Ever since the Wright Brothers’ first flight in 1903, people have strived to make aircraft larger than anything that came before it. This begs the question, which are the largest aircraft in the world?
There are several ways you can measure the “largest aircraft”- length, volume, number of passengers and more. For the purposes of this article, it will include aircraft that are from all three “categories” if you will.
15. Stratolaunch
Former Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen founded and later funded the development of the Stratolaunch and designed by Burt Rutan. When it first took flight in April 2019, the Stratolaunch officially became the largest aircraft (in terms of wingspan) to ever fly.
Unlike most other large aircraft, the Stratolaunch wasn’t designed to carry cargo from country to country. Rather, it was designed to carry cargo from Earth to low Earth orbit to be used by the ISS.
The Stratolaunch is comprised of two main fuselages- one is pressurized and used by the crew, whilst the other fuselage (and a non-pressurized part of the crew’s fuselage) is used for the cargo.
Stratolaunch Systems and Scaled Composites designed and built the Stratolaunch to be 238 ft (73 m) long, 50 ft (15 m) high, with a wingspan of 385 ft (117 m). This allows the Stratolaunch to carry 250,000 kg (550,000 lb) of cargo.
14. Hughes H-4 Hercules
Until recently, the H-4 had the largest wingspan of any aircraft every flown, being beaten by the aforementioned Stratolaunch. Originally the brainchild of billionaire inventor Howard Hughes and Henry J. Kaiser, the H-4 was designed and built throughout WWII.
Hughes’ company, Hughes Aircraft Company, designed the H-4 to be the largest cargo aircraft of its day, envisioning that the H-4 would supply the Allied forces in Europe, from the US.
During WWII however, there was a shortage of Aluminium as it was needed for the war effort. As such, the H-4 was made out of wood. After presentation to the US military, they revealed that they had no need for it.
However, a prototype was made (now on display). This H-4 is 66.65 m (218 ft 8 in) long, 12.9 m (24 ft 5 in) wide and 30 ft (9.1 m) high. This would’ve allowed the H-4 to carry 60,000 kg (130,000 lb) of cargo.
13. Caspian Sea Monster
The Soviets also tried to design something similar in nature to the H-4, albeit for a different purpose. Similarly to the H-4, the Caspian Sea Monster has held the title of the largest aircraft in the world, holding it between 1966 and 1988.
Unlike the H-4, the Caspian Sea Monster had one of the strangest aircraft designs. Featuring a boat-like underbelly and wings (making it one of the the first Ekranopanes) as well as bays for nuclear missiles.
Perhaps the strangest part of the Sea Monster’s design was that of the engines. Rather than being placed at the rear of the fuselage or on the wings, the Sea Monster’s engines were right next to the cockpit!
The Caspian Sea Monster was designed by the Central Hydrofoil Design Bureau, by its founder, Rostislav Alexeyev. Alexeyev designed the Sea Monster to 92.00 m (301 ft 10 in) long, 5.9 m (19 ft 4 in) wide and 21.80 m (71 ft 6 in) high, and able to carry 50 people.
12. Antonov An-225 Mriya
The An-225 is known for being the largest cargo aircraft in use. Originally, the An-225 developed in the USSR in the mid-1980’s to be used by the Soviet-owned Antonov Airlines for the Soviet’s Buran spaceship program.
In many ways, the An-225 was the Soviet equivalent of the US’s Boeing 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft, which carried NASA’s Space Shuttle. The design of the An-225 was based on the design of the An-124, although the fuselage and range were extended.
Due to its original role, only one An-225 was developed. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the An-225 was abandoned in Ukraine for eight years, before the now-Ukrainian owned Antonov Airlines began operating it as a cargo aircraft.
Antonov designed the Mriya to 84 m (275 ft 7 in) long, 8 m (26 ft 3 in) wide and 18.1 m (59 ft 5 in) high. Due to the An-225’s immense size, the An-225 requires a crew of six and carry 250 tonnes of cargo on most routes.
11. Mil Mi-26
The Mil Mi-26 isn’t just one of the largest aircraft but it is also one of the largest helicopters in the world. In many ways, the Mi-26 is Russia’s helicopter equivalent to the An-225 cargo aircraft.
The protégé of Mikhail Mil, the founder of Mil Helicopters, Marat Tishchenko, worked extensively on the Mi-26. He envisioned a helicopter far taller and wider than both the CH-53 and Chinook, and anything else the West may develop in the future.
What resulted was a helicopter that fitted what Tishchenko had envisioned. Even today, with the Mi-26 being over 40 years old, it is still in production and in widespread use with both civil and military operators.
Mil designed the Mi-26 to be 40.025 m (131 ft 4 in) long, 8.2 m (26 ft 11 in) wide and 8.145 m (26 ft 9 in) high. To support a helicopter that size, the Mi-26 needs a crew of five, with the ability to carry 20,000 kg of cargo, or 90 troops.
10. Airbus A380-800
The A380 was designed to be the airliner that would kill the 747. However, it is generally considered that it failed as a commercial airliner and wasn’t wide enough to become a cargo aircraft.
With that being said, in order to effectively combat the 747 in its entirety, Airbus had to develop an aircraft that was larger than the partially double deck 747. To do this, Airbus developed a completely double deck aircraft.
The result was an aircraft that was bigger than the 747. Perhaps too big. However, it is the largest commercial aircraft in service and the largest commercial aircraft ever built, however, it will be retired over the next few years.
Airbus designed the A380 to be 72.72 m (238 ft 7 in) long, 7.14 m (23 ft 5 in) wide and 24.09 m (79 ft 0 in) high. As with most aircraft, the A380 needs two pilots (with room for a spare) and 21 flight attendants, in order to carry between 500 and 800 people.
9. Boeing 747-8i
The 747-8i is the newest installment of the world-renowned 747 family, and the main rival to the A380. Just as with the A380, the 747-8i has not been as successful as previous iterations of the family, however has seen much success as a cargo airliner.
Perhaps the largest difference between the 747-400 and 747-8i is the fact that the 747-8i has a longer upper deck, as well as an extended range and faster speeds, all whilst burning less fuel!
The 747-8i is known for being the largest (successful) commercial airliner, as well as one of the largest freighters on the market. However, it is likely that any future iterations of the 747 will be private jets or cargo airliners, rather than commercial jets.
To help this, Boeing designed the 747-8i to be 76.3 m (250 ft 2 in) long, 6.1 m (20 ft) wide and 19.4 m (63 ft 6 in) high. If used as an airliner, the 747-8i most commonly has a capacity of 467 people or 137,700 kg (303,700 lb) if used as a cargo aircraft.
8. Tupolev Tu-160
The Tu-160 isn’t just one of the largest aircraft in the world, but it is also one of the fastest aircraft too. The Tu-160 is the USSR’s answer to the US’s B-1 Lancer- a fast, high altitude bomber to be used to bomb strategic targets when, missiles can’t.
During the 1960’s, at the height of the Cold War, both the USSR and the US wanted the best aircraft, most nuclear weapons and the best possible method of attack, should they be attacked or provoked.
The 1960’s yielded great news in the supersonic, high-altitude aircraft sector. Tupolev soon had a working supersonic, high-altitude bomber that could be used if necessary. It is still in service today, 40 years after its introduction.
In order to complete this role, Tupolev designed the Tu-160 to be 54.1 m (177 ft 6 in) long, 13.1 m (43 ft 0 in) high and with a wingspan of 55.7 m (182 ft 9 in) (swept at 20 degrees). This allows the Tu-160 to carry 45,000 kg (99,208 lb) of ordnance.
7. Antonov An-124 Ruslan
Serving as the basis for the aforementioned An-225, the An-124 is similarly one of the largest aircraft in service. For thirty years, between 1986 and 2016, the An-124 was the heaviest aircraft in service.
During the Cold War, the USSR and the US tried to outdo each other for everything, including making the biggest and fastest aircraft. The result was the An-124 which served with the Soviet Air Force between 1986 and 1991.
After the collapse of the USSR in 1991, the An-124 found itself in the possession of the Russian Air Force. Some of these An-124s were later retired and sold to cargo airlines, who transport large cargo for wealthy clients.
To outdo the US, Antonov designed the An-124 to be 69.1 m (226 ft 8 in) long, 6.4 m (21 ft) wide and 21.08 m (69 ft 2 in) high. This allows the An-124 to carry 88 passengers or 150,000 kg (330,693 lb) of cargo.
6. Lockheed C-5 Galaxy
The Galaxy is the US’s answer to the An-124 and the subsequent An-225. Similarly to both aircraft, the Galaxy is one of the largest aircraft in the world, being the US military’s premier outsize cargo airlifter.
Without the Galaxy, the aviation industry would be a completely different place! The project that was awarded to Lockheed resulted in the failure of Douglas’s and Boeing’s designs, you’d known these designs as the DC-10 and 747 respectively!
Lockheed gave the first C-5 to the USAF in June 1970, since then, almost 50 years later, 52 of these C-5s are still in service! The remainder are in storage for the USAF to use if the time ever comes, rather than selling them to private firms.
In order for Lockheed to have won the contract, they had to make the C-5 very big. The result is that the C-5 is 247 ft 1 in (75.31 m) long, 5.24 m (17 ft 2 in) wide and 65 ft 1 in (19.84 m) high, resulting in the C-5 being able to transport 127,459 kg (281,000 lb) of cargo.
5. Boeing B-52 Stratofortress
For almost 70 years, the B-52 has been the US’s premier nuclear strike aircraft. In order to carry such a large weapon, the B-52 had to be one of the largest aircraft ever built, as well as one of the sturdiest.
Before the invention of ballistic missiles, the only way to drop a nuclear bomb was to fly over a target and drop it conventionally. The end of WWII saw the retirement of many B-29s, and the introduction of the jet-powered B-52.
The USAF loves the B-52 so much that they spent millions of dollars refurbishing their entire B-52 fleet in 2013. These aircraft will remain in service until at least the 2050’s, making the aircraft over 100 years old when they leave service!
Part of the reason why they have proven so useful for the USAF is their size. The B-52 is 48.5 m (159 ft 4 in) long, 3.5 m (11 ft 4 in) wide and 12.4 m (40 ft 8 in) high, allowing the B-52 to carry 31,500 kg (70,000 lb) or one nuclear bomb.
4. Aero Spacelines Super Guppy
The Super Guppy was the most famous of the Guppy line of outsized cargo aircraft- cargo that is abnormally large for regular cargo aircraft to ferry. In this case, that cargo was most often aircraft and spaceship parts.
Originally based on the Boeing 377 Stratocruiser of the 1950’s, Aero Spacelines, bought several retired Stratocruiser and modified them for outsize cargo hauling, selling them to aircraft manufacturers such as Airbus and even NASA.
Aero Spacelines had previously bought several Boeing 377s, using them to create the first generation of outsize cargo aircraft, in the form of the Pregnant Guppy, many of which were eventually developed into Super Guppys.
Because it was based on the Boeing 377, they naturally share similar specs. Aero Spacelines made modifications that made the Super Guppy 43.84 m (143 ft 10 in) long, 7.62 m (25ft) wide and 14.78 m (48 ft 6 in) high, and able to carry 24,721 kg (54,500 lb) of cargo.
3. Boeing Dreamlifter
However, the Pregnant Guppys and Super Guppys couldn’t be used forever. Boeing soon realized that it too needed its own outsize cargo aircraft, and thus, the second largest aircraft used for transporting aircraft parts was born!
In 2003, Boeing announced that they’d be developing a new kind of freight aircraft- one based on their world-famous 747-400 aircraft that could carry three times as much cargo as the 747-400F. This would be used to ferry parts for the 7E7 (now known as the 787).
To do this, Boeing contracted Taiwan-based Evergreen Aviation Technologies Corporation to do the work. As for the aircraft themselves, Boeing bought four retired 747-400s and gave them to Evergreen.
In order to transport 7E7 parts, Boeing designed the Dreamlifter to be 71.68 m (235 ft 2 in) long, 8.38 m (27 ft 6 in) wide and 21.54 m (70 ft 8 in) high allowing the Dreamlifter to transport 113,400 kg (250,000 lb) of cargo.
2. Airbus Beluga
Airbus’ equivalent to the Dreamlifter, and the successor of the Super Guppy is similarly one of the largest aircraft in the world. Airbus named after the Beluga whale, after noticing that the aircraft somewhat resembles a Beluga whale.
The Beluga is a variant of the immensely successful A300-600 aircraft. Despite the A300 becoming too old for many airlines to operate, it was the perfect aircraft for Airbus to use as a transporter due to its long length and wide fuselage.
Similarly to Boeing’s Dreamlifter, Airbus’ Beluga carries parts for Airbus aircraft to and from their major manufacturing hubs. As such, one day, the Beluga may be transporting wings from the UK, and the next parts of the fuselage from Germany.
Based on the specs of the A300, Airbus designed the Beluga to be 56.15 m (184 ft 3 in) long, 5.49 m (18 ft 0 in) wide and 17.24 m (56 ft 7 in) high. This allows the Beluga to carry 47,000 kg (103,617 lb) of cargo.
1. LZ 129 Hindenburg
The LZ 129 Hindenburg, most commonly known as simply the Hindenburg, was the largest airship of its day. With that being said, it was also one of the largest aircraft ever built, being far larger than any other aircraft.
This was mostly due to the fact that the Hindenburg was an airship, which required hydrogen gas to stay afloat. However, when you minus the area used for hydrogen, the cabin area is still far larger than the cabin of another aircraft.
Due in part to the Hindenburg’s immense size, it was extremely expensive to fly on, but was faster and more luxurious than any boat. This did mean that whenever the Hindenburg flew anywhere, its flight was covered extensively!
Deutsche Zeppelin Reederei (DZR) designed the Hindenburg to be 245 m (803 ft 10 in) long and with a diameter of 41.2 m (135 ft 1 in), with the ability to carry 200,000 m3 (7,062,000 cu ft) of hydrogen. This allowed the Hindenburg to carry 50-70 passengers.
Which is your favorite of all the world’s largest aircraft? Tell me in the comments!
Featured image courtesy of Kārlis Dambrāns via Flickr.