During the 1950s it became apparent to the Soviet Navy that a simple maritime patrol aircraft would be required for use by Warsaw Pact allies and other “friendly” nations. The AV-MF already had several sophisticated, long range aircraft on the drawing boards, but for the Warsaw Pact role a shorter range, less complex aircraft would be sufficient.
The Ilyushin company had already designed several fisheries patrol versions of the Ilyushin Il-14 airliner, so were instructed to develop an armed patrol variant. The Il-14 MR variant was first flown on 3rd April 1956 and featured under fuselage search radar, weapons racks, and a MAD tail for submarine detection. After extensive testing it was ordered into production in early 1957, going on to be delivered to the naval aviation forces of Poland, Bulgaria, Romania, Cuba and China, while a licenced version was also built by VEB of East Germany for use by the Volksmarine. Most of these nations would operate the Il-14 MR into the 1980s, finally being withdrawn as political circumstances or old age overtook them.
In Chinese service the Il-14 MR would have an extended life, as like the old Beriev Be-6s that had been passed to the PLANAF, they were re-engined with Dong-an WJ-5 turboprops, allowing the Chinese to squeeze out an extra 10 years use.
