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10 photos from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences
- 1. De Havilland Canada DHC-4 Caribou (26953044062): FotoSleuth· CC BY 2.0
- 2. 16 19 011 caribou: Dsdugan· CC0
- 3. An old de Havilland Canada DHC-4 Caribou at THR: Shahram Sharifi· CC BY-SA 4.0
- 4. C-7A Caribou: Thornfield Hall· CC BY-SA 4.0
- 5. C-7 Caribou at Fort Bragg: RadioFan at English Wikipedia· CC BY-SA 3.0
- 6. Caribou CV-2B 62-4149: FlugKerl2· CC BY-SA 3.0
- 7. DHC-4 Caribou N1017H OPA 11.11.89 edited-2: RuthAS· CC BY 3.0
- 8. DHC-4 Caribou Vietnam: Dwight Burdette· CC BY 3.0
- 9. DHC.4 C-7B 0-39765 CA NG Fresno CA 30.09.90R edited-3: RuthAS· CC BY 3.0
- 10. De Havilland Canada DHC-4 Caribou A4-152 on display at the RAAF Museum: Bidgee· CC BY-SA 2.5 au
what is it?
The de Havilland Canada DHC-4 Caribou (designated by the United States military as the CV-2 and later C-7 Caribou) is a Canadian specialized cargo aircraft with short takeoff and landing (STOL) capability developed by de Havilland Canada. The Caribou was first flown in 1958 and although mainly retired from military operations, is still in use in small numbers as a rugged bush airplane. The type certificate of the aircraft is now owned by De Havilland Canada founded in 2019.
How to recognise it: 2 piston engines with propellers · retractable tricycle gear · 29.2 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 68 years ago, in 1958.
- Top speed is 2.7× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
- Wingspan of 29.2 m: about 6 cars parked nose to tail.
- Fully loaded it can weigh as much as 2 African elephants (~6 t each).
- Range of 2,104 km: 12× Amsterdam to Brussels.
piston: A car-like piston engine turning a propeller: simple and cheap, the classic small plane.
spec sheet
- first flight
- 1958
- introduced
- 1961
- retired
- 2009
- status
- still flying
- number built
- 307
- role
- stol transport aircraft
- origin
- 🇨🇦 Canada
- makers
- de Havilland Canada
- engines
- 2× Pratt & Whitney R-2000-7M2 Twin Wasp / R-2000-7M-2 Twin Wasp
- crew
- 2
- passengers
- 32
- length
- 22.1 m
- wingspan
- 29.2 m
- height
- 9.7 m
- max take-off weight
- 12.9 t
- top speed
- 346 km/h
- cruise speed
- 293 km/h
- range
- 2,104 km
- ceiling
- 7,559 m
- landing gear
- retractable tricycle gear
Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.
Sources: Wikidata Q285004, Wikipedia: De Havilland Canada DHC-4 Caribou (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-24.