What began as a successor to the superb C-7 Caribou, the de Havilland Canada CC-115 Buffalo, ended up being the unfortunate victim of US inter-service rivalries, mainly the transfer of all fixed-winged US Army aircraft to the USAF in 1967. Therefore, despite winning the original Army requirement for a new STOL aircraft, the USAF decided not to award the contract being considered sufficiently equipped with transports (none of which even remotely compared in terms of STOL capability). As a result, the Buffalo was ordered by the Canadian RCAF and, as proof of its outstanding capabilities, was ordered by nearly 20 other foreign operators. The CC-115 was designed with the same high-wing configuration as its predecessor but featured turoprop rather than piston engines as well as a new T-tail. Production ended in 1986 with units in service today mostly for search and rescue.
The DHC-5 was first flown on 9 April 1964 and were delivered to the US Army as the YAC-2 which was later changed to CV-7A after 1962, and C-8A by the USAF. Given the lack of US orders, they entered service with the RCAF as the CC-115 (DHC-5A). Other variants include the export DHC-5B (Brazil), and the DHC-5D (to Egypt but later sent to numerous other air forces) with new engines.
Preceded by:
NoneSucceeded by:
NoneDesign | DHC-5A | DHC-5D |
Name | Buffalo | Buffalo |
Type | Transport | Transport |
Year | 1968 | 1974 |
Crew | 3 | 3 |
Dimensions | ||
Length | 78 ft 12 in | 78 ft 12 in |
Height | 28 ft 8 in | 28 ft 8 in |
Wing Span | 96 ft 0½ in | 96 ft 0½ in |
Wing Area | n/a | n/a |
Weight | ||
Empty | 23,157 lbs | 25,160 lbs |
Maximum | 41,000 lbs | 49,200 lbs |
Wing Loading | 43.4 lb/ft² | 52.1 lb/ft² |
Performance | ||
Speed | 271 mph | 290 mph |
Ceiling | 30,000 ft | 31,000 ft |
Range | 1,885 mi | 690 mi |
Powerplant | ||
Engine | 2 x CT64-820-1 General Electric 3,060 hp | 2 x CT64-820-4 General Electric 3,133 hp |
Thrust/Weight | 0.53 | 0.50 |
Armament | ||
Guns | - | - |
Payload | 13,843 lbs | 18,000 lbs |
Production | ||
Built | 31 | 88 |
Total | 123 |