Convair XC-99
It is quite interesting to note that one of the largest planes in the world is also among the oldest. With its double cargo decks, this aircraft was designed to carry 400 fully equipped soldiers or 100,000 pounds of cargo. It took to the air in 1947 but was retired in 1957. The United States Air Force used the Convair XC-99 as a heavy cargo plane. It was the largest piston-engined and land-based transport plane of all time.
Antonov An-124
The Antonov Design Bureau built this 226-foot aircraft in the 1980s. Since then, the plane has been used in both military and commercial aviation. There were more than 50 of them, and they were used around the globe. The strategic airlift quad-jet Antonov An-124 was the heaviest cargo plane in the world for three decades. The Antonov AN-225 has surpassed it, but it is still among the world’s heaviest cargo aircraft.