Harbin SH-5

what is it?

The Harbin SH-5 (Chinese: 水轰五型; pinyin: Shuǐhōng wǔxíng; lit. 'water bomb type 5', where "水轰" is short for 水上轰炸机; Shuǐshàng hōngzhàjī; 'seaborne bomber') is a Chinese maritime patrol amphibious aircraft intended for a wide range of duties, including aerial firefighting, anti-submarine warfare (ASW) and air-sea rescue (ASR). One prototype and six production aircraft have been built.

🔎How to recognise it: 4 turboprops · 36 m wingspan

base stats

• speed 556 km/htop speed
• range 4,756 kmwithout refuelling
• size 45 tmax take-off weight
• built 7made in total

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 50 years ago, in 1976.
• 🏎️Top speed is 4.3× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
• 🚗Wingspan of 36 m: about 8 cars parked nose to tail.
• 🐘Fully loaded it can weigh as much as 8 African elephants (~6 t each).
• 🌍Range of 4,756 km: 26× Amsterdam to Brussels.
• 🏔️Can fly 1.2× higher than Mount Everest (8,849 m).

turboprop: A jet-style turbine turning a propeller: efficient on short hops.

spec sheet

first flight

1976-04-03

introduced

1986

number built

7

role

maritime patrol amphibian/air-sea rescue

origin

🇨🇳 People's Republic of China

makers

Harbin Aircraft Manufacturing Corporation

engines

4× Dongan WJ5A

crew

8

length

38.9 m

wingspan

36 m

height

9.8 m

max take-off weight

45 t

top speed

556 km/h

cruise speed

450 km/h

range

4,756 km

ceiling

10,250 m

Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.