Boeing 737 variant
Boeing 737-700C
Convertible version of the 737-700 Next Generation, with a large cargo door on the left side and the strengthened wings and landing gear of the -800. Its launch customer was the United States Navy, which operates it as the C-40A Clipper.
History
The 737-700C is the convertible version of the 737-700 in the Next Generation family: its seats can be removed so that the cabin carries cargo instead of passengers, and it has a large cargo door on the left side of the fuselage. It is not simply a -700 with an added door: it combines the -700 fuselage with the strengthened wings and landing gear of the larger and heavier 737-800, and adds auxiliary fuel tanks that extend its unrefuelled range. It is a short series: in July 2018, when every -700 on order had been delivered, 20 of them were -700Cs.
Launch customer: the United States Navy. The Navy launched the 737-700C under the military designation C-40A Clipper. It ordered the type to replace the ageing fleet of McDonnell Douglas C-9B Skytrain IIs of the Navy Reserve, which provides all of the Navy's medium and heavy airlift capability. It was the first combi aircraft (able to carry cargo and passengers at the same time) based on the 737 Next Generation, and the first new logistics aircraft to join the Navy Reserve in 17 years. The Navy bought it using standard commercial practices, with a first order for six 737-700Cs. Compared with the C-9B it offered better fuel efficiency, more range and more payload, and it met the international noise and environmental requirements that the Reserve's C-9s did not.
The first flight took place in April 2000. The first two of four aircraft were delivered on 21 April 2001 to Fleet Logistics Support Squadron VR-59 at Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth, Texas, and the other two arrived before the end of the year. The fifth and sixth went in August 2002 to VR-58 at Naval Air Station Jacksonville, Florida, and further aircraft were later delivered to VR-57 at Naval Air Station North Island, California. In all, the Navy received seventeen C-40As.
Configurations. The Clipper is certified to operate in an all-passenger layout (121 passengers), an all-cargo layout or a combi configuration that accommodates up to three cargo pallets and 70 passengers on the main deck. It is powered by two CFM International CFM56-7B turbofans of 121 kN thrust each. Its crew numbers four to six: pilot, co-pilot, crew chief and loadmaster, plus a second loadmaster when carrying passengers, or two when carrying more than 100.
Marine Corps. In its 2018 Marine Aviation Plan, the United States Marine Corps stated that it intended to acquire two C-40As for airlift missions, replacing its Skytrain fleet. On 4 December 2018 it posted a notice seeking a supplier of C-40s for delivery in 2020. Its Skytrains had been retired in 2017, and to prepare for the transition personnel from Marine Transport Squadron One were assigned to fly Navy Clippers until their own aircraft arrived.
The other C-40s. The United States Air Force C-40B and C-40C, which have no official names, are not derived from the 737-700C but from the Boeing Business Jet based on the 737-700: they carry military commanders and senior government officials, not the mixed cargo and passenger logistics that define the Clipper.