop commercial freight and passenger transport. Powered by four 4015 shp Ivchenko AI-20 turboprops, it could carry up to 130 passengers. The An-8s formed the basis for the stretched, four engined An-10 airliner for Aeroflot. Design of the An-10 airliner began in November 1955 and the prototype (named Ukraina) first flew in March 1957.Entering service in 1959, the An-10 in turn formed the basis for the An-12, the main differences between the two being the latter's more upswept rear fuselage and rear loading ramp. The Antonov An-12 is the Soviet equivalent to the American C-130 Hercules. The first An-12 prototype flew in March of 1957, the same month as the An-10 prototype, which indicated the close relationship between the aircraft. Subsequently more than 500 An-10/10A are believed to have been built.

During 1959, Aeroflot introduced two new types of turboprop airliner: the An-10, a high-wing four-engined airliner, and the 11-18, a sleek-looking low-wing four-engined turbo-prop (the same name but a different type to the earlier piston-engined aircraft). Both types gradually replaced hundreds of ll-12s, ll-14s and Li-2s which were relegated to routes within its base directorates.

The An-10 was the initial version with accommodation for 84 passengers and a 'play-room' for children at the rear. It entered service in July 1959 on routes from Simferopol to Moscow and Kiev. The An-10A developed version had a 2m longer fuselage and accommodated 100 to 130 passengers. It entered service in February 1960. An-10A also operated on skis in the far north of the Soviet Union.

Into 1966, Aeroflot laid the foundation for its eighth five-year plan with emphasis on transporting 70 million passengers, improved utilisation with the An-10/12, 11-18 and Tu-104 airliners and introducing three new airliners and three new helicopters. No An-10/10A were exported and Aeroflot withdrew the airliners in 1973. Both versions had the NATO reporting name Cat.