C-141B Starlifter - Military Aircraft (2024)

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President John F. Kennedy's first official act after hisinauguration was to order the development of an all-jet transport toextend the reach of the nation's military forces. Lockheed's C-141StarLifter was the result.

The C-141 Starlifter was the workhorse of the Air MobilityCommand. The Starlifter has fulfilled a vast spectrum of airliftrequirements through its ability to airlift combat forces over longdistances, inject those forces and their equipment either by airlandor airdrop, re-supply employed forces, and extract the sick andwounded from the hostile area to advanced medical facilities.

The C-141B is a stretched C-141A with in-flight refuelingcapability. Stretching of the Starlifter consisted of lengthening theplane 23 feet, 4 inches (53.3 centimeters), which increased cargocapacity by about one-third - 2,171 extra cubic feet (65.13 extracubic meters). Lengthening of the aircraft had the same effect asincreasing the number of aircraft by 30 percent. The C-141 was thefirst jet aircraft designed to meet military standards as a troop andcargo carrier.

A universal air refueling receptacle on the C-141B transfers 23,592gallons (89,649.6 liters) of fuel in about 26 minutes, allowing longernon-stop flights and fewer fuel stops during worldwide airliftmissions. The C-141 force, nearing seven million flying hours, has aproven reliability and long-range capability.

The Starlifter, operated by the Air Mobility Command, can airliftcombat forces, equipment and supplies, and deliver them on the groundor by airdrop, using paratroop doors on each side and a rear loadingramp. It can be used for low-altitude delivery of paratroops andequipment, and high-altitude delivery of paratroops. It can alsoairdrop equipment and supplies using the container delivery system. Itis the first aircraft designed to be compatible with the 463L MaterialHandling System, which permits off-loading 68,000 pounds (30,600kilograms) of cargo, refueling and reloading a full load, all in lessthan an hour.

The C-141 has an all-weather landing system, pressurized cabin andcrew station. Its cargo compartment can easily be modified to performaround 30 different missions. About 200 troops or 155 fully equippedparatroops can sit in canvas side-facing seats, or 166 troops inrear-facing airline seats. Rollers in the aircraft floor allow quickand easy cargo pallet loading. A palletized lavatory and galley can beinstalled quickly to accommodate passengers, and when palletized cargois not being carried, the rollers can be turned over to leave asmooth, flat surface for loading vehicles.

In its aeromedical evacuation role, the Starlifter can carry about103 litter patients, 113 ambulatory patients or a combination of thetwo. It provides rapid transfer of the sick and wounded from remoteareas overseas to hospitals in the United States.

The Air Force Reserve, through its associate units, provides 50percent of the Starlifter's airlift crews, 40 percent of itsmaintenance capability and flies more than 30 percent of Air MobilityCommand's peacetime worldwide missions.

The first Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve units to receivethe C-141 as unit equipment became operational in fiscal 1987. Theunits are located at Jackson, Miss., and Andrews Air Force Base, Md.

During Desert Shield and Desert Storm, a C-141 from the 437thMilitary Airlift Wing, Charleston AFB, S.C., was the first Americanaircraft into Saudi Arabia, transporting an Airlift Control Elementfrom the 438th Military Airlift Wing, McGuire Air Force Base, N.J. Inthe following year, the C-141 completed the most airlift missions -7,047 out of 15,800 - supporting the Gulf War. It also carried morethan 41,400 passengers and 139,600 tons (125,690 metric tons) ofcargo.

The first C-141A, delivered to Tinker AFB, Okla., in October 1964,began squadron operations in April 1965. Soon, Starlifters madeflights almost daily to Southeast Asia, carrying troops, equipment andsupplies, and returning patients to U.S. hospitals.

Several C-141s have been modified to carry the Minutemanintercontinental ballistic missile in its special container, up to atotal weight of 92,000 pounds (41,400 kilograms). Some C-141s havebeen equipped with intraformation positioning sets that enable aflight of two to 36 aircraft to maintain formation regardless ofvisibility. The C-141 was the first jet transport from which U.S. Armyparatroopers jumped, and the first to land in the Antarctic. A C-141established a world record for heavy cargo drops of 70,195 pounds(31,587.7 kilograms).

Service Life

The first C-141B was received by the Air Force in December1979. Conversion of 270 C-141s from A to B models was completed in1982. C-141 modifications aim to preserve the remaining force byreliability and maintainability improvements and capabilityimprovements necessary for effective use through 2006. Thirteenaircraft will receive additional SOLL II upgrades under the SpecialOperations Forces Improvement program. Sixty-three aircraft in thecurrent C-141 fleet will undergo major modification. Each will receivethe All Weather Flight Control System (AWFCS) consisting of a digitalautopilot, advanced avionics display, and Ground Collision AvoidanceSystem (GCAS). Other major improvements include a Defensive Systems(DS), Fuel Quantity Indicating System, and GPS modifications. As ageneral rule, these 63 aircraft are the "youngest" (fewest equivalentdamage hours) in the fleet and will carry the weapon system throughprogrammed retirement in 2006.

• All Weather Flight Control System (AWFCS) The AWFCS modification is necessitated to alleviate reliability andmaintainability problems presently being experienced due to the aging(or rather aged) avionics systems on the C-141. The system'sfunctionality includes: autopilot, autothrottle, yaw damping, groundcollision warning, primary flight instrument display, and warningdisplay. LRUs installed by this modification (4 6x8 in. AMLCD DisplayUnits (DUs), 2 Automatic Flight Control Processors (AFCPs), 2 DisplayProcessor Units (DPUs), and 2 Display Avionics Management Units)replace approximately 19 antiquated LRUs, Indicators, andControls. Additionally, a new Ground Collision Avoidance System (GCAS)and Multi-function Standby Airspeed/Attitude/Altitude Indicator(w/independant airdata source) are installed during thismodification.
• GPS Enhanced Navigation System (GPSENS) GPSENS integrates into the AWFCS aircraft to provide GPS basednavigation and centralized and consolodated control of the majority ofaircraft communication and navigation equipment via 3 MultifunctionControl Display Units and 2 Navigational Processors. The Fuel SavingAdvisory System (FSAS) LRUs are removed and their functionality isrehosted within the Nav. Processors.
• Digital Fuel Quantity Indication System (FQIS)The new digital FQIS provides a display of fuel quantity in the samemanner as the old analog system - one indicator for each tank and atotalizer to sum each individual tank reading (except in a digitalformat vs the analog dail). All components and wiring of the oldsystem are replaced when the new system is installed. A completeaircraft kit consists of 11 Digital Fuel Qauntity Indicators (one partnumber which is interchangeable for all tank indicator positions andtotalizer), 68 Full Height Compensated (FHC) Fuel Probes, andassociated wiring. BIT capabilities facilitate ease of maintenance andtrouble shooting.
• Airlift Defensive System (ADS) ADS provides C-141 aircraft with a common self-protection capabilityagainst shoulder fired man portable Surface-to-Air Missilethreat.
• L-Band Satcom System Operating on the Inmarsat and GPS satellites with interconnection tointernational telex, fax and switched data networks, the L-Band Satcomsystem provides automatic (and manual) data reporting and messagetransfer of position reports, performance data and operationalmessages on a 24 hour global basis. Coverage is provided from sealevel to 55,000 feet from 70 degrees north to 70 degrees south.
• Interim GPS Provisions The C-141 aircraft is equipped with provisions to allow the use ofhand-held GPS equipment. Power and antenna access plugs are locatedat the aft end of the center pedestal. Hand-held GPS units in useconsist of the Precise Lightweight GPS Receiver (PLGR) and theBendix-King KLX-100 (Comm functions not allowed for on-aircraft use).
• Traffic Collision Aviodance System (TCAS)Current plans include the installation of a TCAS on the C-141aircraft.

Recently, the C-141 went through a series of major repairs. WingStation 405, windshield post crack repairs and center wing boxrepair/replacement are complete. As the aircraft continues to age, itis quite possible new structural problems may limit the readiness ofthe force. To slow aircraft aging of the active duty fleet, 56 PAIaircraft have been transferred to the UE Guard and Reserve as ofFY95. Additionally, the process of retiring high flight hourequivalent aircraft will culminate with the retirement of the entireAMC active duty fleet by FY03. Retirement of Guard and Reserveaircraft should culminate in FY06. No C-141 aircraft participated inOperation Enduring Freedom, because the Air Force relied on newer andbigger C-17 transports, but C-141 aircraft did transport capturedAl-Qaeda and Taliban fighters to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Sources and Resources

• C-141B Flight Crew Bulletin (FCB), Volume II (Section A) Update, 01 April 1998
• C-141B Flight Crew Bulletin (FCB), Volume II (Section B) Update, 01 April 1998
• C-141 System Program Management Directorate
• C-141B Starlifter Page
• C-141s end Special Operations missions (AMCNS) 14 April 1999 -- After more than 16 years of maintaining a Joint Chiefs of Staff-directed special operations force for global contingencies, the 16th Airlift Squadron officially began standing-down from that commitment April 9.

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