The Grenada Revolution Online

The Soviet Agricultural Spray Plane

In four parts, an agricultural spray plane was offloaded from a ship at the Grenadian docks on 26 February 1983.

Soviet CCCP71189
photo from the Free West Indian

You can still see this bi-plane, in its ruined state, at Pearl's Airport, and vaguely make out its markings "CCCP-71189".

Officially this aiplane is manufactured by Antonov and is known as AN-2R with a nickname of "Colt". The plane is described as a utility transport and paratroop trainer. The Soviet Union's gift value of $3.4 million is inclusive of additional items donated from the German Democratic Republic (GDR) and the Soviet Union. The Soviets brought three years' supply of spare parts for the plane. The plane was to be used for spraying bananas.

pearlsCCCP
Photo courtesy of Caribbean Newsletter ©1986

The AN-26

After the invasion, early in December 1983, a remaining Cuban diplomat, Gaston Diaz, sold off most of the contents of the hilltop Cuban Embassy at Morne Jaloux on Grenada - according to journalist Montalbano "fans, furniture, wine glasses, a coffee set, a color television, and a sea-green Honda Accord, license number P4751." A Cuban radio operator had gathered his equipment and made a quick exit, leaving Diaz solely responsible for assuming the remaning temporary tasks.

What belonged to Cuba, Diaz claimed, including construction equipment and "the asphalt spreader featured on the cover of the 1983 Grenada telephone directory," Montalbo reports, belonged to Cuba. At Pearl's Airport was a damaged Cuban airliner, the AN-26, that Diaz valued at between 2 and 10 million, according to two reports. The plane is described as a Soviet-built twin-engined turboprop airliner. The plane needed repair with spare parts in order to be flown back to Cuba. Permission was denied. The plane sits at Pearl's Airport to this day.

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