Editing Short C-23 Sherpa (section)

==Operational history==
[[File:Short C-23A Sherpa (330-200), USA - Air Force AN2184802.jpg|thumb|C-23A with aft cargo door down|left]]
The C-23 served with USAF starting in the 1980s, and later the U.S. Army. It was retired from the USAF in 1990 and the Army until 2014. 

===U.S. Air Force===
[[File:C-23A-1.jpg|thumb|The first C-23A for U.S. Air Force during its official rollout ceremony]]
[[File:C-5-C-23-1.jpg|thumb|A C-23 Sherpa in center front with a C-5 Galaxy in rear]]
The ''C-23A Sherpa'' entered service with the United States Air Force in Europe in 1985<ref name="olive-drab"/> based at [[Zweibrücken Air Base]]. It continued in use in the EDSA role until November 1990 with the post-cold war force reductions.<ref name="scramble"/> All the Sherpas returned to the United States; three aircraft were transferred to the USAF Test Pilot School at Edwards AFB, eight aircraft went to the U.S. Army and the remaining seven to the U.S. Forest Service. The Test Pilot School's aircraft were retired in 1997.<ref name="scramble"/>

===U.S. Army===
The eight former USAF aircraft were used for test duties at different units; two were re-designated as JC-23A.<ref name="scramble"/>

The Army purchased four civil Short 330 aircraft to replace the [[de Havilland Canada DHC-4 Caribou|de Havilland Canada C-7 Caribou]] being used to support the [[Ronald Reagan Ballistic Missile Defense Test Site|Kwajalein Missile Range]]. These were not given a C-23 designation, and were retired in 1992.<ref name="scramble"/> In 1988, the Army ordered ten new-build Short 330s designated C-23B to replace the DHC C-7 Caribou used by the U.S. Army National Guard Aviation and Repair Activity Depots. In 1990, a further six were ordered.<ref name="scramble"/>

When the Army wanted 20 more C-23s in 1990 the production line had closed; second-hand Short 360 aircraft were purchased instead. Designated C-23B+, these were modified from the original single tail to the twin-tail and cargo ramp of the other C-23Bs.<ref name="scramble"/> In 1994, another eight aircraft were converted to replace the [[de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter|de Havilland Canada UV-18 Twin Otter]]s used in Alaska.<ref name="scramble"/> (which was also out of production since 1988)<ref>{{cite web |last=Hemmerdinger |first=Jon |last2=Paris |date=2023-06-19 |title=De Havilland resumes Twin Otter 300 production with new variant |url=https://www.flightglobal.com/airframers/de-havilland-resumes-twin-otter-300-production-with-new-variant/153788.article |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20240325012535/https://www.flightglobal.com/airframers/de-havilland-resumes-twin-otter-300-production-with-new-variant/153788.article |archive-date=2024-03-25 |access-date=2023-11-01 |website=Flight Global }}</ref>

During [[Iraq War]] (2003–2011), the C-23 served the Army's intra-theater needs of cargo and personnel transport. It provided an economic alternative for transporting some 20 people or three pallets of cargo when speed was not critical.<ref>[http://www.military.com/NewContent/0,13190,020904_C23,00.html "C-23: A Small Cargo Plane that Makes a Big Difference"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171013014651/http://www.military.com/NewContent/0,13190,020904_C23,00.html|date=13 October 2017 }}, Military.com, 9 February 2004.</ref>

As part of the U.S. Army's [[Constant Hawk]] intelligence gathering program, five Short 360s were modified for use in Iraq and flew in theater between 2006 and 2011. A further two modified aircraft collided in mid-air before delivery to Iraq. The Constant Hawk aircraft were not given a military designation.<ref name="scramble"/>

On 13 June 2007, the [[Alenia C-27J Spartan|Alenia C-27J]] was selected to replace the C-23 in U.S. Army service.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.af.mil/News/story/id/123057181/|title=C-27J Spartan named as Joint Cargo Aircraft|date=14 June 2007|work=Air Force Link|access-date=17 June 2007|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120526085537/http://www.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123057181|archive-date=26 May 2012|url-status=live|df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.airforcetimes.com/news/2007/06/defense_JCA_070613/|title=C-27J tapped for Joint Cargo Aircraft|date=14 June 2007|work=Air Force Times|access-date=17 June 2007|archive-url=http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20070814222958/http://www.airforcetimes.com/news/2007/06/defense_JCA_070613/|archive-date=14 August 2007|url-status=live}}</ref> A total of 43 C-23s were in service with the U.S. Army as of November 2008 (all US C-27 aircraft at that time were transferred to the US Coast Guard in 2012 due to budget shortfalls).<ref name="FI_AirForces_2008">"Directory: World Air Forces", ''[[Flight International]]'', 11–17 November 2008.</ref> The C-23 Sherpa was retired from the [[Army National Guard]] in January 2014.<ref>[http://www.dvidshub.net/news/119002/c-23-sherpa-makes-final-flight-army-guard-retires-venerable-aircraft#.UtA3zMKA0dU C-23 Sherpa makes final flight as Army Guard retires the venerable aircraft] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140110192716/http://www.dvidshub.net/news/119002/c-23-sherpa-makes-final-flight-army-guard-retires-venerable-aircraft#.UtA3zMKA0dU |date=10 January 2014 }} – Dvidshub.net, 10 January 2014</ref> As part of the [[National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2014]], 8 C-23s may be transferred to the State of [[Alaska]] to operate from short rural runways for search-and-rescue and medium-lift missions.<ref>[http://www.defensemedianetwork.com/stories/the-final-flight-of-the-c-23-sherpa/ The Final Army Flight of the C-23 Sherpa] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140203165250/http://www.defensemedianetwork.com/stories/the-final-flight-of-the-c-23-sherpa/ |date=3 February 2014 }} – Defensemedianetwork.com, 27 January 2014</ref>

[[File:US Army MFFATIC Water Jump.jpg|thumb|left|[[High-altitude military parachuting|HAHO-type]] Para jump out of back of C-23, 2010]]

=== U.S. Army National Guard ===
[[File:C-23 at Anaktuvuk Pass.jpg|thumb|Alaska National Guard C-23 on an unimproved frozen runway in the Alaskan village of [[Anaktuvuk Pass, Alaska|Anaktuvuk Pass]] to deliver medical supplies. (2011)]]

While the US Army does not operate many fixed wing aircraft besides the Sherpa (due to [[Key West Agreement]]), they lost a C-23B in 2001 in Georgia, USA, and 21 died.<ref>{{Cite web |title=CNN.com - Military units involved in the C-23 Sherpa crash - March 3, 2001 |url=http://www.cnn.com/2001/US/03/03/florida.guard.facts/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20240325013222/http://www.cnn.com/2001/US/03/03/florida.guard.facts/ |archive-date=2024-03-25 |access-date=2023-10-29 |website=www.cnn.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=ASN Aircraft accident Shorts C-23B+ Sherpa (360) 93-1336 Unadilla, GA |url=https://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=20010303-0 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20240325013511/https://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=20010303-0 |archive-date=2024-03-25 |access-date=2023-10-29 |website=Aviation Safety Network}}</ref> This was the worst peacetime aviation disaster of the [[U.S. National Guard]].<ref>{{Citation |last=Nash |first=Deborah |title=Hödicke, K(arl) H(orst) |date=2003 |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/gao/9781884446054.article.t038416 |work=Oxford Art Online |access-date=2023-10-29 |publisher=Oxford University Press}}</ref>

On 3 March 2001, a C-23B Sherpa belonging to the 171st Aviation Regiment of the [[Florida Army National Guard]] was carrying 18 construction workers of the [[Virginia Air National Guard]] from [[Hurlburt Field]], Florida to [[Naval Air Station Oceana]], Virginia. The pilot left the flight deck to use the aft bathroom. His weight in the tailcone shifted the [[center of gravity]] sufficiently that the airplane became unstable when a patch of severe turbulence was encountered. The violent g-force shifts then encountered rendered the crew unconscious and caused the breakup of the aircraft in flight near Unadilla, Georgia, killing the 21 persons on board.<ref>{{cite news |last=Veillette [[Doctor of Philosophy|Ph.D]]. |first=Patrick |date=May 26, 2016 |title=Weighty Matters: Miscalculation when loading can have unwelcome consequences |work=[[Aviation Week]] Network |url=http://aviationweek.com/bca/weighty-matters?NL=AW-05&Issue=AW-05_20160623_AW-05_244&sfvc4enews=42&cl=article_1&elq2=91a0cf3664184a7c8be3cad1218369fb |url-status=live |access-date=July 5, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171013020839/http://aviationweek.com/bca/weighty-matters?NL=AW-05&Issue=AW-05_20160623_AW-05_244&sfvc4enews=42&cl=article_1&elq2=91a0cf3664184a7c8be3cad1218369fb |archive-date=13 October 2017}}</ref> Later calculations determined that the aircraft had been loaded outside its operating envelope at the start of the flight.

The C-23 was retired from Army National Guard service in 2014, having served with distinction in such missions as disaster relief and transport, earning the distinction of being a "workhorse" aircraft.<ref>{{Cite web |title=C-23 Sherpa makes final flight as Army Guard retires the venerable aircraft |url=https://www.nationalguard.mil/News/Article/575469/c-23-sherpa-makes-final-flight-as-army-guard-retires-the-venerable-aircraft/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nationalguard.mil%2FNews%2FArticle-View%2FArticle%2F575469%2Fc-23-sherpa-makes-final-flight-as-army-guard-retires-the-venerable-aircraft%2F |access-date=2023-10-31 |website=National Guard |language=en-US}}</ref>

===Civilian and governmental use===
[[File:SARP Flikr 08 (36874123955).jpg|thumb|left|NASA C-23 used for SARP alongside a [[Beechcraft C-12 Huron|UC-12B]], 2017 ]]
Several surplus aircraft were sold to United States operators,<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.controller.com/listings/aircraft/for-sale/list/category/8/turboprop-aircraft?Manu=SHORTS |title=SHORTS Turboprop Aircraft For Sale |work=Controller.com |access-date=July 5, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160813111322/http://www.controller.com/listings/aircraft/for-sale/list/category/8/turboprop-aircraft?Manu=SHORTS |archive-date=13 August 2016 |url-status=live }}</ref> who used them to transport equipment and crews to remote work sites.

In 2014 the Army transferred more than dozen C-23 to the U.S. Forestry Service.<ref name=":0" />

NASA operates one C-23 for atmospheric research from [[Wallops Flight Facility]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=C-23 Sherpa |url=https://impact.earthdata.nasa.gov/casei/platform/C-23%20Sherpa/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20240325014000/https://impact.earthdata.nasa.gov/casei/platform/C-23%20Sherpa |archive-date=2024-03-25 |access-date=2023-10-31 |website=NASA |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=C-23 Sherpa - WFF {{!}} NASA Airborne Science Program |url=https://airbornescience.nasa.gov/aircraft/C-23_Sherpa_-_WFF |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20240325014219/https://airbornescience.nasa.gov/aircraft/C-23_Sherpa_-_WFF |archive-date=2024-03-25 |access-date=2023-10-31 |website=NASA}}</ref>