Why No Russian Soldier Wants to Fly On This Plane

Get Nebula using my link for 40% off an annual subscription: go.nebula.tv/paperskies
Watch my exclusive video on the Soviet "Ghost Plane": nebula.tv/videos/paperskies-when-the-soviet-an12-flew-with-an-unconscious-crew
Watch More Paper Skies Videos & Support The Channel: nebula.tv/paperskies
The story of the Soviet Antonov An-12 aircraft, which during the war in Afghanistan received the nickname “Black Tulip” for its grim service.
Chapters:
00:00 - Nicknames
01:51 - Flying Shed
05:40 - Black Tulip
12:00 - Cargo 200
Paper Skies - amazing stories about famous airplanes, historical events, or exceptional people that have changed the world of aviation or turned out to be unfairly forgotten.
All content on Paper Skies is presented in historical context for educational purposes.
Select imagery/video supplied by:
Getty Images: www.gettyimages.com/
AP Archive: www.aparchive.com/
Music: www.epidemicsound.com
#aviation #history #skies

[@PaperSkiesAviation]

Get Nebula using my link for *40% off an annual subscription* : go.nebula.tv/paperskies Watch my exclusive video on the Soviet "Ghost Plane": nebula.tv/videos/paperskies-when-the-soviet-an12-flew-with-an-unconscious-crew

[@NoName-OG1]

Nice vid - very informative of the Russian culture.

[@kingkarlito]

@@sus5976 apparently you never aged beyond the elder sibling grabbing their younger sibling and forcing them to hit themselves while screaming "stop hitting yourself" over and over again. if you feel the need to spread z propaganda, why not focus on more accurate or effective bs?

[@red_d849]

ngl, i was so hoping it wasnt gonna be on nebula since i have no money for that ;-;

[@WarDucc]

It's a trap.

[@davidplowman6149]

Ah Nebula. Where I go because the tube is a soulless corperate entity. Mostly you get early content and the ability to listen with screen off. It’s worth it nerds!

[@dr.threatening8622]

I used to maintain KC-130s in the USMC. Our birds were used for what we called "angel" flights back in 04-05. Same purpose. Inside note; our birds were so old that they were the same birds that did the same job in Vietnam. Some say BN 800 was haunted. Go Raiders

[@daniyarsadykov3385]

A ghost carrying angels to their homes. You can make a TV show out of this

[@AeroKin]

Can confirm; I was USMC aircrew for far too many angel flights in 2010, though all active-duty squadrons had fully transitioned to the new KC-130J at that point. Go Raiders

[@rebel6301]

if the planes used to carry the dead back home for burial were haunted, i really wouldn't be surprised.

[@socaljarhead7670]

I was with HMH-769, MAG-46 Det B at El Toro right across the way from the Raider KC-130Fs.

[@johnshackford]

I worked transient alert in Kirkuk caught many of these AN-12's,IL-76's C-130's and C-17's. So several of the angel flights at the start of their journey home. I also crewed KC-135's including crewing the 135's most notable haunted KC-135 Spook 50. Our planes were like yours all Vietnam era and all had their own stories.

[@GoodGnewsGary]

What a wonderful insight on not only the technology, but the historical and cultural aspects of Eastern Europe and western Asia. Keep up the great work.

[@PaperSkiesAviation]

Thank you Gary! Glad you like it.

[@jurisjancevskis9076]

​@@PaperSkiesAviation hey man I like your channel :D

[@jurisjancevskis9076]

Gary, why is your comment made a day ago???

[@booran.]

@@jurisjancevskis9076 that’s what I’m saying how is that possibl?

[@jurisjancevskis9076]

@@booran. I dunno, maybe he made it when the video was previewed

[@johndododoe1411]

The zinc coffin stories reminds me of a story that our Danish army deploys with ammunition crates that double as coffins for return trips. No special welding crews, just grab an empty ammo crate from the back of the barracks, close it and send it back on the next regular cargo run .

[@volodymyrzakolodyazhny7740]

That's quite smart. Logistiks is everithing in the army.

[@mmm-mmm]

the russians don't even bother picking up their dead. they'd have to pay to ship them back AND pay whatever was promised (salary, insurance, sign-up bonus, etc.). that way they can just use them like meat and get them killed and not even pay for them. not to mention identifying the dead would be costly/impossible in russia...

[@72tadrian65]

I’m still not exactly clear on why exactly zinc was used. Does it keep the corpses from rotting faster?

[@MrDanisve]

@@72tadrian65 Simply cause it allowes the body to be hermeticly sealed. And Zinc does not rust when in contact with bodily fluids. That allowes for transportation of bodies in the heat of afghanistan without refridgeration. If they were just in normal coffins. I except the smell to be really horrible after just hours in the Afghan sun.

[@72tadrian65]

@@MrDanisve Thank you so much for taking the time to answer this question! Some may find my question inappropriate, but I work in a dark line of work. We ask these questions.

[@melle9155]

Like in the 'dont tell mom im in chechnya' song, 'he will be going home in the black tulip'. Seeing those boxes stacked, I knew it was the black tulip only because of that beautiful song.

[@hitboy3155]

Also in the song "пыль глотаю - swallowing dust" make a reference about the 'black tulip'

[@agentmilton6585]

That song really captures the vibe of how horrible war is. Totally one of my most fav songs

[@rudrakshmishra2761]

The AN - 12 rather interestingly was well liked in the Indian Air Force for its huge hauling capacity and pure robustness. It's successor was the IL - 76 which is one way or another almost similar with turbofans strapped on.

[@AhmedAdly11]

Everyone who used the AN-12 was very happy with it. All those who speak badly about it are jealous that their country could no produce something like that.

[@h8GW]

@Ahmed Adly *WTF is this* foolish comment that: "...those who speak badly about it are jealous that their country could no produce something like that."? I didn't even need to look it up, but the Lockheed C-130 Hercules is _literally_ the American equivalent. I would say this sounds like Russian propaganda, if weren't for the fact that Antonov is Ukrainian.

[@rudrakshmishra2761]

@@h8GW maybe he doesn't understand the concept of appreciating equipment provided to you by an ally

[@johnwolf2829]

Didn't anyone look at the vid? "Black Tulip" refers to planes carrying COFFINS, not the AN-12 itself Jeez....

[@h8GW]

@Rudraksh Mishra Some real Russo-Sino Split energy right there...

[@FrontSideBus]

A couple of years ago the Jaguar / LandRover factory in Speke was selling off a lot of their tooling. We had daily flights of AN-12's flying in and out of Liverpool airport transporting it all out to wherever it was going. It was awesome watching them come and go, especially that orange one shown in your video which is a nice livery. You could see them on a approach miles away because of the trails of smoke they left! Great aircraft IMO, made a change from the usual B373 and A320!

[@dfor]

Love me some Boeing 373’s. 😊

[@callummack7098]

Incredible insight, many thanks from the wirral

[@PavloLukashuk]

It was not expected, but it was on the An-12 that I flew to Liverpool and Manston ! Eindhoven .....kzbin.info/www/bejne/q5TCdI2Cj5mqirc

[@AnthonyOMulligan-yv9cg]

I was going to China and some to India

[@julieleimkuehler1409]

​@@dfor I called them 775s once. My sister looked at me like I was insane. I love planes, but that's what came out of my mouth 😂😂

[@Leonardo-wn2fp]

I think this is somewhat similar of a story to the F-104G "Widowmaker" nickname. A name which everyone in Germany knew precisely what aircraft and what backstory it was about.

[@h8GW]

Ah, yes, the other "flying coffin", just in a totally different sense.

[@Xtoxinlolinecronomicon]

Funnily enough the Porsche 911 Turbo was called the same name! It was a pretty dangerous and tricky car to control.

[@DW_25]

Lawn darts I see

[@Halinspark]

I occasionally see conspiracy people talk about some super secret Black Project wonder fighter that'll outclass everything we know about, and they decide to call it "The Widowmaker" to make it sound powerful. It's always fun explaining to them that "Widowmakers" aren't a danger to the enemy.

[@visioneerone]

“want your own F-104? buy a house in Rammstein’s approach corridor and wait”

[@legoeasycompany]

"But this story has a happy ending.." but I thought Happy endings were banned in the Soviet Union? "Mostly happy" ah sounds about right

[@LeCharles07]

You can safely end any statement about Russian history with "... and then it got worse."

[@Artem_Petryk]

Just wanted to thank you, as going that deep into such terms as a "cargo 200" and "smelalochka" is a quite uncommon within western creators. As a ukrainian i always had problems with explaining those "mysterious russian soul" things to non ex-ussr people, so again, huge thanks

[@eucaliptusx]

Excuse me, maybe, “smekalochka”, if you mean savvyness?

[@Mixu.]

​@@eucaliptusx not sure if there's different ways to write it, but isn't that смекалка?

[@Artem_Petryk]

@@Mixu. You're right, that's just mistype

[@Artem_Petryk]

@@eucaliptusx Yes, just mistype. Smekalochka is correct

[@adwitiyarahman2829]

What does smelalochka mean?

[@d.o.5238]

It was the first aircraft I have experienced wonders of flight on. My uncle serving as a military airbase ground staff smuggled 10 y/o excited me into a Soviet airforce plane doing a 4-hour long training flight around the city of Mariupol, Ukrainian SSR at the time. Little did I know about what would happen to the city a few decades later...

[@concept5631]

Damn

[@SvdSinner]

With the modern situation of the Russian military in Ukraine, it seems odd to hear stories where 1) the Russians had a competent logistics wing and 2) the Russians actually respected the dead bodies of their fallen.

[@Xtoxinlolinecronomicon]

Soviet Union had many flaws, but not as many as RusFed has now.

[@russkatherealoriginal6904]

People have to be reminded that the Russian Federation is a far cry to what the USSR is.

[@c0ya1]

​@@Xtoxinlolinecronomicon the Russian Military is now a shadow of its former soviet self.

[@jerryle379]

The big mistake westerner made are thinking Russia now day are the same like Soviet 😅 and over hype the threat of Russia ( again this result from you guy thinking Russia=Soviet )

[@Nekudza]

Big mistake here is when you call USSR "the Russians". Because Ukrainians, Georgians and many other currently independent nations were also part of it

[@opticwannabelol]

It is very hard to imagine that a mother who received a pressure cooker in exchange for her son's life actually happened. I'm at an actual loss for words.

[@revanofkorriban1505]

Better than giving bereaved mothers expensive fur coats as "compensation" in a propaganda op, then taking them away after the cameras stopped rolling.

[@amykathleen2]

I am hoping someone can provide more information on this. I tried searching about it but nothing came up. I did find reports that bereaved families receive cash payouts, but nothing about receiving consumer goods.

[@bg315]

As much as I appreciate his videos, he is bending the truth here. It has nothing to do with the exchange for son's life. The gifts are simply a token of gratitude from the regular people who wanted to help relatives of fallen soldiers with anything they can. The act of regular people helping somebody and showing that that they are not forgotten is portrayed as some heartless sinister act. That is disgusting. While overall the quality of the videos are good, it is not the first time this kind of truth bending happens in his videos, especially when it touches the current events.

[@hansohasashi5093]

​@amykathleen2 I believe this is rather a myth/mistake rather than a fact. Gifts was usually made by common people as a token of appreciation, and not connected to somebody's death

[@user-li5cr6wv5b]

​@@amykathleen2most of Ukrainian propaganda about Russians has nothing to do with reality.

[@jonvro4022]

A song made during the Soviet-Afghan war named “Swallowing Dust” mentions the Black Tulip. Listen to it if any of you have never heard it before.

[@Canofasahi]

Just don't tell mom I'm in Chechnya - Lyrics / Ты только маме что я в Чечне не говори - текст kzbin.info/www/bejne/enmmq5Sff6qie7s Also mentions the Black Tulip.

[@j.s.radhakrishnan2006]

The song is called "Afghan" not "Swallowing Dust"

[@sturmgeschutze3070]

@@j.s.radhakrishnan2006The song is indeed called “пьиль глотаю” which directly translates to “swallowing dust”

[@BichaelStevens]

@@sturmgeschutze3070 Uhm no, it's both, google and youll see

[@sturmgeschutze3070]

@@BichaelStevens googled пыль глотаю александр дорошенко. It’s definitely swallowing dust. Only a few sites refer to it as “Afghan”, the vast majority don’t, or have it in brackets for easier recognition (which happens with a lot of songs)

[@pylt93]

I flew out of Villavicencio in colombia until 2021, there was a An-12 rotting in one of the hangars. The leyend says that in the early 2000 the owner bought it to the country in the hopes of using it as a replacement of the DC3 hauling cargo and passengers to isolated communities in the jungle. It's not clear why it never flew in such role, some says that it was a lack of funds, others say it was an insurance issue and others that it was a regulatory problem. I enjoyed looking at it on my taxi out

[@oddforoddssake3751]

I was always confused by the line in the song "Just Don't Tell My Mom I'm In Chechnya", that goes "Our tank mechanic is dead, he'll be coming home in Black Tulip" (I live in England, you see). Figured it related to the poppy laurels that we have/had for our troops coming home in caskets (saw them a lot on the news during OUR war in Afghanistan, funnily enough), thought that soviet coffins came back decorated with black tulip laurels lol It feels interesting to learn the true story behind the lyric and more on the side, thank you for the video! (:

[@dyingearth]

Thanks to the excellent video on the Soviet A-12 Ghost Flight on Nebula. I post the comment here because Nebula doesn't have comments. Back in 1999, golf pro Payne Stewart and others died when the Learjet they're flying lost cabinet pressure and eventually ran out of fuel. USAF scrambled F-16 to check on the plane as there's been no communication back from the plane. It was later determined that the plane was simply running on autopilot until it ran out of fuel. There's literally nothing anyone can do, and in all likelihood everyone onboard was already dead before the crash.

[@derrickfoster644]

It has been a while since I thought of that crash. I remember following along with the reporting that day as it happened.

[@JonMartinYXD]

Same thing happened in 2005: Helios Airways Flight 522 with 115 passengers and 6 crew.

[@CoffeeAndPaul]

Wow! That's wild.

[@moshunit96]

​@@JonMartinYXDwas that in Greece?

[@JonMartinYXD]

@@moshunit96 Yeah it was a Cyprus to somewhere flight with a stopover in Athens. Autopilot put it in a holding pattern around Athens until it ran out of fuel. It is believed that the one person still conscious - a flight attendant who had an oxygen bottle - steering the plane towards an unpopulated area at the last minute.

[@janwitkowsky8787]

You, my man... You are the reason I am finally getting Nebula. I'm glad you're back making content and that you are doing well. Keep it strong, my friend.

[@Mortisville]

Got to say i love your stuff. You seldom get to see a completely fresh perspective on something historical that is also so well researched and I'm always looking forward to your new uploads.

[@sillysad3198]

the footage of the cargo plane shooting decoys immediately on take off is frighteningly sad.

[@L.J.Kommer]

Paper Skies and Mustard posting videos within a week of each other? God _does_ love us.

[@dickystrike6966]

The difference is that Paper Skies pronounce Russian names in Russian proper not just spelling or reading letters in English manner

[@jerryle379]

One operation of an12 that folk tend to forget was the massive airlift mission transporting vietnamese troop from south Vietnam up north in 1979 ( as majority our military was in Cambodia and south Vietnam when china invade us in 1979) the soviet an12 fleet beside Vietnam an26 , c130,c124,b707,dc3-4 and il14-18 was flying a lot of fly per day ferries troop from Saigon ( tan son nhat airport ) to Hanoi

[@Theasaurus2]

Extremely well-made and well-stated video… I always love hearing the stories of **how** legacies like these come about, and you’ve not only told the story very well but also made the human aspects of the story very real… thanks for a really great channel! Can’t wait to see what’s next

[@leonguyen896]

It's always a joy to watch your videos. Keep up the great work!

[@scorchone2310]

As an EMT in America for the last 7 years, (EMT stands for Emergency Medical Technician, it’s a medical certification usually for an average level American ambulance worker like myself). Knowing full well what it’s like to have to deal with death and develop that necessary “lack of compassion” and comfortable attitude toward death. The idea of an entire society having that same attitude pumped into their heads really really really does more to explain Russia to me than anyone ever has. It’s such a deep cold darkness to have to keep your cool when someone just died in your care. It shouldn’t be normal. It should be a shameful necessity of the few jobs like mine. I’m actually like kind of shaken up to hear this to be honest. The pure mental illness and instability it causes to have this perspective on death is so scary. I can’t imagine a more deadly propaganda to push.

[@mnxs]

As someone who has the utmost appreciation for the work and hardships you and your colleagues around the world do, I would implore you to not ever think of any aspect of it to be in any way, shape or form "shameful." Perhaps more than any other profession, you're truly doing what's necessary, at the most brutal level: saving human lives, or taking care of them in their last moments. So to all of you medical pros: You're amazing, that's what you are, and thank you.

[@ygryaznov]

or you could try not to eat shit from ukranian propaganda about whole country lacking compassion

[@HungarianRepublic]

All this is simply Western propaganda. The myth of Russian human wave attacks has already been dismissed.

[@sentienthistorybook8338]

Keep up the great work. Your videos are what encouraged me to study more into aviation history and aircraft design, and it’s opened up a lot of interesting concepts and worlds to me. Thank you for opening my eyes, and keep making great content!

[@50bendiciones]

1:19 To Il-2 pilots, the aircraft was known by the diminutive "Ilyusha". To the soldiers on the ground, it was called the "Hunchback", the "Flying Tank" or the "Flying Infantryman"

[@emberfist8347]

And to NATO it was called Bark. The Su-25 shown afterward is also called the Grach by pilots and Russian Pilots have adopted the Fulcrum reporting name for the MiG-29.

[@50bendiciones]

@@emberfist8347 idc

[@moldovanpotato]

It’s great to see such and insightful and entertaining video about some less talked about planes and events. And it’s also kind of nostalgic to hear again about the plane which I remember my uncle talking about a lot, as well as hearing Rosenbaum’s song again.

[@johnlacek8105]

Paper Skies!!! Long time no see! Happy to have you back in the content game. Great video. Super informative and very well produced.

[@lyinarbaeldeth2456]

Your insight and analysis is superb, as always, delving deep into fascinating topics I knew little about. Thank you and keep it up! I personally find your english perfectly understandable and don't need the subtitles, but appreciate you including them all the same. My wife is hard of hearing and youtube's auto-subtitles are just terrible, so it's always great when a creator goes to the effort of making their own. ❤

[@conflictvideo3014]

As the saying goes, "the death of one man is a tragedy, but the death of thousands is statistic"

[@MrK1ckAsss]

This channel is one of those channels you encounter by random, but is such a gem, I love the storytelling!

[@Rolph777]

Saw this on Nebula 2 days ago! Thanks for the amazing content as always!

[@sniperboom1202]

Actually learned what cargo 200 meant at the beginning of the war(Ukraine-russian) when there was a radio intercept that had a Russian saying he had several cargo 200s in the back of his car that hadn't been evacuated in six to seven days.

[@F.B.I]

@@jamesmandahl444 Source?!?!?!-🤓

[@VidandRico]

@@F.B.I ?

[@Lensman864]

Your videos are excellent; always enjoyable and informative; good editing! Thank you and best wishes from England.

[@ALFIEMETAL]

This is by far my most favourite video you have produced! Spectacular production, information by multiple bomber loads but simple to digest! Keep up the good work man!

[@gwiazdapioun2127]

5:24 one of whom was Grigory Boyarinov, commander of the Spetsnaz unit which stormed the Tajbeg Palace; officially, he was killed by his own soldiers who mistook him for one of Amin's bodyguards, though there are allegations that he too was liquidated, in order to keep the details of the assaults secret.

[@thomasbell7033]

The parallels between the Soviet experience in Afghanistan and the US in Vietnam are more than just a media cliche. The imagery from this video is just like what I saw on TV every night as a child in Texas during the 60s. Only the caskets look different -- the young men in them are identical.

[@Balpindo]

I had no idea that the USSR had such detailed procedure for transporting the fallen, very interesting video

[@ak99-to1gz]

American movies get us in this aspect.

[@jonbattin6831]

Excellent video. Your content keeps getting better and better

[@markusseitz480]

Another brilliant production from Paper Skies! Thank you so much!

[@PercyPruneMHDOIFandBars]

The AN12, The Soviet Hercules! 😁 Excellent video as always. When I see a new post, I get excited and disappointment NEVER follows! Thanks for sharing your hard work!

[@ThroneOfBhaal]

15:17 This still breaks my heart. Seeing Zaluzhnyi on his knees before the mother of a fallen soldier is something that will always stick with me as well, won't see that in Russia. Fucks me off Ukrainians have to go through this shit now, they certainly don't deserve it. I've never had any friends killed (touch wood), but I've seen ramp ceremonies for our fallen and it's something that really sticks with you.

[@KinoTechUSA69]

When this channel uploads, it is always a treat.

[@rolfnilsen6385]

Now this was one of the most informative, and sad, videos in a long time. 200.. and the impact on society.. Amazing.

[@wape1]

I initially thought of this channel as _"We have Mustard at home!",_ but you have surpassed him in the dogfight for my heart! ♥️

[@ikr9358]

I think they both have their good points. It's good that we have both available to watch!

[@wape1]

@@ikr9358 Exactly, just means I'd put _Mustard_ second in the queue! We have been spoiled lately with great aviation channels popping up left, right and center!

[@brianjaber3171]

I have to agree with you, it is a shame when such a successful aircraft gets a negative moniker because of one mission use when it’s truly had so many successful humanitarian missions under its belt. I’m happy to hear your. On Nebula as well because I love that streaming service and I’ll see you there.

[@WBLBears11]

Great video! Lots of information in this I've never heard before.

[@JDPgamerfly360]

I was not prepared to have my enjoyment of aviation history and your narrative style, to leave me blown away, heart broken, and profoundly more well off with knowledge of another culture. I knew your channel was awesome but the contextual and cultural history you bring to the table is bar-none a unique and need experience for anyone who truly wants to know how history is as relevant today as it was when it happened and why. Keep up the amazing work!

[@nonsibi1087]

Thanks for bringing me this video, a "Flashback" for me since, in 1970, I spent much time in AN-12 aircraft (and AN-22 aircraft, too!) as well as working with, coordinating & monitoring flights, and meeting the crews. I never flew in one, though! The AN-12 resemblance to the US's Lockheed C-130 is obvious, aside from the somewhat shorter wings and tail gun.

[@dumpsterfire42]

Can you do a vid on the history of the il-2??? It's a really historically important and cool aircraft Also, love ur vids

[@The_Modeling_Underdog]

Excellent video, mate. Top content and production.

[@drexia8973]

What an absolutely stunning piece of research and work. Well done!

[@cerealata9035]

_sees __2:16_ Fly high, Mriya! Your dream shall live on.

[@operator1192]

In Afghanistan I worked alongside the civilian An-12 cargo planes every day. They remind me a lot of a C-130 but much smokier and a little less safe looking haha. Still very cool nonetheless. I’ve always enjoyed the design differences of Soviet and now Russian aircraft and I’ve head the pleasure of working with a large variety of Russian transport and cargo aircraft over the years.

[@shanetonkin2850]

“..but much smokier and a little less safe looking” Russian vehicles in a nutshell

[@F.B.I]

@@shanetonkin2850 perfectly represents the carrier "Admiral Kuznetsov"

[@hansohasashi5093]

​@@user-uz7rl4wy5uты на нем летал?

[@yeetoburrito]

That's really cool. The only experience with Russian transport aircraft I have are IL-78Ms (do tankers count as transport?) and an AN-12 (along with an AN-26) that was on display 😅

[@Avionicx]

I heard about this plane through the song "swallowing dust", which is also where I got my facisination for the Soviet-Afghan war. Great video!

[@TheIzroda]

Yay another Paper Skies video! Thanks! Happy day :)

[@freyawion5337]

В Афганистане В Черном Тюльпане С водкой в стакане Мы молча плывём над землёй...

[@fs10inator]

Speaking of positive stories, one that has always intrigued me was of the An-12 and Kai Tak. On October 6, 1996, an Air Sofia An-12 made the only ever IGS approach of ANY Soviet-built aircraft into Hong Kong Kai Tak Airport, carrying stage gear for Sting's Mercury Falling Tour. Sting would perform in the HK Coliseum the following day, and two days later, the Antonov left Kai Tak for good. (P.S., having grown up in Sharjah, UAE, I used to see a fair share of An-12s flying, which was always a sight to behold.)

[@brianrmc1963]

All your videos are so well thought out. Thank you.

[@aterxter3437]

I have to say that I read Svetlana Lexievitch’s book the zinc coffins, well it gave me a really new view about war especially on ground level. And I discovered there the expression "cargo 200". Well if anyone wants to go serve into armies I would really recommend this book to get knowledge of what is going on, it's not sufficient to make your opinion, but it's a great piece to form it

[@JunkPhuJP]

In this time of polarizing politics, its always a refreshing time watching your vids touching on the multiple perspectives of aviation development, and in particular how life in the Soviet Union, Russia, Ukraine is. Hope you and your family are staying safe bro. Slava Ukraini

[@jukebox_heroperson3994]

Z

[@wuaf_devas9678]

Excellent job! Also, glad to hear the narrative in your own voice! Keep up the good work!

[@josephs357]

Thank you for the video. As always well done.

[@noname2490]

It's surprising to me as an American that the USSR put so much logistics into taking the Russian soldiers home in a timely manner. Very commendable and honorable

[@StrikeNoir105E]

Contrast that to today's conflict in Ukraine, where a lot of the time the Russians can't even be assed to find and retrieve a good portion of their fallen, and what they do retrieve aren't properly taken care of for later burial. Even back then though, it seems that they were still in denial mode when it came to conflicts; there's no "war in Afghanistan", it's just Soviet soldiers building infrastructure, much like how initially the conflict in Ukraine wasn't a "war", it waas a "Special Military Operation".

[@LeCharles07]

@@StrikeNoir105E That lady was right, they should put seeds in their pockets so at least sunflowers will grow. I hope she's ok.

[@georgros4199]

@@StrikeNoir105E Where the fuck do you get this information from? Wait at least a couple of years when it will be possible to conduct research, and not to assume unfounded.

[@agentmilton6585]

​@@StrikeNoir105E as far as i remember, even the Ukrainians collect dogtags for the fallen Russian soldiers and set up a hotline for Russian families to call them ask ask the hotline the fate of their family members who are Russian soldiers in Ukraine

[@Nekudza]

USSR is not Russia, so they transported not only Russian soldiers. In fact, one shot in this video where you can clearly see address on the coffin says "Horlivka" - that is city in Ukraine, mere kilometers from the current frontline, occupied by Russia for several years now

[@thomasirwin4099]

Paper, thanks so much yet again for such great work. We don't get much insight into the history of Soviet military history in general in the US, and particularly not with the Soviet Air Force. We particularly don't know much about life in the USSR prior to the fall of the Berlin Wall, and your work gives us a look we might not otherwise get. So thank you- these stories are superbly-told by you, and humanizes the group of guys who were doing what most men who wear their nation's uniform try to do- serve their nation well and get home to their families. And it sure is great to hear stories of the aircraft and the culture around them. Oh, and thanks for the proper pronunciation of words like "Politburo"- transliteration from Cyrillic to English doesn't always convey the right way to say it! Hope you and your family are well, sir. God bless.

[@ji3194]

Outstanding work! Another very well done informative video from paper skies

[@entropyachieved750]

Absolutely brilliant as always. Thankyou

[@ptonpc]

Not only do you tell us about the aircraft, you teach us about history and society.

[@derwutgamer3570]

For those interested in the afghan war, i can highly recommend the book boys in zinc from Svetlana Alexievich. It is a compilation of interviews where former soldiers, nurses, doctor and others tell their stories of that time. Its depressing how this useless war was and the parallels to the russian invasion in ukraine today are mindblowing.

[@swampyproductions6755]

your channel is becoming one of my favorite ways to pass the time, keep up the great work!

[@philski24]

There is an AN-12 that flies from in from either overseas or a mid way stop in Halifax to someplace in Texas and while passing overhead here you can sure as hell hear the damn thing coming - and its at 22 or 23,000 feet. Its LOUD. And the sound lingers for a lot longer than the typical airliner sound. Ive caught it on FR24 a bunch, one is either dark blue or black with bright orange, and the other is standard white and gray.. such a LOUD airplane!

[@argonaut_aero]

Our airforce (Sri Lankan Airforce) used the Chinese Y8 version..it too was cursed , had a few incidents throughout its service

[@user-en9zo2ol4z]

It looks almost identical to the Lockheed C-130 Hercules. Developed around the same time for the same purpose. Perhaps the only difference being the C-130 remains in production.

[@quint3ssent1a]

In my town there's a monument called Black Tulip. It's a remembrance monument with names of soldiers from our town who died during 1980's Afghan war.

[@hairydonuts6024]

deeply grim but fascinating video. Thank you for this!

[@bobman36]

The il 12 is such a beautiful plane, it’s the face of some of the most interesting war music ever created

[@nimomemre6550]

At last you uploaded ! ......... God ..... the wait is finally over 😅👍

[@robertsantamaria6857]

Actually signed up to Nebula earlier today and watched the video there. So, here I am watching it again on YT.

[@JR-ut2ne]

Your video quality is always fantastic. Great work

[@justine5799]

Something that you could have mentioned when talking about the black tulip is that it launched flares as it took off to make it seem like the plane was crying for all of the dead it was carrying.

[@pam7939]

That’s not really why they did that, even though the visual coincidence is there. Launching flares during takeoff was standard practice for all Soviet aircraft by the mid to late stages of the war because, by that point, Afghan fighters with Stinger missiles were regularly attacking aircraft as they took off or landed and were most vulnerable.

[@petertaylor4980]

​@@pam7939 I saw that in the video and wondered. Thanks for the explanation.

[@tolyar]

"..and if we run into it, the guys will die for the second time"

[@CdA_Native]

As an American who lived in Russia for almost 5 years, and knew many Afghan war vets, I could appreciate their service because I too was a vet, of the Vietnam era. Men and women who have been to war, regardless of the side they were on, share a bond for life. That Black Tulip song brought a tear to my eye.

[@woodsmaneh952]

Great video. Real quality. Thank you.

[@willsanderson9194]

I’m glad you’re back

[@TheDerperado]

"Ravioli ravioli, what's in the coffinioli?"

[@dickystrike6966]

That ravioli part is the worst and most absurd piece of propaganda in this vid

[@Lawnmower737]

I love these videos, please don’t stop making them. Your accent is rather nice to hear and gives the videos a personal feeling to your content, it sounds much better rather than hiring some American or British voice over to make these. Also a video suggestion I have for you is the Tupolev Tu-144 or as many of us westerners know it as, The “Concordski”.

[@Pwnulolumad]

Most well produced video. Very deserving of a subscription

[@exidy-yt]

Fascinating and informative video! Also that "Black Tulip" song is rather catchy. I have quite a bit of non-english music on my phone, I do believe I'll be looking up and adding a copy of it. Thank you!

[@jamesm3471]

This channel is one of the best, resplendent content, a real joy to watch! Thank you for all you do.

[@PaperSkiesAviation]

Thank you James M!

[@travistolbert2647]

Now I would love a video detailing the various nicknames of Russian aircraft and why they were christened with those names.

[@the_aviation_fuel]

What an awesome video man. Really loving your content. Keep them coming.

[@artcamp7]

Your videos are always fascinating and unique and very well done. big fan

[@Flyinghigh888]

The An12 was a good cargo aircraft like the C130 Hercules except the piston engines. China's Y9 was derived from An12 with a new engine and six blades propellers (Star shape). Now the Y9 was not just a cargo plane but also has ASW and AWACs variants. the Cub still flies strong in China!

[@iceblade019]

pretty sure all An-12s and C-130s are turboprops instead of pistons

[@ivanthemadvandal8435]

Whoever made that Soviet film obviously "took inspiration" from Commando.

[@Andy_Novosad]

It is a modern ruzzian film. And yeah, you're totally right - it is a bad copy of Commando. By the way, an actor who plays the main "hero", Mikhail Porechenkov, is considered a criminal in Ukraine, because he was so bright minded, that in the year 2014-2015 while visiting Donetsk region, he shot some rounds out of machinegun in the direction of Ukrainian Armed Forces positions, on camera, in propaganda purpouse. Really dumb but effective way to screw yourself up.

[@bjornbraun386]

great video as always

[@irishpsalteri]

That was powerful and touching. Thank you.

[@emaheiwa8174]

❤ we missed you

[@zeroelus]

The only Russian airplane I've seen flying at home in person was an AN-12 not a year ago, and I was so happy as the only other time a Russian airplane landed here I had not clue what was going on. In the brightly colored livery of Cavok Air I would have never imagined such a grim association to this plane.

[@dieudo.]

Thank you for this short documentary ! Very interesting

[@janklaasen1014]

very interesting video. Thank you.