Transall C-160
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| Transall C-160D | ||
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| Missing image Transall_C-160.jpg C-160Z of the South African Air Force | ||
| Description | ||
| Role | Military transport | |
| Crew | five - two pilots, navigator, flight engineer, tactcs officer | |
| First Flight | February 25, 1963 | |
| Entered Service | 1967 | |
| Manufacturer | Aérospatiale, MBB | |
| Dimensions | ||
| Length | 32.40 m | 106' 4" |
| Wingspan | 40.00 m | 131' 3" |
| Height | 12.36 m | 38' 3" |
| Wing area | 160 m² | 1,721 ft² |
| Weights | ||
| Empty | 30,000 kg | 62,700 lb |
| Loaded | 46,000 kg | 103,400 lb |
| Maximum takeoff | 49,150 kg | 112,200 lb |
| Capacity | 16,000 kg or 80 troops | 32,300 lb |
| Powerplant | ||
| Engines | 2x Rolls-Royce Tyne 22 turboprops | |
| Power | 8,450 kW | 11,330 hp |
| Performance | ||
| Maximum speed | 513 km/h | 319 mph |
| Range | 1,850 km | 1,150 miles |
| Service ceiling | 8,230 m | 30,000 ft |
| Rate of climb | 400 m/min | 1,312 ft/min |
| Wing loading | 294 kg/m² | 60 lb/ft² |
| Power/Mass | 180 W/kg | 0.11 hp/lb |
| Avionics | ||
| Flight management system, GPS, Laser-INS (inertia navigation system), Radio navigation (VOR,NDB,(DME),DF), Weather radar, 2 Autopilots, SELCAL, TCAS II (Collision avoidance system), UHF/VHF/HF-Longrange Radios | ||
The Transall C-160 is a military transport aircraft developed by a consortium of French and German aircraft manufacturers for the air forces of those two nations and that of South Africa.
The C-160 was originally conceived as a replacement for the Armée de l'Air's Nord Noratlas fleet. It is turboprop-powered and of conventional configuration for aircraft of this type, with high wings, and a loading ramp built into the rear of the fuselage. Size-wise, it falls between the Aeritalia G.222 and the C-130 Hercules.
Three prototypes flew in 1963, followed by pre-production machines in 1965 and production machines from 1967. The first batch included 110 C-160Ds for the Luftwaffe, 50 C-160Fs for the Armée de l'Air, and 9 C-160Zs for the South African Air Force. Production continued until 1972 with French aircraft built by Aérospatiale and German aircraft by Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm.
In 1977, the Armée de l'Air ordered an updated version (designated C-160NG, for Nouvelle Generation - "New Generation"). From 1981, 29 of these aircraft were delivered, half of them configured as tanker aircraft for aerial refuelling. Another 4 were configured as C-160H TACAMO aircraft, for communication with submerged submarines. Finally, 2 more were converted to SIGINT electronic surveillance aircraft, designated C-160G Gabriel, replacing the Noratlases that had been in this role previously. While still new, the C-160Gs took part in the Gulf War of 1991.
From 1994 to 1999, all French C-160s underwent an avionics upgrade and the addition of new anti-missile countermeasures. The C-160Fs and NGs so updated were redesignated C-160R (Renove - "renovated"). Luftwaffe machines have similarly undergone life-extension programmes by BAE Systems, but all French and German machines are reaching the end of their service lives as of 2004. All South African machines have already been retired, while the Turkish Air Force continues to operate 20 machines obtained from Germany (C-160T).
| Related content | |
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| Related Development | |
| Similar Aircraft | |
| Designation Series | |
| Related Lists |
List of military aircraft of France - List of military aircraft of Germany - List of military transport aircraft |
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