Photos from the personal collection of Kostas Panitsidis

 Technical specifications      Photos      Video

Twin-engine turboprop firefighting aircraft developed on the basis of the An-26. The prototype first flew in 1987.

The fire-fighting aircraft is equipped with two groups of tanks installed on the sides of the aircraft (aerodynamic tank / water tank) water tanks are equipped with water release doors, dropping time 2 sec ( dropping water up to 4000 kg). The doors can open either in sequence or all at once depend on the pre-programmed dropping mode by the crew.

Dropping zone: An-26P at a relative speed of 230-240 km/h and 50 m above ground releases a 4.000 kg water load.

In the firefighter version, the An-26P can accommodate a number of 30 forest firefighters combined with cargo that can carry 10 special packages of 100 kg - firefighting equipment. It was also provided for the installation of special containers ASO-2I, with an ammunition load of 384 PV-26 meteorological cartridges.

The tests showed – that the aircraft is an effective in the main in detecting and creating safety lanes in the initial stage of the fire.

In total, five An-26s had been converted to the An-26P level. In 1991 all firefighting aircraft were used to extinguish fires in Siberia, near the city of Lensk (this was their last use as firefighting aircraft).

After the collapse of the USSR in the 1990s, all aircraft were converted to their original configuration, i.e. transport aircraft. 

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS