2 photos from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences
- 1. DF-SC-83-06674: Unknown author Unknown author· Public domain
- 2. The body of Army LCOL Charles Ray is being carried from a VC-137 Stratoliner aircraft upon arrival. Ray was killed by terrorists in Paris DF-SC-83-06138: SGT Tyler· Public domain
what is it?
The Boeing C-137 Stratoliner is a retired VIP transport aircraft derived from the Boeing 707 jet airliner used by the United States Air Force. Other nations also bought both new and used 707s for military service, primarily as VIP or tanker transports. In addition, the 707 served as the basis for several specialized versions, such as the E-3 Sentry AWACS aircraft.
How to recognise it: 4 jet engines · 44.4 m wingspan
base stats
Bars compare against all aircraft: 3,500 km/h, 20,000 km, 850 seats; size and number built on a log scale up to 640 t (An-225) and 45,000 built (Cessna 172).
fun facts
- First flew 68 years ago, in 1958.
- Top speed is 7.8× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
- Wingspan of 44.4 m: about 10 cars parked nose to tail.
- Fully loaded it can weigh as much as 25 African elephants (~6 t each).
- Range of 12,247 km: Amsterdam to New York (≈5,850 km) without stopping.
- Can fly 1.7× higher than Mount Everest (8,849 m).
jet: Gas turbine pushing air out the back (turbofan or turbojet): fast and high-flying.
spec sheet
- first flight
- 1958-12-31
- status
- retired
- number built
- —
- role
- passenger/vip transport
- origin
- 🇺🇸 United States
- makers
- Boeing
- engines
- 4× Pratt & Whitney TF33-PW-102 turbofan engines
- length
- 46.6 m
- wingspan
- 44.4 m
- height
- 12.9 m
- max take-off weight
- 148.3 t
- top speed
- 1,009 km/h
- cruise speed
- 966 km/h
- range
- 12,247 km
- ceiling
- 15,200 m
Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.
family
Sources: Wikidata Q605955, Wikipedia: Boeing C-137 Stratoliner (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-24.