What was the An-2 called before it became an Antonov?

Short answer

SKh-1. The letters stood for Sel'sko Khozyaystvennyi — pervoy, "agricultural, the first," and corresponded to the first design from Antonov's bureau, later redesignated An-2. It answered a 1947 Soviet requirement to replace the Polikarpov Po-2. The first flight took place on 31 August 1947.

Published: November 1, 2026 · Updated: November 1, 2026 · Edited by Above Ten Thousand · Editorial policy

What was the An-2 called before it became an Antonov?

Antonov An-2 Colt, Lufthansa livery, Sanicole Airshow 2007

An agricultural designator

The An-2 was not called that from the start: during the design phase it carried the designation SKh-1. Those letters correspond to Sel'sko Khozyaystvennyi — pervoy, which can be read as "agricultural, the first," and designated an agricultural aircraft that was the first design from Antonov's bureau, later renamed An-2.

A replacement for the Po-2

The order stemmed from a 1947 Soviet requirement seeking a replacement for the Polikarpov Po-2, which was used in large numbers both as an agricultural aircraft and for utility tasks. Antonov responded with a large single-bay biplane of all-metal construction, with an enclosed cockpit and a cabin with seats for twelve passengers. The first flight took place on 31 August 1947.

The series that followed

Production began at State Factory 473 in Kyiv, in the Ukrainian SSR. From 1960, most An-2s came out of the Polish WSK factory in Mielec. China also builds the aircraft under license as the Shijiazhuang Y-5. The model's total count exceeds 18,000 aircraft.