Boeing CC-137

what is it?

The Boeing CC-137 is a retired transport and tanker aircraft which served with the Canadian Forces from 1970 to 1997. The Boeing 707-347C aircraft provided long range passenger transport for the military, VIP transport for government and air-to-air refueling for fighters such as the CF-116 Freedom Fighter and CF-18 Hornet. It was replaced by the Airbus CC-150 Polaris in the transport role and much later in the tanker role.

🔎How to recognise it: 4 jet engines · 44.4 m wingspan

base stats

• speed 994 km/hcruise speed
• range 9,300 kmwithout refuelling
• seats 170passengers
• size 148 tmax take-off weight
• built 5made in total

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 56 years ago, in 1970.
• 🚗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 9,300 km: Amsterdam to New York (≈5,850 km) without stopping.
• 🏔️Can fly 1.4× 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

1970

introduced

1972

retired

1997

status

retired

number built

5

role

military transport aircraft

engines

4× Pratt & Whitney JT3D-7

crew

3

passengers

170

length

46.6 m

wingspan

44.4 m

height

12.9 m

max take-off weight

148 t

top speed

—

cruise speed

994 km/h

range

9,300 km

ceiling

12,000 m

Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.