Evolution and Design Philosophy

A Description of the Origins of the Short SC.5 Belfast Strategic Freighter and its Preliminary Design. THE Belfast C, Mk. 1 is a large and important aircraft by any standards—both to Short Brothers and Harland Ltd. and to the Royal Air Force. Indeed it is the second largest aircraft in production in Europe—only conceding pride of place to the Vickers VC10. It is important to Short's in that the immediate future of the company is intimately associ ated with the Belfast programme and its progress. Its significance to the Royal Air Force stems from the fact that it is the first strategic freighter to be adopted by the Service—a type which, hitherto, has been curiously absent from the U.K. military inventory despite the world‐wide nature of her commitments.