Boeing C-33

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The Boeing C-33 is the US military designation for Boeing 747-400 series intended to augment the C-17 Globemaster III fleet, but the plan was cancelled in favor of purchasing additional C-17 military transports.

[edit] Proposal

The C-33 was to be operated by Air National Guard, but the plan was cancelled. Instead, they were placed in Civil Reserve Air Fleet, which includes Boeing 747s in commercial service that were equipped with extra doors and reinforced floors to be available as military transports. They are operated with a government subsidy to compensate for the additional 5,900 kg weight. The planes remain in civilian service until called up by the Secretary of Defense. Under the Air Force arrangement, the airlines (Pan Am, NWA, etc) were paid to have their 747s modified with cargo doors and reinforced floors.

[edit] Advantages and disadvantages of a C-33 fleet

The Boeing C-33 has several advantages over the existing C-17 fleet [1]:

The cost of purchasing was lower than that of C-17.
It has a much longer range, allowing it to fly halfway around the world with refueling, giving it a lower ground time.

However, the C-17 has several advantages:

There was no need for cargo to be palleted, allowing for transport of tanks and Patriot missiles.
Operation was possible from much shorter or rugged airstrips.
While the capital cost of purchasing a larger fleet to handle the same amount of cargo is higher, the operating cost is significantly lower.