Lockheed C-141 Starlifter
Production deliveries of an eventual 285 planes began in 1965: 284 for the USAF, and a company demonstrator later delivered to National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) for use as an airborne observatory.[3] During the spring of 1960, the USAF released Specific Operational Requirement 182, calling for a new aircraft that would be capable of performing both strategic and tactical airlift missions.[7] In terms of its basic configuration, the Model 300 was a large airlifter, furnished with a T-tail and a high-mounted swept wing, under which a total of four pod-mounted TF33 turbofan engines were fitted.[4] President John F. Kennedy's first official act after his inauguration was to order the development of the Lockheed 300 on 13 March 1961, placing an initial contract for five aircraft for test and evaluation, to be designated the C-141.[12] Detailed presentations on the SC.5/41 and SC.5/45 proposals were reportedly made to both British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) and to the Royal Air Force (RAF) respectively, but no orders were placed.It is powered by an arrangement of four TF33 turbofan engines, each capable of generating up to 21,000 pounds-force (93 kN) of thrust; these were installed in pods beneath the high-mounted swept wing.[18] Even following the arrival of large numbers of C-141s in the Vietnam theatre, the type was never able to replace the C-124 Globemaster II fully due to its inability to transport outsize equipment in-theatre; this situation was later addressed by the introduction of the even larger C-5 Galaxy.[22] During October 1973, both the C-141 and the larger C-5 Galaxy airlifted supplies from the United States to Israel during the 1973 Yom Kippur War as part of Operation Nickel Grass.[21] Despite an early belief that the advantages of the turbojet over preceding propeller-driven cargo aircraft would render the latter obsolete, service experiences with the C-141 found that there was still a useful role for turboprop-driven utility transports such as the Lockheed C-130 Hercules.[24] Specifically, the C-141 fleet was troubled by seemingly random cracking through the wing area, which was, according to a report compiled by the Government Accountability Office (GAO), sometimes attributable to stresses imposed under certain types of missions undertaken.[25] During the late 1970s, the USAF opted to commence a series of major upgrades to the C-141 fleet; not only was work started on a life extension programme but, in 1977, the service also accepted a proposal from Lockheed to stretch several aircraft.[27] In order to provide sufficient C-141s to meet intense demands, all scheduled maintenance activities were postponed, while the planned peacetime flight hours of the fleet were doubled.The GAO warned that, should another event on the scale of Desert Storm break out, the USAF would probably experience a significant shortage in airlift capabilities due to the high fatigue state of the fleet, and noted that the C-17 Globemaster III intended to eventually replace the C-141 was experiencing delays.Between 2004 and 2006, multiple C-141s assigned to the Air Force Reserve's 445th Airlift Wing (445 AW) at Wright-Patterson AFB were deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan, where they were typically engaged in the medical evacuation (MEDEVAC) mission to repatriate wounded service members.[34] There are 15 C-141s, including the "Hanoi Taxi", now on static display at various air museums around the United States, all other airframes were retired to the "boneyard" at Davis-Monthan AFB, Arizona, where they were scrapped.To correct the perceived deficiencies of the original model and utilize the C-141 to the fullest of its capabilities, 270 in-service C-141As (vast majority of the fleet) were stretched, adding needed payload volume.[4] This variant introduced some of the first glass cockpit technology to the aircraft, as well as improving reliability by replacing some mechanical and electromechanical components with more modern electronic equivalents.
Strategic airlifterManufacturerLockheedUnited States Air ForceMilitary Air Transport ServiceMilitary Airlift CommandAir Mobility CommandAir Force ReserveAir Force Reserve CommandAir National GuardAir Education and Training CommandKC-135Douglas C-124 Globemaster IIDouglas C-133 CargomasterNational Aeronautics and Space AdministrationC-17 Globemaster IIIBoeing C-135 StratoliftersU.S. ArmyBoeingGeneral Dynamics436th Airlift WingBrisbane AirportAustraliaLyndon B. JohnsonturbopropLockheed C-130 HerculesT-tailswept wingturbofanJohn F. Kennedymaiden flightWright brothersFlying Tiger LineSlick AirwaysShort BelfastBritishShortsturbojetPratt & Whitney JT3D-3Rolls-Royce Conway 550Bristol Siddeley BS.100British Overseas Airways CorporationRoyal Air ForceApollo 11Mobile Quarantine FacilityEllington Air Force Basetricycle landing gearLGM-30 Minutemanintercontinental ballistic missilehydraulicallyparatroopsTinker Air Force BaseFederal Aviation Administrationtype certificateTravis Air Force BaseSouth VietnamVietnam WarC-124 Globemaster IIoutsize equipmentC-5 Galaxyprisoners of warYom Kippur WarOperation Nickel GrassOperation Deep FreezeEmperor PenguinsGovernment Accountability Officewing boxesOperation Desert Shield437th Military Airlift WingCharleston AFBDesert StormNational Museum of the United States Air ForceHanoi TaxiOperation HomecomingAmericanNorth VietnamEclipse projectConvair F-106 Delta DartSpaceShipTwo445th Airlift WingWright-Patterson AFBAfghanistanmedical evacuation (MEDEVAC)Hurricane KatrinaDayton, OhioMcChord AFB463L master palletsMinuteman missileKuiper Airborne ObservatoryNASA Ames Research CenterMoffett Federal AirfieldStratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomyinflight refuelingparatroopersAir Force Special Operations Commandtraffic collision avoidance systemGlobal Positioning Systemglass cockpitUnited StatesDa Nang Air BaseA-6A IntruderMount PotosiJohn F. Kennedy International AirportLa PazBolivia62d Military Airlift WingMount ConstanceOlympic National ForestRAF MildenhallThorneyNAS SigonellaHurlburt Fielda German Air Force Tu-154M collided with a USAF C-141BcontrailAir Mobility Command MuseumDover Air Force BaseDover, DelawareEdwards Air Force BaseRosamond, CaliforniaCharleston Air Force BaseCharleston, South CarolinaTravis Air Force Base Heritage CenterFairfield, CaliforniaScott Air Force BaseBelleville, IllinoisMuseum of Aviation