POSTCARD N.65 - Russia

Postcrossing postcard sent on the 11th January; received on the 26th January
Postcard image: Antonov 12
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Once again, Julia surprised me with an aoutstanding postcard full of beautiful aviation stamps. Thanks a lot, Julia!

The Antonov 12 is the Russian counterpart of the mother of all workhorse aircraft: the C-130 Hercules.

The 4 four engined turboprop aircraft, (Ivchenko AI-20L or AI-20M engines)  capable of ferrying a maximum load of 20,000 Kg, for a Maximum Take-Off Weight of  61,000 Kg,  first took to the air in 1957, entering service with the Soviet Air Force in 1959.

The An-12 is operated by a crew of 5 and, according to Wikipedia, is currently operated by 25 civil operators in 18 countries, while in military guise 9 countries still rely on its services.

Stamps:

Julia used three of the five 5 Ruble stamps issued on 06JUL2005 to celebrate the birth centenary of aircraft designer Artem Mikoyan, one of the founders of the Mig design bureau, the other corresponding to the G in the name, i.e. Mikhail Gurevich,

The Bureau started designing aircraft during the "Great Patriotic War" but its notoriety would  come with the Korean war when the Mig-15 (NATO codename Fagot) (1st stamp; second row) was first introduced and created havoc with the American forces that had no aircraft fast and manoeuvrable enough to respond to the tiny soviet jet in air combat, until the F-86 was rushed into service. 

The Mig 21 (Nato codename Fishbed) - 1st stamp; 1st row - was the standard fighter aircraft of the Soviet and Chinese blocks ever since its entering into service and it still is operated by a number of Air Forces around the globe, some, like the Czech aircraft,  having made the transition from the Warsaw Pact to the NATO side of things....

It holds a number of records, amongst them the fact that it is the most produced supersonic aircraft ever. with a large number of variants with different engines and armament being developed during its operational career.

Entering service in 1970, the Mig 25 (2nd stamp; 1st row) is an interceptor and reconnaissance aircraft that still holds some records for speed, time to height and altitude, being the second ever fastest manned serial produced aircraft designed, only surpassed by the SR-71. Since the latter has long been grounded for ever, the Foxbat (NATO codename) is currently the fastest aircraft in this category.

It was used by the air forces of several countries, being still operational in Algeria and Syria.

The 40 Ruble stamp was issued on 10MAR2020, celebrating the life of Hero of the Soviet Union - Ivan Nikitovich Kozhedub (1920-1991), fighter pilot and triple Hero of the Soviet Union. the highest scoring WW2 pilot with more than 60 victories to his credit.

The postmark is almost totally illegible, but  it matches other postmarks from previous Julia's postcards, that identified the place of expedition as the city of Kaluga (Kалуга).