Aircraft with wingspans of 50 meters or more

Last revised: 26 August 2001

rank	name	span	nation	flew	built	remarks
1	Hughes H-4 Hercules "Spruce Goose"	97.54	USA	1947	1	8-prop flying boat transport
2	Antonov An-225 Mriya	88.39	USSR	1988-96?	1	6-jet mod. of An-124 for shuttle
3	AeroVironment Helios	75.30	USA	1999+	1	14-solar-prop unmanned research
4	Antonov An-124 Ruslan	73.30	USSR/Ukr	1982+	c.60+	4-jet heavy cargo transport
5	Consolidated Vultee B-36 Peacemaker	70.10	USA	1946-59	383	6-prop & 4-jet strategic bomber
(tie)	Consolidated Vultee XC-99	70.10	USA	1947-57	1	6-prop transport mod. of B-36
(tie)	Bristol Type 167 Brabazon I	70.10	UK	1949-53	1	8-prop luxury airliner
8	Lockheed C-5 Galaxy	67.88	USA	1968+	131	4-jet heavy military transport
9	Mil Mi-12	67.00	USSR	1968-69?	2 or 3	4-jet 2-rotor transport helicopter
10	Saunders-Roe S.R. 45 Princess	66.90	UK	1952-?	3	10-turboprop flying boat airliner
11	Antonov An-22 Antheus	66.40	USSR	1965+	66	4-turboprop heavy transport
12	Douglas XB-19	64.62	USA	1941-46	1	4-prop heavy bomber
13	Boeing 747-400	64.40	USA	1969+	1255+	4-jet heavy widebody airliner
(tie)	Boeing YAL-1 Attack Laser	64.40	USA	2000+	1+	anti-missile laser cannon on 747
15	Tupolev ANT-20 Maxim Gorki	63.63	USSR	1934-35	1	8-prop propaganda mod. of TB-4
16	Tupolev ANT-20 bis (PS-124?)	63.00	USSR	1938-40	1?	6-prop improved ANT-20
17	Consolidated Vultee YB-60	62.78	USA	1952-54	2	8-jet major modification of B-36
18	AeroVironment Centurion	62.50	USA	1998+	1	14-solar-prop unmanned research
19	Junkers Ju 322 Mammut	62.35	Germany	1941	2	heavy transport assault glider
20	Martin JRM Mars	60.96	USA	1942+	6	4-prop flying boat cargo/waterbomber
21	Boeing 777	60.90	USA	1994+	321+	2-jet heavy widebody airliner
22	Airbus A340	60.30	Europe	1991+	194+	4-jet heavy widebody airliner
(tie)	Airbus A330	60.30	Europe	1992+	178+	2-jet modification of A340
24	Blohm und Voss BV 238	60.17	Germany	1944	1	6-prop flying boat transport
25	Ilyushin Il-96M	60.10	USSR/Rus	1993+	c.16+	4-jet heavy widebody airliner
26	Boeing E-4 AWACS	59.64	USA	1973+	4	electronic warfare mod. of 747
27	Boeing VC-25 "Air Force One"	59.64	USA	1990+	2	VIP version of 747
28	Lockheed R6VConstitution	57.64	USA	1946-55	2	4-prop double-deck transport
29	Latécoerè Laté 631	57.43	France	1942-53?	8	6-prop flying boat airliner
30	Grob Strato 2C	56.50	Germany	1995-96?	1?	2-prop high-altitude research
31	Boeing B-52 Stratofortress	56.39	USA	1952+	763	8-jet heavy strategic bomber
32	Tupolev Tu-85	56.00	USSR	1951-58	2	4-prop heavy bomber
33	Tupolev Tu-160	55.70	USSR	1981+	34	4-jet swingwing strategic bomber
34	Messerschmitt Me 321 Gigant	55.00	Germany	1941-45	200	heavy transport glider
(tie)	Messerschmitt Me 323 Gigant	55.00	Germany	1941-45	198	6-prop modification of Me 321
36	Douglas C-133 Cargomaster	54.76	USA	1956-71	50?	4-turboprop heavy transport
37	Tupolev TB-4 (ANT-16)	54.00	USSR	1933-?	few	6-prop bomber
38	Myasishchev VM-T Atlant	53.60	USSR	1981+	3?	bulk cargo carrier version of M-6
39	Myasishchev M-6 Molot (3M)	53.14	USSR	1956-94	83	enlarged M-4
40	Douglas C-124 Globemaster II	53.04	USA	1949-73?	448	enlarged C-74
41	Kalinin K-7	53.00	USSR	1933	1	6-prop flying wing heavy bomber
42	Douglas C-74 Globemaster I	52.81	USA	1945-56	14	4-prop heavy transport
43	Northrop B-35 Flying Wing	52.42	USA	1946-49?	9?	4-prop bomber
(tie)	Northrop YB-49 Flying Wing	52.42	USA	1947-50?	3	8-jet (one had 6) mod. of B-35
45	SNCASE SE 200 (LeO H. 49)	52.20	France	1942-46?	2	6-prop flying boat transport
46	Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit	52.12	USA	1989+	21	4-jet stealth bomber
47	Boeing 767-400ER	51.90	USA	1999+	18+	2-jet heavy widebody airliner
48	McDonnell Douglas C-17 Globemaster III	51.74	USA	1991+	64+	4-jet military transport
49	McDonnell Douglas MD-11	51.70	USA	1990+	199	modification of DC-10
50	Tupolev Tu-126 (Tu-24?) AWACS	51.40	USSR	1968-89?	8 - 12	electronic warfare mod of Tu-114
51	Tupolev Tu-95 (Tu-20)	51.10	USSR/Rus	1952+	c.430?	4-turboprop bomber/patrol
(tie)	Tupolev Tu-114	51.10	USSR	1957-71?	c.30	airliner version of Tu-95
(tie)	Tupolev Tu-116	51.10	USSR	1958-61?	2	VIP version of Tu-95
(tie)	Tupolev Tu-142	51.10	USSR/Rus	1968+	c.30?	anti-sub/patrol mod. of Tu-95
55	Tupolev MK-1 (ANT-22)	51.00	USSR	1934-36	1	6-prop 2-fuselage flying boat
56	Myasishchev M-4 Molot (2M)	50.53	USSR	1953-89	10	4-jet heavy bomber/tanker
57	Ilyushin Il-76	50.50	USSR/Uzb	1971+	c.900	4-jet heavy transport
(tie)	Beriev A-50 Shmel AWACS	50.50	USSR/Rus	1978+	c40+?	electronic warfare mod. of Il-76
(tie)	Ilyushin Il-78	50.50	USSR/Uzb	1987+	few+?	tanker/waterbomber mod. of Il-76
(tie)	Baghdad-1	50.50	Iraq	?	1?	electronic warfare mod. of Il-76
(tie)	Adnan	50.50	Iraq	?	3	upgraded Baghdad-1
62	McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30/40	50.40	USA	1972+	248	3-jet heavy widebody airliner
(tie)	McDonnell Douglas KC-10 Extender	50.40	USA	1980+	60	military tanker version of DC-10
64	Junkers Ju 390	50.32	Germany	1943-45	2	6-prop heavy transport/patrol
65	Lockheed L-1011-500 TriStar	50.09	USA	1978+	50	3-jet heavy widebody airliner

Notes: This list includes all airplanes with a wingspan of 50 meters or more that actually flew. This list does not include lighter-than-air craft or spacecraft, although it does include one helicopter.

Span is the distance in meters from wingtip to wingtip, or in the case of the Mi-12 helicopter, from the left edge of the left rotor disk to the right edge of the right rotor disk. There is a great deal of inconsistency in the reported wingspan for many airplanes, especially older planes and Soviet aircraft. For example, the correct wingspans for the Tu-95, Tu-114, Tu-116, Tu-126, and Tu-142 (which are all basically the same airframe) are a brain-numbing maze of contradictions. However, even well-known modern Western types often have this problem; the wingspan for the DC-10-30/40 is listed as 50.00, 50.25, 50.30, 50.39, 50.40, and 50.41 meters, depending on the source. The figures listed here are just my best guesses based on the information I was able to obtain. Remember that .01 meters is less than half an inch.

Nation is where the plane was built (or modified into a new design such as the Baghdad-1 and Adnan). Ukr is Ukraine, who took over the production of the An-124 when the USSR collapsed; likewise Rus is Russia and Uzb is Uzbekistan.

Flew indicates the years in which the plane was operated. If the dates are followed by a + symbol, that plane is still flying today (yes, two Martin Mars flying boats are still fighting forest fires in British Columbia). There is considerable confusion about the correct dates for many early aircraft, especially Soviet planes; major uncertainties are shown with ?.

Built is the number of planes constructed. These numbers are often very hard to locate, even for well-known airplanes; the ? symbol shows the most uncertain cases. The + symbol indicates the plane is still in production today.

Remarks lists the number of engines; prop indicates a piston-based reciprocating engine; solar-prop is a small solar-powered electric motor driving a propeller.

In some cases, the aircraft listed is a subtype whose wingspan differs from its sister types that are otherwise very similar or nearly identical. I have adjusted the list accordingly. For example, all Boeing 747s have wingspans of more than 50 meters, so the dates flown and number built are for all 747s, even though only the 747-400 has the 64.40-meter span. On the other hand, most Boeing 767s fall below the 50-meter cutoff, so the figures listed are only for the 51.90-meter 767-400ER (of which only 18 have been built as of early 2001).

Written by Michael Trout

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