Designed originally for agricultural duties under the designation SKh-1, the An-2 utility transport
flew for the first time on 31 August 1947. Of robust construction and suitable for operations from
short, semi-prepared strips, the Antonov An-2 has been manufactured for both military and civil roles.
The An-2 remained in production until 1991. Over 18.000 of the different types were built in the
Ukraine (5000), Poland (12000) and China (1000). |
The 1959-built Antonov An-2TD s/n 1122(473)08 was delivered as '836' to the NVA (East German Air Force) and entered service with VS-14
at Strausberg for MfS ('Dynamo-Kette') on 29 July 1959. The aircraft was mainly used as a parachute plane. In April 1988, Antonov An-2TD
'NVA 836' was transferred to MfS and operated by FAB "Alfred Scholz" at Rote Jahne. After German reunification in 1990, the Luftwaffe
assumed control over the NVA equipment and many of the GDR's military aircraft were declared obsolete or incompatible with NATO technical
standards, and were withdrawn from use or sold, including An-2TD '836' which on 1 January 1990 was transferred to Interflug / Agrarflug
with registration '836' cancelled on 30 January 1990. Antonov An-2TD was registered DDR-SKG with Interflug / Agrarflug on 2 April 1990.
On 1 September 1990, in the period of the breakup of Interflug / Agrarflug the DDR-SKG joined the Flugservice Berlin fleet. As of 3
October 1990, the East German DDR-prefix was no longer valid, all active DDR- registered aircraft had to be re-registered. Registration
D-FONG was reserved for Antonov An-2TD DDR-SOP, but the aircraft was never fully registered due to ownership dispute and registration
D-FONG was cancelled on 10 April 1995. Since, the Antonov AN-2TD is preserved in the Otto-Lilienthal-Museum at Anklam. When seen at
Flugplatz Anklam it had flown 7.584 hrs and made 17.214 landings. The is part of the static display of the Otto Lilienthal Museum
(Aeronauticon) at Flugplatz Anklam, carrying 'Interflug' titles and 'DDR-SKG' in addition to D-FONG. |