Who uses the Guppy 201 for Airbus?

Short answer

Nobody anymore: Airbus used two Super Guppy Turbines in the early 1970s to carry parts from production plants to the final assembly line in Toulouse. In 1982 and 1983, UTA Industries built two more in France after Airbus bought the production rights. All four were replaced by the Beluga.

Published: November 1, 2026 · Updated: November 1, 2026 · Edited by Above Ten Thousand · Editorial policy

Super Guppy N941 NASA

Airbus and the Toulouse assembly line

In the early 1970s, Airbus used two Super Guppy Turbines to move aircraft parts from the production plants to the final assembly line in Toulouse. In 1982 and 1983, two more Super Guppy Turbines were built in France by Union de Transports Aériens Industries, after Airbus bought the rights to produce the type. The aircraft offered a cargo hold of 111 × 25 × 25 ft (33.83 × 7.62 × 7.62 m). Its nose landing gear came from a Boeing 707 and was fitted rotated 180°, which slightly lowered the front of the aircraft, levelled the cargo hold floor and simplified loading operations.

The Beluga takes over

The four Super Guppies were later replaced in that role by the Airbus Beluga, capable of carrying twice the payload by weight.

From the Saturn V to industrial transport

The Super Guppy is the only aircraft to have carried a complete S-IVB stage, the third stage of the Saturn V rocket, weighing 27,000 lb (13,500 kg). It did so several times during the Apollo program. The original prototype made its first flight on 31 August 1965.