Antonov An - 22 The Antonov An - 22 " Antei " ( ; ) ( NATO reporting name " Cock " ) 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 Soviet wide - body aircraft and remains the world ' s largest turboprop - powered aircraft to date . An - 22 first appeared for public outside the Soviet Union at the 1965 Paris Air Show . Since then , the model saw extensive use in major military and humanitarian airlifts of the Soviet Union . Design and development . In the late 1950s the Soviet Union required a large military transport aircraft to supplement the Antonov An - 8 and An - 12 s then entering service . Originally known as the An - 20 , the model was a conventional multi - engined high - wing design . In the early 1960s the Antonov bureau produced a wooden mock up at its Kiev workshops of what was designated the Model 100 . The prototype now designated the An - 22 was rolled out 18 August 1964 and first flew on 27 February 1965 . The prototype was given the name Antheus and , after four - months of test flying , was displayed at the 1965 Paris Air Show . Serial aircraft were built at the Tashkent State Aircraft Factory and the first military delivery was made to the Air Transport Wing at Ivanovo Airbase in 1969 . The aircraft was designed as a strategic airlift er , designed specifically to expand the Soviet Airborne Troops ' capability to land with their then - new BMD - 1 armoured vehicles . The An - 22 cargo hold can accommodate four BMD - 1 compared to only one in the An - 12 . It also has the capability to takeoff from austere , unpaved and short airstrips , allowing airborne troops to perform air - landing operations . This is achieved by four pairs of contra - rotating propellers , similar to those on the Tupolev Tu - 114 . The engines generate significant thrust , and produce a slipstream over the wings and large double - slotted flaps . The landing gear is ruggedized for rough airstrips , and , in early versions , tire pressures could be adjusted in flight for optimum landing performance , although that feature was removed in later models . The An - 22 follows traditional cargo transport design with a high - mounted wing allowing a cavernous cargo space of 33m in length and a usable volume of 639m³ . The forward fuselage is fully pressurized and provides space for 5 to 8 crew and up to 28 passengers , but the cargo space is pressurized to only 3 . 55 PSI / 0 . 245 bar allowing for a lighter airframe . A door equipped with pressure bulkhead is located at frame 14 , separating the cargo attendant ' s compartment from the main cargo compartment . This allows the rear cargo doors to be opened during flight for paratroops and equipment drop . Like the An - 12 , the aircraft has a circular fuselage section . The An - 22 has set a number of payload and payload - to - height world records . The An - 22 has the general appearance of an enlarged version of the earlier Antonov An - 12 except that it is fitted with a twin tail . This gives the An - 22 better engine - out performance , and reduces height restrictions for hangars . Also of note are large anti - flutter masses on the top of each tail . Only one production variant was built , the standard An - 22 . Prototypes , such as the one first featured at the 1965 Paris Air Show had fully glazed noses that lacked the nose mounted radar of production models . Those aircraft had the radar mounted below the right wheel well fairing , forward of the wheels . Antonov designated a variant with a modified electrical system and an additional augmented flight control system the An - 22A but the designation was not used by the military . A proposed civil airliner version capable of seating 724 passengers on upper and lower decks was planned but wasn ' t constructed . ( For comparison , a typical Boeing 747 can carry 400 – 500 passengers . ) Variants . Several other An - 22 variants were projected and constructed by Antonov but never entered serial production , notably a nuclear - powered aircraft and a ballistic missile platform . Operational history . The An - 22 was originally built for the Soviet Air Force and Aeroflot ( the state airline ) . Rearming from An - 12 in the Air Force began in July 1974 . Several Military Transport Aviation units were equipped . The 12th Mginsk Red Banner Military Transport Aviation Division ( based at Migalovo ) was one of the units which had its three regiments entirely equipped with the An - 22s . Another unit that operated it was the 566th Solnechnogorsk Military Transport Aviation Regiment , which used the An - 22 from 1970 to 1987 . An early use of the An - 22 was to deliver Soviet humanitarian aid to earthquake - hit Peru in July 1970 . One An - 22 disappeared on 18 July during these relief flights . An - 22s were also used to deliver Soviet military aid to Egypt and Syria during the Yom Kippur War in 1973 , to Angola in 1975 , and to Ethiopia in 1977 . The An - 22s from Migalovo were used for the initial deployment of the Soviet Airborne Troops ( VDV ) during the 1979 Soviet invasion in Afghanistan . One An - 22 was shot down near Kabul on 28 October 1984 . In 1980 , one An - 22 crashed at Vnukovo Airport while two crashed at Migalovo ( in 1992 and 1994 ) . In 1984 , military An - 22s were used to deliver Mi - 8 helicopters to Ethiopia during drought relief operations . In 1986 the aircraft of the 8th Military Air Transport Aviation Regiment from Migalovo were used to deliver materials for the Chernobyl disaster relief operation . During 1987 the An - 22s were used to deliver military equipment to Angola . A year later the military An - 22s were used to deliver 15 , 000 tons and 1 , 000 personnel for the 1988 Spitak earthquake relief operation in Armenia . The An - 22 aircraft were often seen at the Le Bourget Air Show , and in 1988 delivered an engine from An - 124 to the Farnborough Airshow . In late 1980s , the An - 22s were used to deliver Internal Troops to many regional conflicts during and after the breakup of the Soviet Union . In 1995 they deployed the Russian peacekeeping force from the 98th Guards Airborne Division during the Bosnian War . Approximately 45 An - 22s remained in service by the mid - 1990s , mostly with the Russian Air Force , but these are slowly being replaced by the bigger turbofan - powered Antonov An - 124 . The remaining An - 22s appear to be operated by an independent military transport aviation squadron at Migalovo . Operators . According to unofficial sources , 7 An - 22s were in use as of 2010 : 6 in the Russian Air Force and one for civilian cargo duties with the Antonov Airlines ; with additional 18 airplanes in storage . As of August 2006 , the single Antonov An - 22 aircraft remains in cargo service with the Antonov Airlines . The Antonov design bureau retained the three prototype aircraft for use as special cargo transports Two aircraft were modified to carry An - 124 wings above the fuselage . Incidents and Accidents . As of January 2011 , there have been 9 hull losses with a total of 95 fatalities . Name discomfiture . The aircraft received the name Antaeus to symbolize its heavy - lift capabilities . However , the mythological character Antaeus was strong only as long as he remained in contact with the ground ( his mother Earth ) , but once lifted into the air he became weak . This vulnerability in legend is how Hercules ( also the name of an American cargo aircraft still in production ) killed him .