What was the Antonov N-2?

Short answer

It was the air ambulance version of the Antonov OKA-38, able to carry two stretchers plus a medic; the other planned version, the SS, was a three-seat liaison aircraft. The OKA-38 was made by copying the German Fi 156C design, handed over to the Soviet Union in 1939.

Published: November 2, 2026 · Updated: November 2, 2026 · Edited by Above Ten Thousand · Editorial policy

Fieseler Fi156

From a German Fi 156C to a Soviet aircraft

In 1939, after the signing of the Molotov–Ribbentrop pact, Germany handed over several aircraft to the Soviet Union, including the Fi 156C. Oleg Antonov was tasked with putting into production an aircraft that met Soviet requirements, and when faced with the choice of designing an equivalent aircraft or copying the German design, the latter was chosen.

The SS and the N-2

The aircraft received the designation OKA-38, and two versions were planned: the SS, a three-seat liaison aircraft, and the N-2, an air ambulance able to carry two stretchers plus a medic. Antonov's work produced a heavier aircraft, needing up to three times more field to land and take off than the German Fi 156C (160 m versus 55 m), but with much greater range and more load capacity.

Prototypes, Kaunas and the end

The first prototype was built at Factory No. 23 in Leningrad and flew before the end of 1940; production in Kaunas had barely begun when the factory was lost to the German advance in 1941. There, in newly occupied Lithuania, a prototype was built at Factory No. 365, established on the basis of the Lithuanian Military Aviation Workshops.