Short Belfast

Belfast
Belfast of HeavyLift Cargo Airlines lands at Perth Airport (2004)
Role	Heavy airfreighter
Manufacturer	Short Brothers
First flight	5 January 1964
Introduction	20 January 1966
Retired	from RAF service 1976
Primary users	Royal Air Force HeavyLift Cargo Airlines
Produced	1964–1968
Number built	10

The Short Belfast (or Shorts Belfast) is a heavy lift turboprop freighter that was built by British manufacturer Short Brothers at Belfast. Only 10 aircraft were constructed, all of which entered service with the Royal Air Force (RAF), who operated it under the designation Short Belfast C.1.

Upon its entry into service, the Belfast held the distinction of becoming the largest aircraft that the British military had ever operated up to that time. It was also notable for being the first aircraft to be designed from the onset to be equipped with full 'blind landing' automatic landing system equipment. Following the formation of RAF Strike Command and a reorganisation of transport assets, the RAF decided to retire all of its Belfast transports by the end of 1976.

Shortly after the type had been retired by the RAF, a total of five Belfasts were sold and placed into civilian service with the cargo airline HeavyLift Cargo Airlines. These civilian aircraft were used for the charter transport of various goods, including to the RAF. The last aircraft existing is on display at the RAF Museum Cosford.

The Belfast has its origins in studies conducted by aircraft manufacturer Short Brothers into the possibility for matching an arrangement of four Bristol Orion turboprop engines with an airframe that had been optimised for the purpose of transporting various military stores during the mid 1950s. It was decided to continue these studies as part of the firm's management believed that it was highly likely that there would likely be an Operational Requirement issued for the Royal Air Force (RAF) seeking such an aircraft in the near future, although Sir Matthew Slattery, chairman of Shorts, expressed his doubt of the practicality of such an aircraft. Slattery believed that developing such an aircraft from scratch would lack sufficient market prospects and instead encouraged the use of as many components and systems from the existing Bristol Britannia transport aircraft as would be reasonably possible, a measure that was seen as logical and practical, acting to reduce development time and cost while improving reliability, with the downside of lesser performance.

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