In fact, an aircraft carrier, especially a large aircraft carrier, needs to be equipped with many types of carrier-based aircraft , not only the well-known fighter jets, early warning aircraft , etc., but also some other types of aircraft, such as The carrier-based transport aircraft I want to mention today is also one of them.
Why do we need carrier-based transport aircraft? This is because a large aircraft carrier formation often needs to transport personnel to and from land. Fighters or the aircraft carrier itself also need to transport parts. The crew's personal belongings and letters also need to be quickly transported from the aircraft carrier to land, or from land. After landing on the aircraft carrier, the role of the carrier-based transport aircraft becomes apparent.
Therefore, carrier-based transport aircraft are often called "couriers on aircraft carriers."
In the 1960s, the US Navy's carrier-based transport aircraft was a small aircraft called the C1 transport aircraft. This aircraft was a propeller aircraft with a load capacity of only a few tons and a range of only 400 kilometers. After , the U.S. Navy ingeniously modified the E2 carrier-based early warning aircraft that was already in service into a carrier-based transport aircraft. This is the U.S. Navy's C2 carrier-based transport aircraft.
Hawkeye and Greyhound
Although we know that carrier-based helicopter can sometimes be used as transport aircraft to facilitate the exchange of personnel and cargo between ships in the aircraft carrier formation, and get back the carrier-based helicopter in terms of range and speed. , especially in terms of loading capacity, there is a certain gap with the fixed-wing aircraft . Therefore, the U.S. Navy equips each aircraft carrier with 2-3 C2 transport aircraft , . Of course, these C-2 transport aircraft are usually also Not on the aircraft carrier, only coming here when delivering goods.
C2 aircraft is equipped with two Allison T56-A-425 engines. It can fly about 550 kilometers per hour and has a range of more than 2,400 kilometers. It can carry 4,500 kilograms of various cargos and can carry up to 39 people. It can be transported with a full load. It also has a range of 1,000 nautical miles (1,852 kilometers).
The cargo door is installed under the tail of the aircraft. When actually transported, the transport will open the cargo door at the tail. There is a ramp and a power winch at the tail for quick loading and unloading of cargo, which can carry larger-sized cargo.
The number of "Greyhound" manufactured is not large, because even the current U.S. Navy only has eleven aircraft carriers (ten Nimitz-class ships, one Ford ), and one aircraft carrier is equipped with several A C2 is enough, so the C2 began production in early 1985. By the end of 1990, the last improved version of the C2 was manufactured. A total of more than 50 such transport aircraft were manufactured.
It can be seen that the C2 transport aircraft has been in service for many years and it is time to retire.
In recent years, the U.S. Navy has modified Ma Run’s MV-22B transport aircraft. The modified version is called CMV-22B. It is reported that this aircraft will gradually serve in the U.S. Navy’s 100,000-ton nuclear-powered aircraft in recent years. Aboard the Nimitz-class aircraft carriers and the USS Ford.
Once the CMV-22B "Osprey" tilt-rotor aircraft boards the US aircraft carrier, the "Greyhound" transport aircraft in active service will gradually withdraw from the stage of history. Previously, there was news from the U.S. Navy that it may retire its last "Greyhound" aircraft fleet in 2024.
Such a useful aircraft has certainly attracted our attention.
Recently, according to public information from relevant parties, relevant parties have carried out a simulated land-based landing of transport aircraft. Although this news is short, it means that the Navy’s carrier-based transport aircraft is already on the way.
According to the current news, in the future, the Navy's carrier-based fixed-wing transport aircraft may also use relatively good carrier-based early warning aircraft like the U.S. Navy. The is likely to be equipped with a model similar to the U.S. C-2 "Gray" Carrier-based transport aircraft such as the "Dog" are used for medium and long-range air transportation of various cargo and personnel on the Navy's aircraft carriers.
Let’s wait and see.
