BAe Jetstream variant
BAe Jetstream Jetstream 3M (C-10A)
Re-engined with Garrett TPE331 turboprops for the United States Air Force, with a cargo door and room for twelve passengers or six stretchers. Designated C-10A; the order was cancelled in October 1969 and none was delivered.
- 12
- Passengers
History
The American engine
To improve its sales prospects in the United States, the fifth prototype was fitted with the American-built Garrett TPE-331 in place of the French Astazou. The change was more than commercial: with a US engine the Air Force could consider the aircraft for light cargo work, something effectively closed to a European-powered type.
The result was an order for eleven aircraft with a cargo door and accommodation for twelve passengers or six stretcher cases, known as the Jetstream 3M and designated C-10A in military service. Production did start, but the Air Force cancelled the contract in October 1969 citing late delivery, and none entered service.
What survived
The 3M was no dead end: swapping the Astazou for the Garrett was precisely the idea British Aerospace revived a decade later to build the Jetstream 31. In practice the military failure of 1969 was the dress rehearsal for the civil success of 1980.