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The Short Belfast is a heavy lift turboprop freighter built by Short Brothers at Belfast. Only 10 were built for the British Royal Air Force with the designation Short Belfast C1. When they were retired by the RAF 5 went into civilian service with the cargo airline HeavyLift Cargo Airlines.^[1] Three aircraft remain in existence, one of which is on display at the RAF Museum Cosford

History

The Belfast was developed to meet a Royal Air Force requirement for a freighter capable of carrying a wide range of military loads over long ranges. The military loads envisaged included including artillery, more than 200 troops, helicopters, and guided missiles. Shorts design was based on studies they had worked on in late 1950s and the project started as the SC.5/10 in February 1959. From that design, the prototype Belfast first flew on 5 January 1964. The aircraft was flown by Shorts' chief test pilot Denis Taylor, the crew consisted of Peter Lowe (2nd pilot), Malcolm Wild (engineer), Ricky Steel (flt. engineer), Bill Mortimer (radio operator & navigator), Alex Mackenzie and Gil Thomas (flt. observers).^[2]

The Belfast was unusual in being only the second aircraft type to be built equipped with autoland blind landing equipment.

To meet the demands of the specification the Belfast used a high wing carrying four Rolls-Royce Tyne turboprops. The cargo deck 64 ft long in a fuselage over 18 feet in diameter (roomy enough for two single deck buses) was reached through a "beaver tail" rear loading doors and ramp. The main undercarriage was two 8-wheel bogies and a 2-wheel nose. The Belfast was capable of a maximum takeoff weight of over 220,500 lb (100 tonnes) but still less than the contemporaneous 250 tonne all-up Antonov An-22 and the 128 tonne Douglas C-133 Cargomaster. It could carry 150 troops with full equipment, or a Chieftain tank or two Westland Wessex helicopters.

Service

Thirty planes had been planned but only 10 were ordered. The Belfast entered service with No. 53 Squadron RAF in January 1966. All ten were retired in 1976. TAC Heavylift then purchased 5 of them for commercial use in 1977, and operated three of them from 1980 after they had received work so they could be certificated to civil standards. Ironically, some of them were later charted during the Falklands war, with some sources suggesting that this cost more than keeping all the aircraft in RAF service until the 1990s.^[1] One aircraft is still flying (2007) in Australia for HeavyLift Cargo Airlines; it is often clearly visible parked on the General Aviation side of Cairns International Airport in Queensland, in company with one or two 727s. A Short Belfast remaining in the UK can be found in the RAF Cosford Aerospace Museum, where it has been displayed since October 1978.^[3]

Aircraft

All 10 Belfasts were named:

Samson - RAF Serial XR362 (used registration G-ASKE for overseas test flight), sold as G-BEPE then scrapped
Goliath - RAF Serial XR363, sold as G-OHCA then scrapped
Pallas - RAF Serial XR364, sold as scrap to Rolls-Royce who recovered the Tyne engines
Hector - RAF Serial XR365, sold as G-HLFT then as 9L-LDQ operating with HeavyLift Cargo Ailines (see reference) (2005)
Atlas - RAF Serial XR366, sold to RR for engines
Heracles - RAF Serial XR367 - sold as G-BFYU then scrapped
Theseus - RAF Serial XR368, sold as G-BEPS then in storage at Southend Airport - under restoration to fly with HeavyLift Cargo Airlines (see reference)
Spartacus - RAF Serial XR369, sold as G-BEPL then scrapped
Ajax - RAF Serial XR370, sold to RR for engines
Enceladus- RAF Serial XR371, preserved as an exhibit at RAF Museum Cosford

Military operators

United Kingdom
- Royal Air Force.
  - No. 53 Squadron RAF

Civil operators

TAC HeavyLift
HeavyLift Cargo Airlines

Specifications (Belfast CMk.1)

General characteristics

Crew: Basic aircrew 4 (2 pilots, engineer & navigator/radio operator) plus reserve crew
Capacity: 11,750 cu. ft.

Performance

Range with maximum payload: 970 miles (1,560 km)

References

^ Cite error: The named reference HAC was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Flight International, No. 2862, Vol. 85, 16 January 1964, p. 97.
^ Image at www.HistoryofAirCargo.com

External links

Notes

^ Robert Hewson (Ed.) (2001). Commercial Aircraft and Airliners (2nd ed). Aerospace Publishing Ltd and Airlife Publishing Ltd. ISBN 1-84037-064-5

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-The '''Short Belfast''' was a heavy lift [[turboprop]] [[freighter]] built by [[Short Brothers]] at [[Belfast]]. Only 10 were built for the [[United Kingdom|British]] [[Royal Air Force]] with the designation '''Short Belfast C1'''. When they were retired by the RAF 5 went into civilian service with the [[cargo airline]] HeavyLift Cargo Airlines.<ref name=HAC/>  Three aircraft remain in existence, one of which is on display at the [[Royal Air Force Museum|RAF Museum Cosford]]
+The '''Short Belfast''' is a heavy lift [[turboprop]] [[freighter]] built by [[Short Brothers]] at [[Belfast]]. Only 10 were built for the [[United Kingdom|British]] [[Royal Air Force]] with the designation '''Short Belfast C1'''. When they were retired by the RAF 5 went into civilian service with the [[cargo airline]] HeavyLift Cargo Airlines.<ref name=HAC/>  Three aircraft remain in existence, one of which is on display at the [[Royal Air Force Museum|RAF Museum Cosford]]
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