Editing Short 330 (section)

==Development==
The Short 330 was developed by [[Short Brothers]] of [[Belfast]] from Short's earlier [[Short Skyvan]] STOL utility transport. The 330 had a longer wingspan and fuselage than the Skyvan, while retaining the Skyvan's square-shaped fuselage cross section, allowing it to carry up to 30 passengers while retaining good short field characteristics.<ref name="donald world">Donald, David, ed. ''The Encyclopedia of World Aircraft''. London: Aerospace Publishing, 1997. {{ISBN|1-85605-375-X}}.</ref> The first prototype of the 330 flew on 22 August 1974.<ref name="Janes88 p304">Taylor 1988, p. 304.</ref>

The Short 330 is unusual in having all of its fuel contained in tanks located directly above the ceiling of the passenger cabin.<ref name="Janes88 p304"/> There are two separate cockpit doors for pilot and co-pilot for access from inside the cabin.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.airliners.net/photo/Muk-Air/Short-330-200/890366|title=Aviation Photo #0890366: Short 330-200 - Muk Air|website=Airliners.net}}</ref>

While Short concentrated on producing airliners, the design also spawned two freight versions. The first of these, the '''Short 330-UTT''' (standing for ''Utility Tactical Transport''), was a military transport version fitted with a strengthened cabin floor and paratroop doors,<ref name="Janes88 p306">Taylor 1988, p. 306</ref> which was sold in small numbers, primarily to Thailand, which purchased four. The '''Short Sherpa''' was a freighter fitted with a full-width rear cargo door/ramp. This version first flew on 23 December 1982,<ref name="Janes88 p306"/> with the first order, for 18 aircraft, being placed by the [[United States Air Force]] (USAF) in March 1983, for the European Distribution System Aircraft (EDSA) role, to fly spare parts between USAF bases within Europe.<ref name="Janes88 p306"/> Subsequently, a further 16 were ordered as C-23B Sherpas.<ref name=Baugher1/><ref name=Baugher2/>