Antonov A-7

Antonov A-7

Infobox Aircraft
name = A-7
type = Military glider
manufacturer =




caption =
designer = Oleg Antonov
first flight = 1941
introduced = 1942
retired =
status =
primary user = USSR
more users =
produced = 1942-?
number built = ~400
unit cost =
variants with their own articles =
The Antonov A-7 was a Soviet light troop military glider of World War II.

Development

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 5 to 7 persons (including pilot).

The A-7 was an all wooden high winged monoplane, with a retractable undercarriage.

It was evaluated in late 1941 and ordered for production, under the designation A-7 (Antonov, 7 persons). Approximately 400 were builtCite book|author=Gunston, Bill|authorlink =Bill_Gunston|title=The Osprey Encyclopedia of Russian Aircraft from 1875 - 1995|publisher=Osprey Aerospace |location=London|year=1995|isbn= ISBN 1-85532-405-9. In late 1942 - early 1943, an unusual variant was tested - a tanker glider, fitted with 1000 litre fuel tank, hauled by DB-3 bomber, which was refuelled during flight in order to increase range. It was not produced.

Operational history

The A-7, along with the Gribovski 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 Belarussia, 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 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 7 troops (including pilot) or up to 900 kg of cargo.

Description

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 (heading towards each other), two on sides in back, and two in the middle (heading towards front and back). There were double doors in the left side in front, and in 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 transport compartment between two central seats. In order to shorten landing, the glider could seat on a skid under a fuselage.

Operators

; USSR
* Soviet Air Force

pecifications

aircraft specifications
plane or copter?=plane
jet or prop?=neither
ref=
crew=One, pilot
capacity=7 troops (including pilot)
payload main= 900 kg
payload alt= 1,980 lb
length main= 10.54 m
length alt= 34 ft 7 in
span main= 18 m
span alt= 59 ft 0½ in
height main= 1.53 m
height alt= 5 ft
area main= 23.20 m²
area alt= 250 ft²
airfoil=
empty weight main= 955 kg
empty weight alt= 2101 lb
loaded weight main= 1760 kg
loaded weight alt= 3782 lb
useful load main=
useful load alt=
max takeoff weight main= 1875 kg
max takeoff weight alt=4125 lb
more general=

max speed main=300 km/h
max speed alt= 162 knots, 186 mph
cruise speed main=
cruise speed alt=
stall speed main=
stall speed alt=
never exceed speed main= 400 km/h
never exceed speed alt= 216 knots, 248 mph
range main=
range alt=
ceiling main=
ceiling alt=
climb rate main=
climb rate alt=
loading main=
loading alt=
more performance=
* Best glide ratio : 18 (other publication: 22.5)
armament=

ee also

aircontent
similar aircraft=
*Gribovski G-11
*DFS 230
*Waco CG-3
*General Aircraft Hotspur
*Maeda Ku-1

References

External links

* [http://www.airwar.ru/enc/glider/a7.html A-7 (RF-8)] at [http://www.airwar.ru Ugolok Neba] ru icon
* [http://mkmagazin.almanacwhf.ru/avia/a_7_plane.htm Plan and description] ru icon


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