1.
Douglas C-124 Globemaster II
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The Douglas C-124 Globemaster II, nicknamed Old Shaky, was a heavy-lift cargo aircraft built by the Douglas Aircraft Company in Long Beach, California. The C-124 was the primary transport for United States Air Force Military Air Transport Service during the 1950s and early 1960s. It served in MATS-gained, later Military Airlift Command -gained, units of the Air Force Reserve, Douglas Aircraft developed the C-124 from 1947 to 1949, from a prototype they created from a World War II–design Douglas C-74 Globemaster, and based on lessons learned during the Berlin Airlift. The aircraft was powered by four large Pratt & Whitney R-4360 piston engines producing 3,800 hp each, the C-124s design featured two large clamshell doors and a hydraulically actuated ramp in the nose as well as a cargo elevator under the aft fuselage. The C-124 was capable of carrying 68,500 lb of cargo, and it was the only aircraft of its time capable of transporting heavy equipment such as tanks and bulldozers without disassembly. The C-124 first flew on 27 November 1949, with the C-124A being delivered from May 1950, the C-124C was next, featuring more powerful engines, and an APS-42 weather radar fitted in a thimble-like structure on the nose. Wingtip-mounted combustion heaters were added to heat the cabin, and enable wing, the C-124As were later equipped with these improvements. One C-124C, 52-1069, c/n 43978, was used as a JC-124C, for testing the 15,000 shp Pratt & Whitney XT57 turboprop, first deliveries of the 448 production aircraft began in May 1950 and continued until 1955. The C-124 was operational during the Korean War, and was used to assist supply operations for Operation Deep Freeze in Antarctica. They performed heavy lift cargo operations for the US military worldwide, including flights to Southeast Asia, Africa, from 1959 to 1961 they transported Thor missiles across the Atlantic to England. The C-124 was also used extensively during the Vietnam War transporting materiel from the U. S. to Vietnam, until the C-5A became operational, the C-124, and its sister C-133 Cargomaster were the only aircraft available that could transport very large loads. The United States Air Forces Strategic Air Command was the operator of the C-124 Globemaster. Four squadrons operated the type, consisting of the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and their primary duty was to transport nuclear weapons between air bases and to provide airlift of SAC personnel and equipment during exercises and overseas deployments. The Military Air Transport Service was the operator until January 1966. The first ANG unit to receive the C-124C, the 165th Tactical Airlift Group of the Georgia Air National Guard, was the last Air Force unit to retire their aircraft in September 1974. YC-124 Prototype rebuilt from a C-74 with a new fuselage and powered by four 3,500 hp R-4360-39 engines, YC-124A Prototype YC-124 re-engined with four 3,800 hp R-4360-35A engines. C-124A Douglas Model 1129A, production version with four 3,500 hp R-4360-20WA engines,204 built, most retrofitted later with nose-radar and combustion heaters in wingtip fairings. C-124C Douglas Model 1317, same as C-124A but with four 3,800 hp R-4360-63A engines, nose radar, wingtip combustion heaters and they began jettisoning the crates and announced they were ditching
2.
Airlift
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An airlift is the organized delivery of military supplies or military personnel primarily via military transport aircraft. Airlifting consists of two types, strategic and tactical airlifting. Typically, strategic airlifting involves moving material long distances, whereas a tactical airlift focuses on deploying resources, depending on the situation, airlifted supplies can be delivered by a variety of means. When the destination and surrounding airspace is considered secure, the aircraft land at an appropriate airport or airbase to have its cargo unloaded on the ground. However, when the area is too small for this method, as with a base, and/or is too dangerous to land in. Serbian Air Force, made first transport of wounded soldiers from Serbia through Albania to Corfu and that was the first Medevac operation in air history. April 1923 aircraft of the RAFs Iraq Command flew 280 Sikh troops from Kingarban to Kirkuk in the first British air trooping operation, the worlds first long-range combat airlift took place in July 1936. Luftwaffe Ju 52 and Italian Air Force Savoia-Marchetti SM.81 were used by the Spanish Nationalists to transport troops from Spanish Morocco to Spain at the beginning of the Spanish Civil War. Airlifts became practical during World War II as aircraft became large and this joint effort is estimated to have saved more than a million lives in Biafra. Most airplanes departed from the Portuguese colony of Sao Tome and Principe to the landing strip of Uli, the only operational airport in Biafra. Flights were made flying at night all lights off and under near-total radio silence to avoid Nigerian MIG aircraft. All the airplanes, crews and logistics were paid, set up, JCA and their crews and aircraft kept flying into Biafra at the cost of many crews lives. Strategic airlift is the use of transport aircraft to transport materiel, weaponry. Typically, this involves airlifting the required items between two airbases which are not in the same vicinity and this allows commanders to bring items into a combat theater from a point on the other side of the planet, if necessary. Aircraft which perform this role are considered strategic airlifters and this contrasts with tactical airlifters, such as the C-130 Hercules and Transall C-160, which can normally only move supplies within a given theater of operations. This difficulty has prompted investment in lighter armoured fighting vehicles, as well as some research into alternative airlift technologies such as ground effect vehicles. Civilian aircraft are commonly used for transportation. For some civilian airlines, such as Miami Air International and Volga-Dnepr Airlines, tactical airlift is a military term for the airborne transportation of supplies and equipment within a theatre of operations
3.
Military Air Transport Service
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The Military Air Transport Service is an inactive Department of Defense Unified Command. Activated on 1 June 1948, MATS was a consolidation of the United States Navy Naval Air Transport Service and it was inactivated and discontinued on 8 January 1966 when the Air Force and Navy set up separate strategic airlift commands. In 1982, the World War II Air Transport Command and the Military Air Transport Service were consolidated with Military Airlift Command, the Military Air Transport Service was activated under United States Air Force Major General Laurence S. Kuter, in order to harness interservice efforts more efficiently. It was an amalgamation of Navy and Army air transport commands, MATS was the first Joint-Service command and Naval aircrews participated in every major MATS airlift operation. During the Berlin Airlift, Naval aviators flew transport aircraft from the United States to European supply depots, in the Korean War, in its original organization, a Rear Admiral commanded the MATS Pacific Division and another rear admiral served as MATS vice-commander. During the 1958 reorganization, senior Naval officers were on the staffs of the commanders of both EASTAF and WESTAF, and at MATS Headquarters. In 1965 conflicting views of the Air Force and Navy triggered by the demands of the Vietnam War led to the returning to separate airlift commands. In turn, MATS was disbanded and superseded in the Air Force by the Military Airlift Command, with the end of World War II, the United States Army Air Forces Air Transport Command found itself in limbo. Senior ATC officers, on the hand, thought that ATC should be developed into a national government operated airline. While the war had firmly established the necessity of a troop carrier mission, when the United States Air Force was established as a separate service in 1947, the Air Transport Command was not established as one of its major commands. The ATC commander and his staff took it upon themselves to convince the new leadership of the newly created Department of Defense that ATC had a mission. Williams had been pressing for the development of a troop carrier airplane when he made his statement. Also, as a measure, MATS would combine the resources of Air Transport Command with those of the Naval Air Transport Service. This way the command would be sanctioned by the Department of Defense, although MATS was under the operational control of the United States Air Force, the United States Navy was a full partner in the command and operational components of the organization. Major naval components of MATS were naval air transport squadrons, vR-3 and VR-6 were assigned to McGuire AFB and VR-22 was assigned to the Naval Air Transport Station at Naval Station Norfolk/Chambers Field, Virginia. Together they constituted MATS EASTAFs Naval Air Transport Wing, Atlantic, on the Pacific Coast, Naval Air Transport Wing, Pacific, consisted of Air Transport Squadron VR-7 and Maintenance Squadron VR-8, both at Naval Air Station Moffett Field, California. A detachment of VR-7 was also stationed at Tachikawa Air Base, Naval aviators flew scheduled MATS routes to Newfoundland, Iceland, Scotland, West Germany, Italy, Puerto Rico and Africa. In the Pacific, MATS naval aviators flew to all MATS stations from Hawaii to Japan to South Vietnam, Bangkok, India, Air Force pilots flew Navy MATS planes, just as naval aviators could be found piloting Air Force MATS transport aircraft
4.
437th Airlift Wing
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The 437th Airlift Wing is an active unit of the United States Air Force, assigned to 18th Air Force, Air Mobility Command. It is the wing at Charleston Air Force Base, Joint Base Charleston, in the City of North Charleston. The 437 AW is responsible for flying and maintaining the C-17 Globemaster III jet cargo aircraft, on 15 August 1950, the main contingent of the 437th Troop Carrier Wing was called up for active service in the Korean War. Moved to Shaw AFB, South Carolina, At that time 1,441 men were assigned to the 437th Troop Carrier Wing, on 15 October, the day before the 437th left Shaw, it got up to its full wartime strength of 1,569. Most of the men came from the Regular Air Force, including 60 from Sewart AFB, Tennessee. The Wing had a total of forty-eight C-46s, obtained from various units, augmented by a few maintenance personnel, the command and operations elements of the wing deployed their C-46s to Japan. They arrived at Brady AB, Kyushu, Japan, at sundown on 8 November, just as the body of the wing. The maintenance force quickly removed the fuel tanks which had been installed for the overwater flight. The 437th Troop Carrier Wing conducted operations for Combat Cargo Command, during the last 52 days of 1950, the wing flew almost 3,500 hours, conducting more than 1,500 effective combat sorties carrying passengers, cargo, or patients. When the 437th arrived in the theater, United Nations forces were driving north, as the Chinese Communist forces struck south, however, the 437th helped evacuate these bases. Soon 437th aircrews were helping move everything out of the airstrips near Pyongyang, in December 1950, the 437th acquired the responsibility for conducting Combat Cargo Conmand’s scheduled courier operation, connecting all the major Japanese and Korean air bases and strips. As the U. N. forces pressed their attack in the months of 1951. On 24 February the 437th conducted the first of many missions to resupply frontline U. S, the wing participated in its first combat personnel airborne drop on March 23,1951, at Munsan-ni. The unit and the C-119 Flying Boxcar-equipped 314th Troop Carrier Wing conducted an intensive training preparing to drop the 187th Regimental Combat Team at Chunchon. Then on 21 March, forty-eight hours before it was to go, the 187th was now to be dropped at Munsan-ni instead of Chunchon, and that, on the morning of the 23d, not the 21st. In addition to 55 C-46s, the 437th provided several members who had recently transitioned into C-119s to augment the 314ths crews. The wing’s planes dropped 1,446 troops and 15 1/2 tons of ammunition, food, enemy interference was meager, and the wing suffered no injuries to personnel nor damage to aircraft. On 25 January 1951, Far East Air Forces discontinued Combat Cargo Command, like its predecessor, the 315th was directly subordinated to Far East Air Forces
5.
Military Airlift Command
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The Military Airlift Command is an inactive United States Air Force major command that was headquartered at Scott Air Force Base, Illinois. In 1982, the heritage of the World War II Air Transport Command, mACs emblem reflected its predecessors history by incorporating the emblem of MATS into its shield. Under the USAF lineage system, they did not possess a permanent lineage or history and were discontinued upon inactivation, AFCON units were activated under MAC, to which USAF personnel and equipment formerly assigned to MATS MAJCOM units were reassigned effective 8 January 1966. No formal lineage or history between former MATS MAJCOM units and MAC AFCON units was ever made, with the establishment of MAC by the USAF, plans were also made to discontinue the role of the United States Navy within the new command. At first, MAC transports to Vietnam landed regularly only at Tan Son Nhut AB, New air bases opened at Da Nang AB and Cam Ranh AB in January 1966, and later at Pleiku, Bien Hoa and Phu Cat Air Bases, reducing the need for redistribution. Major unit movements by MAC aircraft from the United States usually required further airlifts to operating areas by in-country transports, eventually, however, C-5s could unload at Tan Son Nhut and elsewhere. Primarily, MAC transports carried high-value cargo such as aircraft and equipment parts, while MAC civilian-contract flights transported passengers to and from the combat zone. In the winter of 1965-66, MAC conducted Operation Blue Light, generally, patients requiring hospitalization for thirty days or more were moved to offshore hospitals, others were sometimes evacuated to keep an empty-bed reserve of fifty percent in Vietnam. Military Airlift Command transports carried the more serious cases from Clark AB to the United States, on 30 March 1972, North Vietnam launched an all-out invasion of South Vietnam, which came to be known as the Easter Offensive. The Vietnamization policy of the United States had resulted in the vast majority of US ground combat forces been withdrawn from South Vietnam with PACAFs tactical air units also being reduced. Military Airlift Commands C-141 force, accustomed to operating in and out of Vietnam from offshore were utilized for movement of large amounts of men and materiel to oppose the invasion. Beginning on 21 April, MAC C-141s began shuttling passengers and cargo between Tan Son Nhut AB and the other main bases, principally Da Nang AB, Bien Hoa AB. Planes and crews were based for one or more nights at Tan Son Nhut and this C-141 effort permitted the VNAF and PACAF C-130s to concentrate on drops, unit hauls, and deliveries to forward locations. The rapid American response to the invasion allowed the South Vietnamese forces to defeat the invaders for the moment, by the terms of the 1973 Paris Peace Accords, the cease-fire was to become effective in Vietnam the morning of 28 January 1973, Saigon time. American prisoners in North Vietnam were to be released and the last 23,700 American troops withdrawn from Vietnam within sixty days, planning for Operation Homecoming, the return of the Americans held by North Vietnam, was given to the Military Airlift Command. C-141s of the 63d Military Airlift Wing, stationed at Norton AFB, a second C-130 left Tan Son Nhut AB carrying members of the international commission to Hanoi oversee the repatriations. This C-130 arrived at Gia Lam Airport about one hour before the C-130 from CCK arrived, on the ground at Gia Lam the C-130 crew met the airport manager, and went indoors for tea offered by the North Vietnamese. The first of three C-141s flown in from Clark landed soon after and repatriation began, as the first returnee moved from the release desk, one of the C-130 flight engineers quickly moved to clear the way, leading the former prisoner by the arm
6.
Tactical Air Command
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Tactical Air Command is an inactive United States Air Force organization. It was a Major Command of the United States Air Force, established on 21 March 1946 and headquartered at Langley Air Force Base and it was inactivated on 1 June 1992 and its personnel and equipment absorbed by Air Combat Command. Tactical Air Command was established to provide a balance between strategic, air defense, and tactical forces of the post–World War II U. S. Army Air Forces followed by, in 1947, the U. S. Air Force. In 1948, the Continental Air Command assumed control over air defense, tactical air, after two years in a subordinate role, Tactical Air Command was established as a major command. World War II showed the effectiveness of air power in supporting army ground forces. However, the demobilization in late 1945 meant that the huge air armada that had brought Germany to her knees. Following the end of World War II, Headquarters United States Army Air Forces had little funding and most wartime personnel had been released from active duty and returned to civilian life. Many USAAF aircraft were being sent to storage or scrapyards, although the tension with the Soviet Union meant that combat military air forces were still needed. The big questions were how large and what kind of forces, a major realignment of the USAAF was undertaken in early 1946. As part of the realignment, three major divisions within the Continental United States were formed, Strategic Air Command, Tactical Air Command. Each was given a specific responsibility, using assets prescribed to accomplish the assigned mission, Tactical Air Command was formed to command, organize, equip, train and administer assigned or attached forces. It was to plan for and participate in tactics for fighter, light bombardment and these included tactical fighters, tactical bombers, tactical missiles, troop carrier aircraft, assault, reconnaissance, and support units. TAC also planned for and developed the capability to deploy tactical striking forces anywhere in the world, during its existence, Tactical Air Command deployed personnel, material and/or aircraft to Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Europe and Australia in support of its prescribed mission. TACs original authorization was 25,500 officers and enlisted men, aircraft assets available consisted of propeller-driven North American P-51 Mustangs, Republic P-47 Thunderbolts and a handful of the new jet-powered Lockheed P-80 Shooting Stars. TAC was also given control of the Third Air Force, Ninth Air Force, on 18 September 1947, the United States Air Force was established as a separate military force, with TAC as one of its major commands. At the time, there was only one U. S. Air Forces in Europe tactical air unit available in Europe, TAC was called upon to send additional units and aircraft to Europe to reinforce the 86 FG. The 36th Fighter Group, flying Lockheed F-80B Shooting Stars, was transferred from Howard AFB in the Panama Canal Zone to Furstenfeldbruck Air Base near Munich. In addition to fighter aircraft, TAC also deployed available C-47 Skytrain transports to Europe, transferring them to USAFE
7.
Douglas C-54 Skymaster
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The Douglas C-54 Skymaster was a four-engined transport aircraft used by the United States Army Air Forces in World War II and the Korean War. Like the Douglas C-47 Skytrain, the C-54 Skymaster was derived from a civilian airliner, besides transport of cargo, the C-54 also carried presidents, prime ministers, and military staff. Dozens of variants of the C-54 were employed in a variety of non-combat roles such as air-sea rescue, scientific and military research. During the Berlin Airlift it hauled coal and food supplies to West Berlin, after the Korean War it continued to be used for military and civilian uses by more than 30 countries. This was one of the first aircraft to carry the President of the United States, the first, a C-54, flew from Clover Field in Santa Monica, California on 14 February 1942. To meet military requirements the first civil aircraft had four additional auxiliary fuel tanks in the main cabin which reduced the passenger seats to 26. The following batch of aircraft were designated C-54A and were built with a floor, cargo door with a hoist. The first C-54A was delivered in February 1943, with the introduction of the C-54B in March 1944 the outer wings were changed to hold integral fuel tanks allowing two of the cabin tanks to be removed, this allowed 49-seats to be fitted. The C-54C was a hybrid for Presidential use, it had a C-54A fuselage with four fuel tanks. The most common variant was the C-54D which entered service in August 1944, with the C-54E the last two cabin fuel tanks were moved to the wings which would allow more freight or 44 passenger seats. Aircraft transferred to the United States Navy were designated Douglas R5D, with the introduction of the Tri-Service aircraft designation system in 1962, all R5Ds were re-designated C-54. C-54s began service with the USAAF in 1942, carrying up to 26 passengers, the C-54 was one of the most commonly used long-range transports by the U. S. armed forces in World War II. Of the C-54s produced,515 were manufactured in Santa Monica, California and 655 were manufactured at Orchard Place/Douglas Field, in unincorporated Cook County, Illinois, during World War II, the C-54 was used by Franklin D. Roosevelt, Douglas MacArthur, and Winston Churchill. The American delegates to the Casablanca Conference used the Skymaster, the C-54 was also used by the Royal Air Force, the French Air Force, and the armed forces of at least 12 other nations. More than 300 C-54s and R5Ds formed the backbone of the US contribution to the Berlin Airlift in 1948 and they also served as the main airlift during the Korean War. After the Korean War, the C-54 was replaced by the Douglas C-124 Globemaster II, the last active C-54 Skymaster in U. S. Navy service was retired on 2 April 1974. In late 1945, several hundred C-54s were surplus to U. S. military requirements, the aircraft were sold to airlines around the world. By January 1946, Pan American Airways was operating their Skymasters on transatlantic scheduled services to Europe, trans-Pacific schedules from San Francisco to Auckland began on 6 June 1946
8.
Lockheed C-121 Constellation
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The Lockheed C-121 Constellation was a military transport version of the Lockheed Constellation. A total of 332 aircraft were constructed for both the United States Air Force and United States Navy for various purposes, numerous AWACS versions were also constructed. The C-121 later saw service with smaller civilian operators until 1993, Lockheeds first attempt at a military version of the Constellation airliner had been unsuccessful. This was largely due to the problems encountered by the Wright R-3350 engines that powered the aircraft, after the war, the few military Constellations built were retrofitted by Lockheed for use in the post-war airline industry as the L-049. In 1947, Lockheed unveiled a more economical Constellation, the L-749 as it was known, had extra fuel capacity and a more economical version of the R-3350. However, Lockheed had lost 1200 workers that same year, by 1948, production of the L-749 was at a near halt. It was then that the United States Air Force signed a contract with Lockheed for ten L-749A aircraft designated the C-121A, the United States Navy had also placed an order for two AWACS versions of the L-749A designated the PO-1W. The first L-749A variants off the line were for the US military. The C-121A versions differed from the L-749 only through having a floor to handle cargo. Although originally intended for transport duties, they were usually fitted out with 44-seat passenger transport interiors. The aircraft also consisted of a crew with four relief crew members on standby. All C-121As were assigned to the Atlantic division of the Military Air Transport Service, the aircraft would later see service in the Berlin Airlift. Dwight Eisenhower and General Douglas MacArthur both used the C-121A as their personal VIP transports, in 1950, six of the C-121A Constellations were modified as VIP transports and redesignated VC-121A. The last C-121As were retired in 1968, in August 1950, the USN ordered eleven passenger/cargo convertible versions of Lockheeds stretched L-1049B Super Constellation. These aircraft, originally designated R7O, were delivered before the WV-2 aircraft due to the R7O being more simple to produce, the R7O first flew in 1952. The R7V-1 was able to be converted between a passenger transport for 97-107 individuals or a cargo carrying transport in two hours. The Navy reduced the number of seats to fit room for life rafts on overseas flights. 73 stretchers could also be used for medical evacuation flights, the R7V-1s saw service over the Atlantic and Pacific in squadrons VR-1, VR-7 and VR-8
9.
Lockheed C-130 Hercules
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The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is a four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built originally by Lockheed. Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 was originally designed as a troop, medevac and it is now the main tactical airlifter for many military forces worldwide. Over forty variants and versions of the Hercules, including a civilian one marketed as the Lockheed L-100, the C-130 entered service with the U. S. in the 1950s, followed by Australia and others. During its years of service, the Hercules family has participated in numerous military, the C-130 Hercules is the longest continuously produced military aircraft at over 60 years, with the updated Lockheed Martin C-130J Super Hercules currently being produced. The new transport would have a capacity of 92 passengers,72 combat troops or 64 paratroopers in a compartment that was approximately 41 feet long,9 feet high. Unlike transports derived from passenger airliners, it was to be designed from the ground-up as a transport with loading from a hinged loading ramp at the rear of the fuselage. A key feature was the introduction of the Allison T56 turboprop powerplant, as was the case on helicopters of that era, such as the UH-1 Huey, turboshafts produced much more power for their weight than piston engines. Lockheed would subsequently use the engines and technology in the Lockheed L-188 Electra. The Boeing C-97 Stratofreighter also had a ramp, which made it possible to drive vehicles onto the plane. The ramp on the Hercules was also used to airdrop cargo, the new Lockheed cargo plane design possessed a range of 1,100 nmi, takeoff capability from short and unprepared strips, and the ability to fly with one engine shut down. Fairchild, North American, Martin, and Northrop declined to participate, the remaining five companies tendered a total of ten designs, Lockheed two, Boeing one, Chase three, Douglas three, and Airlifts Inc. one. The contest was an affair between the lighter of the two Lockheed proposals and a four-turboprop Douglas design. The Lockheed design team was led by Willis Hawkins, starting with a 130-page proposal for the Lockheed L-206, both Hibbard and Johnson signed the proposal and the company won the contract for the now-designated Model 82 on 2 July 1951. The first flight of the YC-130 prototype was made on 23 August 1954 from the Lockheed plant in Burbank, the aircraft, serial number 53-3397, was the second prototype, but the first of the two to fly. The YC-130 was piloted by Stanley Beltz and Roy Wimmer on its 61-minute flight to Edwards Air Force Base, Jack Real, kelly Johnson flew chase in a Lockheed P2V Neptune. After the two prototypes were completed, production began in Marietta, Georgia, where over 2,300 C-130s have been built through 2009. The initial production model, the C-130A, was powered by Allison T56-A-9 turboprops with three-blade propellers, deliveries began in December 1956, continuing until the introduction of the C-130B model in 1959. Some A-models were equipped with skis and re-designated C-130D, four-bladed Hamilton Standard propellers replaced the Aeroproducts three-blade propellers that distinguished the earlier A-models
10.
Lockheed C-141 Starlifter
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Introduced to replace slower propeller driven cargo planes such as the C-124 Globemaster II and C-133 Cargomaster, the C-141 was designed to requirements set in 1960 and first flew in 1963. Production deliveries of an eventual 285 planes began in 1965,284 for the Air Force, the aircraft remained in service for over 40 years until the USAF withdrew the last C-141s from service in 2006, after replacing the airlifter with the C-17 Globemaster III. In the early 1960s, the United States Air Forces Military Air Transport Service relied on a number of propeller-driven aircraft for strategic airlift. As these aircraft were mostly obsolescent designs and the Air Force needed the benefits of jet power, the C-135 was a useful stop-gap, but only had side-loading doors and most bulky and oversize equipment would not fit, especially that employed by the U. S. Army. In the spring of 1960 the Air Force released Specific Operational Requirement 182, the strategic role demanded that the aircraft be capable of missions with a radius of at least 3,500 nautical miles with a 60,000 pounds load. The tactical role required it to be able to perform low-altitude air drops of supplies, as well as carry, several companies responded to SOR182, including Boeing, Lockheed, and General Dynamics. Lockheed responded to the requirement with a design, the Lockheed Model 300. The Model 300 had a swept high-mounted wing with four 21,000 pounds-force thrust TF33 turbofan engines pod-mounted below the wings, an important aspect was the cabins floor height of only 50 inches above the ground, allowing easy access to the cabin through the rear doors. The two rear doors were designed to allow the aircraft to drop paratroops. The rear cargo doors could be opened in flight for airborne cargo drops, the high-mounted wings gave internal clearance in the cargo compartment of 10 feet wide,9 ft high and 70 ft long. The size enabled the Starlifter to carry, for example, a complete LGM-30 Minuteman intercontinental ballistic missile in its container. The aircraft was capable of carrying a maximum of 70,847 pounds over short distances, and up to 92,000 pounds in the version configured to carry the Minuteman, the aircraft could also carry up to 154 troops,123 paratroops or 80 litter patients. One unusual aspect of the aircraft was that it was designed to both military and civil airworthiness standards. The prototype C-141A serial number 61-2775 was manufactured and assembled in record time, the prototype was rolled out of the Lockheed factory at Marietta, Georgia on 22 August 1963 and first flew on 17 December, the 60th anniversary of the Wright brothers first flight. The company and the Air Force then started a testing program. An effort to sell the aircraft on the market resulted in provisional orders from Flying Tiger Line. These were to be a version,37 feet longer than the C-141A. Other changes were incorporated to make it more commercial, including a different yoke
11.
Operation Deep Freeze
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The U. S. Navy already had a record of earlier exploration in Antarctica. As early as 1839, Captain Charles Wilkes led the first U. S. Naval expedition into Antarctic waters. In 1929, Admiral Richard E. Byrd established a base at Little America I, led an expedition to explore further inland. From 1934–35, the second Byrd Expedition explored much further inland, the third Byrd Expedition in 1940 charted the Ross Sea. Byrd was instrumental in the Navys Operation Highjump after World War II from 1946–47, in 1948, Commander Finn Ronne led an expedition that photographed over 450,000 square miles by air. Then in 1954–55, the icebreaker USS Atka made an expedition for future landing sites. The impetus behind Operation Deep Freeze I was the International Geophysical Year 1957–58, IGY as it was known was a collaborative effort among forty nations to carry out earth science studies from the North Pole to the South Pole and at points in between. The United States along with New Zealand, the United Kingdom, France, Japan, Norway, Chile, Argentina, and the U. S. S. R. agreed to go to the South Pole, the least explored area on Earth. Their goal was to advance knowledge of Antarctic hydrography and weather systems, glacial movements. The U. S. Navy was charged with supporting the U. S. scientists for their portion of the IGY studies, in 1955, Task Force 43 was formed to carry out this work. Operation Deep Freeze I prepared a permanent research station and paved the way for more research in later Deep Freeze operations. The expedition transpired over the Antarctic summer of November 1955 to April 1956, Dufek and others successfully landed an R4D Skytrain aircraft at the South Pole, as part of the expeditions mounted for the IGY. This was the first aircraft to land at the South Pole, the aircraft was named Que Sera, Sera after a popular song and is now on display at the Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola, Florida. This marked the beginning of the establishment of the first permanent base, by airlift, the Operation Deep Freeze activities were succeeded by Operation Deep Freeze II, and so on, continuing a constant US presence in Antarctica since that date. The Navys Antarctic Development Squadron Six had been flying the missions, the 109th operated ski-equipped LC-130s and had been flying some National Science Foundation support missions to Antarctica since 1988. It had flown scientific and military missions to Greenland and the Arctic since 1975, the Antarctic operation would be fully funded by the National Science Foundation. The 109th expected to add approximately 235 full-time personnel to support that operation, the possibility of the Air National Guard assuming operational control of the mission had first emerged in 1988. The 109th Airlift Wing had been notified that, almost overnight, the other sites would soon follow, and the 109th would be largely out of business because its primary mission had ended
12.
557th Weather Wing
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The 557th Weather Wing is a United States Air Force formation and its lead military meteorology center. It delivers environmental situational awareness worldwide to the Air Force, the Army, joint warfighters, Unified Combatant Commands, the intelligence community. It is headquartered at Offutt Air Force Base, near Omaha, the wing fields weather equipment and training to Air Force operational weather squadrons, and weather flights in Operations Support Squadrons at locations around the world. It builds a comprehensive database of forecast, climatological. The wings mission is to exploit weather information to American military forces anytime and it is assigned more than 1,800 active-duty, reserve, civilian and contract personnel and is headquartered on Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska with a $175 million annual budget. Weather forecasts are produced using numerical weather prediction software such as the Weather Research and Forecasting model, the 557th Weather Wing is organized into a headquarters element, consisting of staff agencies, two groups, three directorates, and five solar observatories. The 1st Weather Group, with headquarters at Offutt Air Force Base, each of the squadrons produces forecasts for a specified area of the United States. The squadrons also serve as training hubs for new weather professionals — both enlisted and officers, the group equips weather professionals with the training and skills necessary to deliver environmental information for commanders and military decision makers. It also includes four solar observatories manned by detachments of the 2nd Weather Squadron,4, Holloman AFB, New Mexico, and Det. Directs the planning, programming, budgeting, acquisition, and life cycle management for all weather systems. Equipping the weather force is mainly a function of the A8 directorate and they coordinate capabilities development conducted by three separate production centers and integrate them into a single Air Force Weather Weapon System. The Lt. Gen. Thomas Samuel Moorman Building, valued at US$26.7 million, is the Headquarters for the 557th Wing, with a total of 188,000 sq ft. The three-story building, designed to support 1,100 people, the new facility is a Gold Certified Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design structure by the U. S. Green Building Council. The LEED rating is the nationally accepted benchmark for the design, the new building is an example of the emphasis the Air Force is placing on responsible use of and preservation of the environment. The 557th Weather Wing can trace its heritage to the organization of the Meteorological Service of the United States Army Signal Corps, which was established during World War I. By 1937, the Army was supplementing the services of the United States Weather Bureau by operating thirty weather stations of its own in the United States. Within the United States, the 1st, 2d and 3d Weather Squadrons were organized, each was responsible for a region that was congruent with the area of responsibility of one of the three wings assigned to General Headquarters Air Force. By 1942, supervision of Army weather activities within the United States had been centralized in the Army Air Forces Weather Service and this wing is the direct organizational ancestor of the 557th Weather Wing
United States Air Force
This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency website http://www.afhra.af.mil/.