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Here's a C-5M Super Galaxy Giving Birth to a CH-47F Chinook, There Were Two in There

The C-5M Super Galaxy is big, and we all know that. Yet, we generally only get a sense of how big by reading numbers on a sheet, and that only paints a relative picture. But worry not, here’s a photo that should, in theory, give you an actual sense of what big really means for this military hauler.
C-5M Super Galaxy unloading one of two CH-47F Chinooks 21 photos
Photo: USAF/Senior Airman Faith Schaefer
C-5M Super Galaxy during exercise in JulyC-5M Super GalaxyC-5M Super GalaxyC-5M Super GalaxyC-5M Super GalaxyC-5M Super GalaxyC-5M Super GalaxyC-5M Super GalaxyC-5M Super GalaxyC-5M Super GalaxyC-5M Super GalaxyC-5M Super GalaxyCH-47 ChinookCH-47 ChinookCH-47 ChinookCH-47 ChinookCH-47 ChinookCH-47 ChinookCH-47 ChinookCH-47 Chinook
But let’s start with the numbers first. The C-5M Super Galaxy has been around since the 1970s, being created as an intercontinental airplane capable of carrying American troops and gear.

Powered by four General Electric engines, it can travel at altitudes of up to 41,000 ft (12,000 m) and at speeds of 532 mph (856 kph). The plane can hold 51,150 gallons (193,600 liters) of fuel, enough for 5,500 miles (8,900 km) flights, and can deliver to whatever destination payloads weighing as much as 285,000 lbs (129,274 kg).

The CH-47F Chinook, on the other hand, is a tandem rotor helicopter. A variant of the Boeing H-47, it came to be in 2001 with an upgraded pair of Honeywell engines capable of developing 4,868-shaft-horsepower, and a redesigned airframe.

The helicopter has a maximum gross weight of 22,680 kg (50,000 lbs) and can fly at speeds 302 kph (188 mph) for a distance of only 460 miles (740 km). That pretty much means that if this helicopter is to be deployed overseas, it has to be airlifted there by means other than its own Honeywell engines.

In this case, “other means” is the Super Galaxy. You see it here as it unloads the Chinook at the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) Base Townsville, Australia, at the beginning of July. The pic (click main photo to enlarge) was released at the beginning of August by the U.S. Air Force (USAF) and shows only one Chinook, but the aircraft actually carried two of them inside its belly, both destined to become part of the RAAF fleet.
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Editor's note: Gallery shows other C-5s and Chinooks.

About the author: Daniel Patrascu
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Daniel loves writing (or so he claims), and he uses this skill to offer readers a "behind the scenes" look at the automotive industry. He also enjoys talking about space exploration and robots, because in his view the only way forward for humanity is away from this planet, in metal bodies.
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