C-146A Wolfhound
ICAO D328A second-hand German regional airliner flying US special operations missions. Live C-146A Wolfhound positions.
Flying right now
Live · 30sAirframe
- Manufacturer
- Dornier
- Role
- Special operations transport
- Class
- L2T — Landplane, 2 turboprop engines
- Crew
- 2 to 3
- First flight
- 6 December 1991
- In service
- 2011
Operators airborne
About the C-146A Wolfhound
The C-146A is an odd aircraft with an odd job. Air Force Special Operations Command needed something that could move small teams into small airfields without looking like a military transport, and rather than design one it bought used Dornier 328 regional airliners and converted them.
That origin explains the shape. It is a civil commuter aircraft with an airliner cabin, and on a ramp it passes for one — which is largely the point. The fleet is small, roughly twenty airframes, and they turn up in places larger transports cannot use.
The Do 328 designator also covers civil examples, so an ordinary regional airliner can appear here. On a military feed almost everything under this code is a Wolfhound.
Callsign prefixes
- WOLF
- A recurring Wolfhound block
- RCH
- Reach — when tasked with Air Mobility Command movements
How to recognise it
- —A slim high-wing turboprop with a very long, thin fuselage and six-bladed propellers.
- —Airliner windows along the cabin — unusual on a military transport, and the clearest tell.
- —A tall T-tail on a narrow tailboom.
Common questions
+ Why does the US Air Force fly a civilian regional airliner?
Because it does not look like a military aircraft. Special operations movements into small civil airfields draw less attention in something that resembles a commuter flight, and buying second-hand airframes was far cheaper than a new design.
+ How many C-146As are there?
Around twenty. It is a small, specialised fleet, so expect only one or two airborne at any time — often none.
+ Is the Dornier 328 still made?
Not in its original form. Production ended in the early 2000s, though there have been repeated attempts to restart it, most recently as a hydrogen-powered derivative.