A consortium, "Transporter-Allianz" or Transall, was formed in January 1959 between the French company Nord Aviation and the German companies Weser Flugzeugbau (which became Vereinigte Flugtechnische Werke (VFW) in 1964) and Hamburger Flugzeugbau (HFB) to design and build the new transport.
C-160 je prvič poletel leta 1963 in je v uporabi že več kot 50 let.