The C-141 and its 41 Years of Service

By JIM PURCELL

In August 1986, I was going through Airborne School at Fort Benning, Georgia. My class had gone through Ground and Tower weeks and now it was Jump Week. The night before my first jump, I was nervous and might have gotten two hours of sleep.

Paratroopers exit a C-141 StarLifter

   The next day, my class was transported to Lawson Army Airfield and we put on our parachutes and were checked by our black hats to make sure we got everything on right. This time, it was going to be a “Hollywood Jump,” meaning no equipment.

   Outside of the hangar was a camouflaged C-141 StarLifter. At first it was imposing. But, we ended up waiting on Green Ramp for about an hour and a half for a final check of the plane. Eventually, an Air Force NCO strolled out with his coffee cup in hand and walked around the aircraft. He gave it a ‘thumbs up’ and everything started.

   I was in the second stick, which means order of exit from the door. I was so nervous my teeth got itchy. But, I liked the fact we were in a C-141. There were differences in door exits between the C-141 and the C-130 Hercules. With the C-141, you step out, but with the C-130 you have to jump some. At that point, I didn’t need one more thing to do.

   As the plane approached Fryar Drop Zone, my class was given the visual command to stand up (you couldn’t hear a thing because it was so loud). The first stick gave its “All OK” to the jumpmaster and proceeded to disappear out of the door. Thankfully, my brain stopped thinking and by the time my stick gave the “All OK” I didn’t have anything on my mind but going.

   As I exited the aircraft, I was pulled up hard and fast as the parachute opened. And, when I looked up and saw silk from the T-10 parachute above my head, I was never happier in my whole life. I even started laughing as I got ready for my parachute landing fall. I purposefully slipped away from everyone because I didn’t want anyone to ‘take my air,’ which happens when someone descends directly above you.

   The jump went great, my landing fall went great, so I gathered my parachute and headed over to the bleachers. So began my love affair with the C-141.

THE C-141: BORN IN THE 1960s

   When President John F. Kennedy introduced the C-141StarLifter to the American public, in August 1963, it was the first jet-powered cargo and transport plane in history.

The C-141 was the backbone of the Air Force for 30 years

   The C-141 was designed and produced by Lockheed, in the company’s Marietta, Georgia facility. The plane was created to replace the propeller-driven, slower C-124 Globemaster II and the C-133 Cargomaster. The government specifications for the C-141 were established in 1960 and it took three years to create the first working C-141.

   Though the prototype for the C-141 was created in 1963, it would be two more years for the U.S. Government to receive its initial order of 285 planes: 284 were put into service with the United States Air Force and one C-141 was given to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration for use as an airborne observatory.

   Between 1965 and 2006, the C-141 served as the mainstay of the U.S. military. During its service, the C-141 performed duty in every military action from the Vietnam War through Operation Iraqi Freedom, including Operation Desert Storm, Somalia and the invasions of Granada and Panama, respectively.

The crew of an Air Force c-141C

   The C-141 was categorized as a “strategic airlifter” and began its service with the Military Air Transport Service. Later, the Air Force changed MATS into the Military Airlift Command. MAC then turned into the Air Mobility Command. As the C-141 aged, it became part of the Air Force Reserve and finally was transferred to the air mobility wing of the Air Education and Training Command.

EVOLUTION OF THE C-141

   The C-141 had several variants throughout its long service. There was the C-141A, C-141B, the SOLL II and the C-141C. The aircraft had a crew of between five and seven: two pilots, two flight engineers, one navigator and a load master. It also carried a medical crew of five when on MEDEVAC missions.

C-141 aircraft drop paratroopers during an exercise in Egypt

   The aircraft was 168 feet, 4 inches long; its wingspan was 160 feet; it was almost 40 feet high; weighed 144,492 pounds when empty; and could reach a maximum speed of 567 miles per hour. It had a range of 2,935 miles and could reach up to a ceiling of 41,000 feet. The C-141 could also carry up to 50,000 pounds.

   During the Vietnam War (1955-1975), the aircraft was nicknamed the “Hanoi Taxi,” in 1973, since the C-141 was essential in repatriating 600 American prisoners of war formerly held in North Vietnam. The C-141 also played a pivotal role in the evacuation of Saigon, in 1975. The C-141 also evacuated 78 wounded Marines in the wake of the 1983 Beirut Bombing. Throughout its service, the C-141 performed humanitarian missions in 70 countries around the globe.

   During its four decades of service in the Air Force, former Lieutenant Colonel Eric Wydra, of the 6^th Airlift Squadron at McGuire Air Force Base, in New Jersey, stated that modern airlift “grew up around the C-141.” He added that for 30 of its 41 years of service in the Air Force, the C-141 was the backbone of military airlift capabilities. Finally, though, the C-141 was replaced with the C-17 Globemaster III.