Short Belfast
Short Brothers · UK · first flew 1964 · transport aircraft
The Short Belfast is a large strategic heavy-lift freighter powered by four Rolls-Royce Tyne turboprops.
Recognition (WEFT)
| W — Wings | High-mounted, straight |
|---|---|
| E — Engines | 4 × turboprop, wing-mounted |
| F — Fuselage | Bulbous upswept rear fuselage with loading ramp |
| T — Tail | T-tail |
WEFT is AircraftIQ's four-point recognition method — how it works.
Spot it by:
- Large four-turboprop strategic freighter
- High wing with T-tail
- Bulbous upswept rear fuselage with loading ramp
Its huge high wing, T-tail, four turboprops, and swollen ramped fuselage make it unmistakable among Cold War transports.
Specifications
- The Short Belfast has a length of 54 m (177 ft).
- It has a wingspan of 48.4 m (159 ft).
- Its maximum speed is 566 km/h (352 mph).
- Typical crew: 5.
Figures are for the representative variant described above; marks differ. See how AircraftIQ sources figures.
History
Built in small numbers for the RAF in the 1960s, it gave Britain an outsize cargo capability before being retired and passing to civil operators.
Variants
Only ten were built; surviving aircraft flew commercially as the HeavyLift freighter.
Where you'll see it
Served RAF Transport Command and later UK civil heavy-lift operators; a genuinely British type.
Related aircraft
- Short Belfast C.1
- Short SC.7 Skyvan
- Shorts 330
- Short SB.6 Seamew
- De Havilland Canada DHC-5 Buffalo
- Douglas AC-47 Spooky
- Fairchild Swearingen Merlin
- Grumman C-2 Greyhound
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