C-141A Starlifter 41st MAS

by Arthur Eggers

Title

C-141A Starlifter 41st MAS

Artist

Arthur Eggers

Medium

Digital Art - Color Print

Description

The 437th Military Airlift Wing replaced the 1608th Air Transport Wing, in 1966, as the Military Airlift Command host wing at Charleston AFB, South Carolina. It has since flown joint training missions with Army forces, aeromedical evacuation missions, mercy and humanitarian missions as needed, and airlifted personnel, cargo, and mail worldwide, primarily to Europe, the Middle East and Africa, but also to South America. It has participated in numerous tactical operations and exercises, particularly those of NATO. Wing aircrews have been augmented by attached Reserve aircrews from the 315th Airlift Wing. From 1966 to the early 1970s, the wing also flew numerous missions to the Far East and Southeast Asia. It added Russia as a special mission destination in 1988 and conducted humanitarian relief operations in Russia in 1992. The wing deployed support personnel and provided airlift of personnel and equipment for operations in Grenada, 24 October - 19 December 1983; Panama, 18 - 29 December 1989; and Southwest Asia, August 1990 - December 1991. It flew humanitarian missions to Somalia and other regions of Africa from 1992 to 1994. The original Starlifter model, designated C-141A, entered service in April 1965. It could carry 154 passengers, 123 paratroopers or 80 litters for wounded with seating for 16. It was soon discovered that the aircraft's volume capacity was relatively low in comparison to its lifting capacity; it generally ran out of physical space before it hit its weight limit. To correct the perceived deficiencies of the original model and utilize the C-141 to the fullest of its capabilities, the entire fleet of 270 in-service C-141As were stretched, adding needed payload volume. These modified aircraft were designated C-141B. It was estimated that this stretching program was equivalent to buying 90 new aircraft, in terms of increased capacity. The aircraft remained in service for over 40 years until the USAF withdrew the last C-141s from service in 2006.

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February 26th, 2012

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