Late 80s I was en route in a Hercules to Nellis AFB. Whilst staging through Little Rock (home of the USAF C-130 training unit, where more aircraft were based that the RAF had in total) a flight engineer (ours) switch pig caused one of our windsceeens to crack (both panes) to an extent that it was not fit to be taken into the air. The RAF had an agreement with the USAF to enable us to use their spares (which the RAF would then replace at the earliest opportunity); Little Rock had the correct windscreen in stock and were more than willing to issue it to us. On discussing with Lyneham, we were told not to take the USAF one; instead, one from Lyneham would be put on a Goose Flyer due to depart Lyneham later that day and the aircraft would be revitined to fly on to Little Rock (a further 5 hours each way).
Whilst waiting for our screen to arrive, our Ground Engineer (GE), along with a couple of USAF techs, removed our damaged screen. The aircraft with our spares arrived and the GE ambled up to the ramp to pick up the box containing the new screen. He was surprised how light the box was, which had 'empty' written in large letters on the top........and that word described the contents accurately.
We ended up with the Little Rock issued screen, but I wonder how much that escapade cost.....an extra 10 hours of C-130 flying time and an extra night accommodation for us, alongside accommodation for the crew delivering the empty box. Red faces all round (I hope).