Boeing Model 493

The Boeing Model 493 was a proposed large, turboprop-driven transport aircraft that Boeing envisaged in the early 1950s for the US Air Force. The Model 493-3-2 was similar to the baseline C-97 Stratofreighter but had a gull wing, an increased wingspan of 165 feet from tip to tip and turboprop engines, and its fuselage diameter was increased to 214 inches to fit a second deck like that of the Douglas C-124 Globemaster II. Although it was a promising design, it never left the drawing board because the Air Force announced the XC-Heavy competition, based on a pod-equipped airlifter. Some sources call the Model 493-3-2 the C-127, but Air Force records show that designator was allocated to the Douglas C-124B.