_U.S._Navy_(8864639639).jpg)
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10 photos from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences
- 1. C-131F Samaritan VR-30 in flight: PH2 J.L. Berry, USN· Public domain
- 2. Convair C-131D Samaritan USAF: Wikimedia Commons· Public domain
- 3. Mercury Astronauts in Weightless Flight on C-131 Aircraft - GPN-2002-000039: NASA· Public domain
- 4. 141007 Convair CV.340 ( C-131 ) U.S. Navy (8864639639): Aeroprints.com· CC BY-SA 3.0
- 5. 141028 Convair CV.340 ( C-131F-71 ) U.S. Navy (8864622995): Aeroprints.com· CC BY-SA 3.0
- 6. APU AUXILIARY POWER UNIT INSTALLATION IN C-131 AIRPLANE - NARA - 17424783: Unknown author Unknown author or not provided· Public domain
- 7. AUXILIARY POWER UNIT APU REMOVED FROM C-131 AIRPLANE - NARA - 17424945: Unknown author Unknown author or not provided· Public domain
- 8. AUXILIARY POWER UNIT APU REMOVED FROM C-131 AIRPLANE - NARA - 17424977: Unknown author Unknown author or not provided· Public domain
- 9. BROKEN WINDOW ON C-131B AIRPLANE - NARA - 17469811: Martin Brown· Public domain
- 10. BURNER CAP AND NOZZLE OFF OTHE C-131 AIRPLANE - NARA - 17424759: Unknown author Unknown author or not provided· Public domain
what is it?
The Convair C-131 Samaritan is an American twin-engined military transport produced from 1954 to 1956 by Convair. It is the military version of the Convair CV-240 family of airliners. This was one of the last radial engined aircraft in US service, along with the Grumman C-1 Trader.
How to recognise it: 2 piston engines with propellers · 32.1 m wingspan
base stats
Bars compare against all aircraft: 3,500 km/h, 20,000 km, 850 seats; size and number built on a log scale up to 640 t (An-225) and 45,000 built (Cessna 172).
fun facts
- First flew 77 years ago, in 1949.
- Top speed is 3.6× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
- Wingspan of 32.1 m: about 7 cars parked nose to tail.
- Fully loaded it can weigh as much as 4 African elephants (~6 t each).
piston: A car-like piston engine turning a propeller: simple and cheap, the classic small plane.
spec sheet
- first flight
- 1949
- introduced
- 1950
- retired
- 1990
- status
- retired
- number built
- 512
- role
- military transport
- origin
- 🇺🇸 United States
- makers
- Convair
- engines
- 2× Pratt & Whitney R-2800-99 "Double Wasp"
- passengers
- 48
- length
- 24.1 m
- wingspan
- 32.1 m
- height
- 8.6 m
- max take-off weight
- 21.4 t
- top speed
- 472 km/h
- cruise speed
- 409 km/h
- range
- 725 km
- ceiling
- 7,470 m
Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.
family
Sources: Wikidata Q2996210, Wikipedia: Convair C-131 Samaritan (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-24.