First in a long line of short-range transports, the Antonov An-24 'Coke' was designed to replace Aeroflot's old piston-engined transports for internal routes. Similar to the Fokker F.27, the An-24 was heavier and with more powerful engines making it less economical than its famous Dutch counterpart. Still, the An-24 was exported to a variety of foreign airlines and air forces of the USSR's allies and client states (about 3 out of every 4 An-24s built were eventually exported) where it was valued for its ability to operate from unprepared strips, its ease of maintenance, and overal ruggedness. Many still serve today mostly in former CIS and Warsaw Pact countries as well as in China which continues to manufacture it as the Xian Y-7, production in the USSR (specifically, the Ukraine) having ended in 1978. The An-24's design would prove very useful in a succession of related designs which are described in separate entries and which fulfilled a wide array of different roles.

The An-24 was first flown in December 1959 and entered passenger service as the An-24V with up to 40 seats (later upgraded to 50 seats in the An-24V-II). A rather unorthodox design led to the An-24RV, this had an RU-19-300 turbojet installed as an auxiliary power unit thus improving performance on takeoff or in the air. A specialized freighter variant was designated An-24T with a freight door instead of a passenger door (with the same turbojet APU it was known as the An-24RT) and a firefighting version was also built as the An-22P.