Nord Noratlas

what is it?

The Nord Noratlas is a dedicated military transport aircraft, developed and manufactured by French aircraft manufacturer Nord Aviation. Development commenced during the late 1940s with the aim of producing a suitable aircraft to replace the numerous older types that were in service with the Armée de l'Air (French Air Force) which dated back to the Second World War. In response to a competition organised by the Direction Technique Industrielle (DTI), Nord produced their Nord 2500 proposal, which was selected as the most promising.

🔎How to recognise it: 2 piston engines with propellers · shoulder wing · retractable tricycle gear · 32.5 m wingspan

base stats

• speed 440 km/htop speed
• range 2,500 kmwithout refuelling
• size 20.6 tmax take-off weight
• built 426made 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 77 years ago, in 1949.
• 🏎️Top speed is 3.4× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
• 🚗Wingspan of 32.5 m: about 7 cars parked nose to tail.
• 🐘Fully loaded it can weigh as much as 3 African elephants (~6 t each).
• 🌍Range of 2,500 km: 14× Amsterdam to Brussels.

piston: A car-like piston engine turning a propeller: simple and cheap, the classic small plane.

spec sheet

first flight

1949-09-10

introduced

1953

retired

1989

status

retired

number built

426

role

military transport

origin

🇫🇷 France

makers

Nord Aviation

engines

2× SNECMA-manufactured Bristol Hercules 738

crew

4

length

22 m

wingspan

32.5 m

height

6 m

max take-off weight

20.6 t

top speed

440 km/h

cruise speed

324 km/h

range

2,500 km

ceiling

7,500 m

wings

shoulder wing

landing gear

retractable tricycle gear

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