| A-7 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Role | Military glider |
| Designer | Oleg Antonov |
| First flight | 1941 |
| Introduction | 1942 |
| Primary user | USSR |
| Produced | 1942–1945 |
| Number built | ≈400 |
The Antonov A-7 was a Soviet light troop military glider of World War II.
| A-7 | |
|---|---|
| | |
| Role | Military glider |
| Designer | Oleg Antonov |
| First flight | 1941 |
| Introduction | 1942 |
| Primary user | USSR |
| Produced | 1942–1945 |
| Number built | ≈400 |
The Antonov A-7 was a Soviet light troop military glider of World War II.
Shortly after the German attack in 1941, Soviet headquarters realized a need for transport gliders and ordered the development of several designs. Oleg Antonov offered a light glider, of which preliminary sketches had been drawn in 1939. It was first named RF-8 (Rot Front-8) and was essentially an enlarged variant of a sports glider, the RF-7. Following trials, its capacity was increased from five to seven persons (including pilot).
The A-7 was an all-wooden high-wing monoplane, with a retractable undercarriage. [1]
It was evaluated in late 1941 and ordered for production, under the designation A-7 (Antonov, seven persons). Approximately 400 were built. [1] In late 1942 – early 1943, an unusual variant was tested – a tanker glider, fitted with a 1000-litre fuel tank, hauled by a DB-3 bomber which was refuelled during flight in order to increase range. It was not produced.
The A-7, along with the Gribovsky G-11, constituted the majority of Soviet transport gliders. They were mainly used for supplying Soviet partisans with provisions, weapons, equipment and trained men. The most intensive use was from April to November 1943 in Belarus, in the Polotsk-Begoml-Lepel area. Several hundreds of Soviet gliders (of all types) were used in night supply flights at this time. After landing, gliders were destroyed and pilots were sometimes taken back by aircraft. Gliders were also used to supply partisans in some areas in 1944. They were also used to transport sabotage groups behind enemy lines, though the small capacity of the A-7 made it not very suitable for such actions. A-7s were towed mainly by SB or Ilyushin DB-3 bombers (The DB-3 could tow two A-7s).
A less typical action was an air bridge from Moscow to the Stalingrad area in November 1942, in order to quickly deliver antifreeze cooling liquid for tanks, during the battle of Stalingrad.
The A-7 was considered a successful design, but it had less capacity than the other light glider, the G-11. Moreover, a place for cargo was limited by an arrangement of seats and a presence of cantilevers of a retractable landing gear in the center of a transport compartment. It could transport seven troops (including pilot) or up to 900 kg of cargo.
High-wing, mixed construction (mostly wooden). Fuselage semi-monocoque, rectangular in cross-section. Single-seat pilot's cab in front. Behind it, a transport compartment, with six seats: two on sides in front (opposite each other), two on sides in back, and two in the middle (facing front and back). There were double doors in the left side in front, and on the right side in back (left front and right back seats must be raised prior to opening door). There were small round windows in doors and sides opposite to doors. Wings were three-part, plywood and fabric covered. Landing gear was manually retractable, its cantilevers were in a transport compartment between two central seats. In order to shorten landing, the glider could alight on a skid under the fuselage.
Soviet Union Data from Fighting gliders of World War II, [2] Aircraft of the Soviet Union : the encyclopaedia of Soviet aircraft since 1917 [3]
General characteristics
Performance
Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era
Related lists
The DFS 230 was a German transport glider operated by the Luftwaffe in World War II. It was developed in 1933 by the Deutsche Forschungsanstalt für Segelflug with Hans Jacobs as the head designer. The glider was the German inspiration for the British Hotspur glider and was intended for airborne assault operations.
The Antonov An-22 "Antei" is a heavy military transport aircraft designed by the Antonov Design Bureau in the Soviet Union. Powered by four turboprop engines each driving a pair of contra-rotating propellers, the design was the first wide-body transport aircraft and remains the world's largest turboprop-powered aircraft to date. The An-22 first appeared publicly outside the Soviet Union at the 1965 Paris Air Show. Thereafter, the model saw extensive use in major military and humanitarian airlifts for the Soviet Union, and is still in service with the Russian Aerospace Forces.
The Antonov An-8 is a Soviet-designed twin-turboprop, high-wing light military transport aircraft.
The Antonov An-14 Pchelka or Pchyolka, Bdzhilka is a Soviet utility aircraft which was first flown on 15 March 1958. It was a twin-engined light STOL utility transport, with two 300 hp Ivchenko AI-14RF radial piston engines. Serial production started in 1966, and about 300 examples were built by the time production ended in 1972. The An-14 failed to replace the more successful An-2 biplane, which was manufactured until 1990,. The An-14's successor, the An-28 with turboprop engines, is still manufactured at PZL Mielec factories in Poland, under the names PZL M28 Skytruck and PZL M28B Bryza.
The Antonov A-40 Krylya Tanka was a Soviet attempt to allow a tank to glide onto a battlefield after being towed aloft by an airplane, to support airborne forces or partisans. A prototype was built and tested in 1942, but was found to be unworkable. This vehicle is sometimes called the A-40T or KT.
Military gliders have been used by the militaries of various countries for carrying troops and heavy equipment to a combat zone, mainly during the Second World War. These engineless aircraft were towed into the air and most of the way to their target by military transport planes, e.g., C-47 Skytrain or Dakota, or bombers relegated to secondary activities, e.g., Short Stirling. Most military gliders do not soar, although there were attempts to build military sailplanes as well, such as the DFS 228.
The Shavrov Sh-2 was a 1930s Soviet amphibious sesquiplane flying boat developed from the Sh-1, with a more powerful engine, slightly increased size and amphibious undercarriage. The Sh-2 could carry three people including the crew.
The Gribovsky G-11 was a Soviet light troop/cargo military glider of World War II.
The Kolesnikov-Tsibin KC-20 or KTs-20 was a Soviet light troop military glider of World War II.
The Yakovlev Yak-14 was the largest assault glider ever to enter service with the Soviet Air Force. It was introduced in 1949, at a time when other air forces were abandoning the glider concept. In 1950 a Yak-14 became the first glider to fly over the North Pole.
The Tupolev MTB-2, also known as the ANT-44, was a Soviet four-engine flying boat built in the late 1930s. Two prototypes were built; performance was satisfactory, but the design was overtaken by the fielding of long-range, land-based bombers by Soviet Naval Aviation and cancelled in 1940.
The LEM-3,, was a transport aircraft designed and built in the USSR from 1936.
The TA was an amphibious transport designed and built in the USSR in 1945.
The Gribovsky G-8 was a single seat sports and training aircraft designed and built in the USSR in the early 1930s.
The Gribovsky G-15 was a single engine, side-by-side two seat touring aircraft built in USSR in the 1930s. Only one was completed.
The Gribovsky G-27 was a light, economical, twin engined, multi-role aircraft built in the USSR in 1938-9. It did not reach production.
The Gribovsky G-28 was an advanced trainer for trainee fighter pilots, built in the USSR just before the German invasion in 1941. It satisfied VVS testing but changing priorities led to the abandonment of production plans.
The Gribovsky G-5 was a small, low powered Russian single seat sports aircraft from the late 1920s.
Polikarpov BDP-2 was a Soviet transport glider developed by Polikarpov during World War II.
The Polikarpov MP was a Soviet transport aircraft developed by Polikarpov during World War II.
