Continuing with their books on Russian aviation, authors Yeflim Gordon and Dmitriy Komissarov present this book on the Antonov An-72/74 series of twin jet light transports. These aircraft bear a remarkable resemblance to the still-born Boeing YC-14 that was being developed in the mid 1970s, but later, along with the YC-15, were abandon by the USAF as being too expensive. Of course, this led to the even more expensive McDonnell/Douglas C-17, but that is another story.

The benefit of the rather unusual overwing engine mounting is that the engine thrust helps to create lift by blowing over the wing upper surface. It also makes the aircraft a bit less vulnerable to heat seeking ground-based missiles.

Initially, the Antonov twin found little favor with the Russian military, but was the perfect choice as an Aeroflot transport for getting in and out of small, unimproved strips. The engine placement and increased lift gave the aircraft a good STOL performance. Though late in attaining full production, it developed into the An-74, originally designed for arctic conditions and with a longer wing span. This, in turn was developed into a whole line of variants including an armed border patrol version, flying hospital, ELINT, aircraft and others. There is also a design that reverts to lower mounted engines.

As with all of the books in the Red Star series, there is a full background, development, variant and operational history of the aircraft. This includes a walk-around feature, showing the salient features of the airframes.

Since many aircraft have been sold to civil operators over the years, there is a full rundown of where these planes have gone. The book is also very well illustrated and there are a lot of color photos included in these pages. A set of drawings is also provided to show the differences between the variations.

Overall, another excellent book on Russian aviation from probably the world's authority on Soviet/Russian aircraft, and an excellent read to boot. Highly recommended.

September 2005

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