Short Belfast

what is it?

The Short Belfast (or Shorts Belfast) is a retired heavy lift turboprop freighter that was built by British manufacturer Short Brothers at Belfast. Only 10 aircraft were constructed, all of which entered service with the Royal Air Force (RAF), who operated it under the designation Short Belfast C.1. Upon its entry into service, the Belfast was the largest aircraft that the British military had ever operated up to that time.

🔎How to recognise it: 4 turboprops · shoulder wing · retractable tricycle gear · 48.4 m wingspan

base stats

• speed 567 km/htop speed
• range 1,611 kmwithout refuelling
• seats 150passengers
• size 104.3 tmax take-off weight
• built 10made 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 62 years ago, in 1964.
• 🏎️Top speed is 4.4× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
• 🚗Wingspan of 48.4 m: about 11 cars parked nose to tail.
• 🐘Fully loaded it can weigh as much as 17 African elephants (~6 t each).
• 🌍Range of 1,611 km: 9× Amsterdam to Brussels.
• 🏔️Can fly 1.0× higher than Mount Everest (8,849 m).

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

spec sheet

first flight

1964-01-05

introduced

1966

retired

1976

status

retired

number built

10

role

heavy airfreighter

origin

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

makers

Short Brothers

engines

4× Rolls-Royce R.Ty.12 Tyne Mk.101

crew

5

passengers

150

length

41.6 m

wingspan

48.4 m

height

14.3 m

max take-off weight

104.3 t

top speed

567 km/h

cruise speed

541 km/h

range

1,611 km

ceiling

9,144 m

wings

shoulder wing

landing gear

retractable tricycle gear

ICAO code

BELF

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