Boeing VC-137 / C-137 Stratoliner

History of Boeing VC-137 / C-137 Stratoliner

VC-137 "Stratoliner" is the designation used by the United States Air Force (USAF) to designate its Boeing 707 configuration for the VIP passenger role. Developed in the late 1950s, the Boeing 707 first flew in December 1957, and since then, through 1979, more than 1,000 examples of the model series have been produced. At the time of this writing (March 2014), the VC-137 is still in service, and has produced several designations since its official adoption.

Externally, the VC-137 retains the same general form and function as the original 707. The first VC-137 was delivered in 1959 in limited quantities.

VC-137A is the original brand of early acquisition, numbered three samples. These are internally configured to comfortably accommodate 22 people, with additional equipment as an Airborne Command Post (ACP) for the crew. Power is provided by 4 x Pratt & Whitney J57 turbojets. These aircraft were subsequently renamed VC-137B.

The VC-137B was retrofitted with 4 x Pratt & Whitney JT3D-3 turbofan engines, later known as the C-137B.

Beginning in 1961, the U.S. Air Force procured an additional Boeing 707 (707-353B), designated the VC-137C, to serve the President of the United States and his colleagues. The second example appeared in 1972, and like the earlier VC-137B, the VC-137C was known as the C-137C.

The EC-137D designation was reserved for the associated early warning and control system (EWAC) aircraft prototype and took second place. The planes then evolved into their own offshoot of the famous Boeing 707, known as the E-3A "Sentinel," in service with several world powers, including NATO.

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Performance

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