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Short SC5 Belfast

The British heavy lift cargo aircraft, contemporary to the Douglas C-133 Cargomaster, was a design of the Short Brothers. The SC5 Belfast, in British service designated Belfast C1, has a conventional high wing layout. Its fuselage has a large diameter and slopes up gradually after the wings. The rear can be opened for loading and unloading. The vertical stabiliser is a non-swept trapezium with a high and long curved dorsal fin. The cockpit has ten windows in the top row and another three on each side below. The undercarriage consists of a double wheel nose gear and four wheel main landing gears that retract in large sponsons. Most typical feature of the SC5 are the engine nacelles, which hang some distance under the wings whereas in most cases the nacelles are in the leading edge. The air intakes are circular, around the propeller spinners, while the exhaust is at the rear. The Rolls Royce Tyne engines power four blade props.

Only ten Belfasts were built, all for the Royal Air Force. Some later ended up at the civil market.

Instead of in the wing's leading edge like on most aircraft, the nacelles of the Short Belfast hang under the wings.

Another feature of the SC5 Belfast is the trapezium vertical stabiliser with large curved dorsal fin.

Confusion possible with

Douglas C-133 Cargomaster

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The C-133 is the US counterpart of the SC5, with a similar appearance. The C-133 has a blunt front with a small radar nose, different cockpit windows, a long triangular dorsal fin and three blade propellers as main diffe­rences.

Lockheed C-130 Hercules

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While both aircraft generally have a similar appearance, the Lockheed Hercules is smaller than the Belfast, has two wheel main gears, no curved dorsal fin and three eyebrow cockpit windows, to name a few differences.

Antonov An-12

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The same applies more or less to the Antonov An-12 family, which has four wheel main gears like the SC5, but these retract in the fuselage; the sponsons are much smaller. Moreover, the An-12 has a glass nose and outer wings with anhedral.