61 Escadre de Transport at Orléans – Bricy Air Base (the wing used a centralised aircraft maintenance system and the Transalls did not carry individual squadron markings)The Transall C-160 is a twin-engine tactical transport; featuring a large-volume cargo hold, a rear-access ramp underneath an upswept tail, a high-mounted wing and turboprop engines. As designed, the C-160 can perform cargo and troop transport duties, aerial delivery of supplies and equipment, operate directly from frontline positions, and evacuate casualties. The fuselage cross-section had been designed to be compatible with international railway loading gauges to ease cargo logistics and the loading process; in flight the cargo area is pressurised and kept at a constant temperature by integrated air conditioning systems. The auxiliary power unit and port-side main landing gear of a Luftwaffe C-160, 2008 One aspect of the C-160 that made the type well suited to tactical operations was the type's short airfield performance; including the ability to perform steep descents of up to 20 degrees and perform landings on airstrips as short as 400 meters. In the airlift role, a later production C-160 could carry up to 8.5 tons across a distance of 5, 000 kilometers, and take off from airstrips as short as 700 meters. Dependent upon aircraft configuration, a single aircraft could airdrop as many as 88 paratroopers or transport up to 93 equipped troops. The C-160 is powered by a pair of two Rolls Royce Tyne turboprop engines, which drives a pair of four-bladed propellers.[6] The advantages of the twin-engine configuration include reduced unit and production cost, lower weight and fuel consumption, simplifying aircraft design and reliability. Each engine is equipped with an auxiliary generator system, providing the aircraft with both electricity and hydraulic pressure; an auxiliary power unit is used to power the aircraft while on the ground, and for rare use in mid-air emergencies.
