Short C-23 Sherpa

C-23 Sherpa
A US Army C-23 Sherpa over San Diego 2014
General information
Type	Transport aircraft
National origin	United Kingdom
Manufacturer	Short Brothers
Primary users	United States Army United States Air Force
Number built	60
History
Manufactured	1984–1990 (1997)
Introduction date	1984
First flight	6 August 1984
Retired	Army National Guard 2014
Developed from	Short 330, Short 360

The Short C-23 Sherpa is a small military transport aircraft built by Short Brothers. It was designed to operate from unpaved runways and make short takeoff and landings (STOL).^[1] It features a large squared fuselage with a full-width rear cargo door/ramp. The C-23A and C-23B are variants of the Short 330 and the C-23B+ is a variant of the Short 360. 60 aircraft were used, it was finally retired from US service in 2014, but remains in international service. Although it was widely used for other uses it was originally the winner of an early 1980s competition for a light cargo aircraft to deliver cargo, especially aviation parts, for EDSA. While the C-23 was a new production, as was the C-23B, the C-23B+ were actually Shorts 360, with the tail and rear fuselage of a C-23. One of the differences between the C-23 and C-23B, is that the latter had cabin windows. The aircraft has a substantial amount of civilian use and also was operated by the U.S. Forestry Service and NASA for example. The NASA C-23 is still in service and used for research. The aircraft continues in service with the Philippines and Djibouti, as well as various civilian and governmental agencies, such as the aforementioned NASA research Sherpa.

The Short C-23 Sherpa was part of family of small to mid-sized twin turbo prop transport aircraft developed in the late 20th century, starting with Short Skyvan, Short 330, and the Short 360. The C-23 was based on the Short 330, and the C-23B+ was based on the Short 360. The original C-23 had very specific purpose, to resupply airfields in Western Europe during the Cold War and entered service in the 1980s. However, it went on afterwards to serve in many different roles.