#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 armed fixed-wing counter-insurgency (COIN) and utility transport aircraft. It was a license-built derivative of the Pilatus PC-6 Porter, produced by the American conglomerate Fairchild Industries. The AU-23 originated in the Credible Chase program, which was started by the Aeronautical Systems Division in 1971 to seek a capable armed light utility aircraft for potential use in the then-ongoing Vietnam War.
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
- 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 2026-11-08.