11 Facts About C-141 Starlifter

Lockheed C-141 Starlifter is a retired military strategic airlifter that served with the Military Air Transport Service, its successor organization the Military Airlift Command, and finally the Air Mobility Command of the United States Air Force.

Lockheed C-141 Starlifter is a long range strategic airlifter, designed for transporting large quantities of either cargo or passengers.

Accordingly, the C-141 Starlifter was capable of carrying, for example, a complete LGM-30 Minuteman intercontinental ballistic missile in its container; it was capable of carrying a maximum of 70,847 pounds over short distances, and carry up to 92,000 pounds when appropriately configured to carry the Minuteman, which lacked other equipment.

In terms of ground logistics, an important aspect of the C-141 Starlifter was the floor height of the cabin being only 50 inches above the ground, enabling easy access to the cabin via the large rear doors incorporated into the upwards-sweeping rear fuselage.

Prototype and development aircraft were involved in an intensive operational testing program, along with the first C-141 Starlifter to be delivered to MATS on 19 October 1964 to the 1707th Air Transport Wing, Heavy, Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma.

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Capabilities such as short-field takeoff performance and suitability for austere airstrips meant that such aircraft proved useful, while the C-141 Starlifter proved to be anything but robust, suffering numerous instances of structural failures.

Specifically, the C-141 Starlifter fleet was troubled by seemingly random cracking through the wing area, which was, according to a report compiled by the Government Accountability Office, sometimes attributable to stresses imposed under certain types of missions undertaken.

The C-141 Starlifter proved to be a workhorse airlifter of Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm, flying 159,462 short tons of cargo and 93,126 passengers during 8,536 airlift missions.

On 16 September 2004, the C-141 Starlifter left service with all active USAF units, being confined to Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard units for the final two years of its operational service life.

Original Starlifter model, designated C-141A, could carry 154 passengers, 123 paratroopers or 80 litters for wounded with seating for 16.

In service, the C-141 Starlifter proved to "bulk out" before it "grossed out", meaning that it often had additional lift capacity that went wasted because the cargo hold was full before the plane's weight capacity had been reached.