#2034
Fairchild AU-23 Peacemaker
first flew 1971· armed gunship, counter-insurgency, utility transport
4 photos from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences
- 1. Fairchild AU-23A Peacemaker in flight: San Diego Air and Space Museum Archive· Public domain
- 2. Fairchild AU-23A Peacemaker with XM197 20mm cannon: San Diego Air and Space Museum Archive· Public domain
- 3. Royal Thai Air Force Fairchild AU-23 Peacemaker in 2013: Z3144228· CC BY-SA 4.0
- 4. Fairchild AU-23A Peacemaker: San Diego Air and Space Museum Archive· Public domain
what is it?
The Fairchild AU-23 Peacemaker is an American armed fixed-wing counter-insurgency and utility transport aircraft developed from the Pilatus PC-6 Porter for the United States Air Force. In total, 35 were built under license in the United States by Fairchild Industries for use during the Vietnam War in the early 1970s; 34 aircraft were later sold to the Royal Thai Air Force.
How to recognise it: 1 turboprop · 15.1 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 55 years ago, in 1971.
- Top speed is 2.1× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
- Wingspan of 15.1 m: about 3 cars parked nose to tail.
turboprop: A jet-style turbine turning a propeller: efficient on short hops.
spec sheet
- first flight
- 1971
- number built
- 35
- role
- armed gunship, counter-insurgency, utility transport
- makers
- Fairchild
- engines
- 1× Garrett TPE-331-1-101F
- crew
- 3
- passengers
- 6
- length
- 11.2 m
- wingspan
- 15.1 m
- height
- 4.4 m
- max take-off weight
- 2,767 kg
- top speed
- 274 km/h
- cruise speed
- 142 km/h
- range
- —
Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.
family
Sources: Wikidata Q1393084, Wikipedia: Fairchild AU-23 Peacemaker (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-24.