Antonov An-2 - Combat Service

Combat Service

The An-2 was used by combat services in the Korean War. During the 1960s an An-2 attempting to engage South Vietnamese naval units was shot down by an F-4 Phantom II under the control of an Air Intercept Controller (AIC) on the USS Long Beach. The An-2 was used also during the Vietnam War as a naval interceptor. This modification had two "Skvall" torpedoes under the wing and was difficult to detect due to its low-altitude flight. Even when detected it was difficult to intercept because the plane's cruise speed was 135–160 km/h (well below the landing speed of jet aircraft during the war).

On January 12, 1968, a clandestine TACAN site (call sign: Lima Site 85/Phou Pha Ti) installed by Special Forces (United States Army) in Northern Laos for directing USAF warplanes flying from Thailand to Vietnam was attacked by two North Vietnamese An-2s using machine guns fired from the cabin, rockets, and hand thrown grenades. Another Colt orbited overhead. An Air America Bell UH-1B, XW-PHF, resupplying the site chased the two attacking aircraft. By using an AK-47 the American crew (Ted Moore Captain, Glen Wood kicker) succeeded in shooting down one of the An-2s while the second aircraft was forced down by combined ground and air fire and crashed into a mountain. The surviving Antonov returned to its home base, Gia Lam, near Hanoi.

During the Croatian War of Independence in 1991, a few old Antonov An-2 biplanes used for crop-spraying were converted by the Croatian Air Force to drop makeshift bombs and were used in supply missions to the town of Vukovar and other besieged parts of Croatia. The chief advantage for the An-2 was that they could take off and land in small or improvised airstrips. They were also used to drop supplies by parachute on isolated garrisons. At least one was shot down on 2 December 1991 over Vinkovci, eastern Slavonia, by Serbian SAM missiles, purportedly SA-6s.