Last  C-160 Transall has been retired by Luftwaffe - The German Air Force Today , Airbus  A400M will fill in the gaps !

• Luftwaffe retired it's Last C-160 , as confirmed by the Luftwaffe - The German Air Force .
• C-160 Military Transport aircraft developed in the 1960s will be replaced by the A400M and C-130J.
• The last overhauled C-160 was delivered by Airbus in early April that displayed a special farewell livery. 
• The C-160 was a joint program between France and Germany called “Transporter Allianz”, otherwise 'TRANSALL'.

The Transall C-160 has been retired from the German Air Force (Luftwaffe) as confirmed by Luftwaffe- The German Air Force , and the Successor will be Airbus made A400M from Air Transport Wing 62 (Lufttransportgeschwader 62) in Wunstorf.

December 2020 saw , the Luftwaffe had 15 Active C-160 Transalls, from a fleet that numbered up to 110 aircraft at the time of West Germany , but in the year 1971 , 20 of them were sold to Turkey, still active under Turkish Air Force.

Can be termed as a Veteran ,the C-160 remained in service more than 50 years after the type’s first flight in 1963. Powered by two Rolls-Royce Tyne engines, the aircraft was useful providing logistical support to multiple operations and has been instrumental in roles such as aerial refueling, electronic intelligence gathering, and also as a communications platform.

Airbus handed over the last overhauled C-160 Transall to the German Air Force (Luftwaffe). And for that occasion German Air Force painted a special livery which paid a visit to Airbus military servicing centre in Manching.

Though retirement was planned six years before - in 2015, it has been postponed since then, initially to 2018 and atlast happened in 2021, primarily due to the delays with the Airbus A400M; which will fill in the gaps created by the current retirement.

The Transall C-160 is a military transport aircraft, produced as a joint venture between France and Germany. “Transall” is an abbreviation of the manufacturing consortium Transporter Allianz, comprising the companies of MBB, Aerospatiale, and VFW-Fokker.

The C-160 is powered by a pair of Rolls-Royce Tyne turboprop engines, which drives a pair of four-bladed Dowty Rotol propellers. Though termed as slow compared to 'C-130 Hercules' , advantages of the twin-engine configuration over four include reduced unit and production cost, lower weight and fuel consumption, simplified design and reliability.

It was initially developed to meet the requirements for a modern transport aircraft for the French and German Air Forces; export sales were also made to South Africa and to Turkey, as well as a small number to civilian operators.

Aircraft Profile - General characteristics

• Crew: 3 flight crew + loadmasters.
• Capacity: 16,000 kg (35,274 lb).

       ► 93 troops or

       ► 61–88 paratroops or

      ► 62 stretchers.

• Cargo compartment: Length 17.20 m (56.4 ft) X Width 3.15 m (10.3 ft) X Height 2.98 m (9 ft 9.3 in).
• Aircraft Length: 32.4 m (106 ft 4 in).
• Wingspan: 40 m (131 ft 3 in).
• Height: 11.65 m (38 ft 3 in).
• Wing area: 160 m2 (1,700 sq ft).
• Gross weight: 46,000 kg (101,413 lb) with 17,000 kg (37,479 lb) payload.
• Max takeoff weight: 51,000 kg (112,436 lb).
• Powerplant: 2 × Rolls-Royce RTy.20 Tyne Mk 22 turboprop engines, 4,549 kW (6,100 hp) each.
• Propellers: 4-bladed Ratier Forest-built BAe Type 4/8000/6, 5.486 m (18 ft 0 in) diameter.

Performance

• Maximum speed: 513 km/h (319 mph, 277 kn) at4,875 m (15,994 ft).
• Stall speed: 177 km/h (110 mph, 96 kn) flaps down.
• Range: 1,853 km (1,151 mi, 1,001 nmi) with 16,000 kg (35,274 lb) payload, 30 min reserves.
• Service ceiling: 8,230 m (27,000 ft).
• Rate of climb: 6.6 m/s (1,300 ft/min).
• Wing loading: 319 kg/m2 (65 lb/sq ft).