The authoring combination of Yefim Gordon and Dimitryiy Komissarov has produced yet another interesting volume in the "Red Star" series. This time, it concentrates itself on the AN-12, an aircraft that can rightly be considered the Soviet Hercules.

The aircraft came about as it was realized in the early 1950s, that there would be a real need to have a modern transport to haul both troops and equipment. Taking its cue from the US C-130 who got many of their design ideas from German WWII transports, a high wing twin engine aircraft, the AN-8 was developed. It was rolled out in late 1958 and completed its acceptance trials in late 1959. As good as the plane was, it needed more power so the AN-10 was developed as a civil airliner that could be converted over to military use should the need arise. As an airliner, the AN-10 was not the success that was hoped,  but the co-produced AN-12 was another story entirely.

First flights were in December 1957 (why does it seem that the Soviets started testing planes in the winter?). The combining of the forward fuselage to just past the wings of the AN-10 with the upswept cargo door rear of the AN-8 was the ticket and the aircraft soon went into flight testing. The aircraft had more than enough power and that led to a tendency to swing during take-off. The design of the wings was so efficient that the plane was a real handful to land. Even with the engines at flight idle, it seemed to refuse to set down. Reducing speed to ground idle caused an excessively high sink rate and heavy landings were commonplace. The 'fix' was to retard two inner engines to ground idle and the outer two to flight idle on approach. Despite these interesting experiences, the AN-12 was able to pass its state flight tests and entered service with the Soviet Air Force in 1958.

The book itself follows the standard Red Star format. You have an introduction to the type, its prototype development and entry into service, a description of all the variants (and with the AN-12, there were many) that also includes projects that never saw fruition. Then it goes into a systems description and an examination of the airframe itself.

The AN-12 was also license produced in China (PRC) as the Y-8. The main difference with most Y-8s over the AN-12 is an extended nose that makes the plane look decidedly odd. A section on all the Y-8 variants is the next section. This is followed by a sort of 'AN-12 in action' section and then a rundown of all AN-12/Y-8 aircraft produced and the different operators of the type. The last part has drawings of the aircraft and variants, followed by two pages of full color profiles.

Those of you who have come to enjoy this series will find this to be another superbly done book. The rest of you who have never read a Red Star book will have a real treat coming to you.

November  2007

Review book courtesy of Specialty Press , where you can order your copy of this and many other superb aviation and modeling books. Visit their website at the link above or call them at 1-800-895-4585

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