65 years of the Be-12 Chaika amphibious aircraft

 October 18 marked the 65th anniversary of the Be-12 Chaika amphibious aircraft, created by Georgiy Beriev's Design Bureau. On that day in 1960, its first prototype took flight.

 Unlike its predecessor, the Be-6 flying boat, the new aircraft could be used both from sea areas and from land airfields. Its main purpose was to counter submarines in coastal areas. For this purpose, the aircraft was equipped with a special complex that included a radar, a magnetometer, and equipment for receiving information from hydroacoustic buoys. 

 Serial production was launched in Taganrog at aircraft plant No. 86. By 1973, 141 units had been built, including the first prototype. The vast majority corresponded to the anti-submarine version of the Be-12PL, and only 10 were search and rescue Be-12PS. Later, several aircraft were converted for other purposes, in particular for extinguishing forest fires.

 Each aircraft had two AI-20D turboprop engines with a power of 5,180 hp each. They were designed in Zaporizhia under the leadership of Alexander Ivchenko and mass-produced at the Zaporizhia Motorobudivnyk Production Association (now Motor Sich JSC). The Be-12PL had a length of 30.11 m, a wingspan of 30.2 m, a maximum take-off weight of 36 t, a maximum speed of 550 km/h, and a flight range of up to 4,000 km. The aircraft could carry a 3-ton combat load, which included hydroacoustic buoys, anti-submarine torpedoes, and depth charges, including nuclear ones.

 The main operator of the Be-12 was the Soviet Navy Aviation. In addition, six units were delivered to Vietnam, and several more aircraft flew with Soviet crews under the flags of Egypt and Syria. 

 In Ukraine, the Be-12 was operated by the 318th Separate Anti-Submarine Aviation Regiment of the Black Sea Fleet in Donuzlav (Crimea), the 33rd Combat Training and Retraining Center in Mykolaiv, as well as in the 163rd and 130th training aviation regiments of the Luhansk Aviation School of Navigators. 

 After the collapse of the USSR, Ukraine inherited 11 unarmed Be-12PLs and 3 Be-12PSs. Due to the gradual depletion of resources and obsolescence, most of the aircraft had to be decommissioned. During the Russian annexation of Crimea, the crew managed to fly one Be-12 to mainland Ukraine. This happened on March 3, 2014, when the commander of the 10th Naval Aviation Brigade of the Ukrainian Navy, Ihor Bedzai, organized a risky flight of all the aircraft of his unit that were capable of taking off from the occupied Saki airfield.

 The Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine reported that on September 21, 2025, on the territory of the temporarily occupied Crimea, “the masters of the special unit ‘Primorye’ hunted down two Russian anti-submarine amphibious aircraft Be-12 ”Chaika.“ This is the first defeat of the Be-12 in history.”

 The Antonov State Aviation Museum exhibits a Be-12PL (factory number 7600904), manufactured in 1967. It was originally part of the 318th Air Regiment. After the division of the Black Sea Fleet in January 1996, it joined the 316th Separate Naval Squadron of the Ukrainian Navy. In 2004, the aircraft was decommissioned and transferred to the museum.