Cargo aircraft

A cargo aircraft is an aircraft that can carry cargo. In some cases, it may also carry passengers.

FedEx plane Memphis TN 2012-04-21 006

Civilian aircraft

Oversized cargo aircraft Boeing 747LCF.

Civilian cargo aircraft carry cargo or mail. This is generally a kind of airliner, designed for passengers but modified for cargo. Some civilians cargo aircraft are specially equipped for carrying oversized cargo such as aircraft wings, tank-trucks, rocket pieces, or sometimes military heavy trucks and tanks.

Examples

• Airbus A400M,
• Antonov An-26,
• Boeing C-17 Globemaster III,
• Casa C-295,
• Douglas C-47 Skytrain,
• Lockheed C-5 Galaxy,
• Short 330UTT,
• Transall C.160.

Military aircraft

Main page: Military transport aircraft

Cargo aircraft Transall C.160 of the French Air Force.

Military transport aircraft can carry cargo and passengers. Passengers are usually troops, including paratroopers. The seats are usually simple. These aircraft typically have a sloping loading door at the rear of the fuselage for quick loading and unloading. Some use turbojets, others use turboprop engines.

Cargo Aircraft Media

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  A Volga-Dnepr Airlines An-124 prepares for loading in 2008

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  The Vickers Vernon, introduced in 1921, was the first cargo plane for military troops

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  The Arado Ar 232, the first purpose built cargo aircraft

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  A U.S. Air Force Lockheed C-130 Hercules, the archetypal military transport aircraft, over the Atlantic Ocean in 2014

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  The Antonov An-225 Mriya, the heaviest cargo aircraft

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  A Boeing 737-300 converted freighter of Toll Aviation in 2009

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  The Chinese Academy of Sciences flying an unpiloted PAC P-750 XSTOL in 2012

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  A Boeing 747's open cargo door nose at the Paris Air Show in 2011

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  This Avro York cargo plane, photographed by the Royal Air Force, was later used by Winston Churchill

Bibliography

• Frawley, Gerard, The international directory of military aircraft 2002/2003 . London : Aerospace Publication, 2002. ISBN 1-875671-55-2.
• Gaillard, Pierre, Avions et hélicoptères militaires d'aujourd'hui Paris, France : Larivière éditions, 1999. ISBN 2-907051-24-5.
• Kaminsky, Tom, The United States Military Aviation Directory, London : Airtime Publishing, 2000. ISBN 1-880588-29-3.
• Wilson, Stuart, Airliners of the world, London: Aerospace Publication, 1999. ISBN 1-875671-44-7.