transport: Lockheed C-5 Galaxy

Evidence: 100 • authority: 72

The Lockheed C-5 Galaxy is a large four-engine military transport aircraft designed and built by Lockheed Corporation, and now maintained and upgraded by its successor, Lockheed Martin. It provides the United States Air Force (USAF) with a heavy intercontinental-range strategic airlift capability, one that can carry outsized and oversized loads, including all air-certifiable cargo. The Galaxy has many similarities to the smaller Lockheed C-141 Starlifter and the later Boeing C-17 Globemaster III. The C-5 is among the largest military aircraft in the world. All 52 in-service aircraft have been upgraded to the C-5M Super Galaxy with new engines and modernized avionics designed to extend its s…

Evidence: 59 • authority: 72

On 4 April 1975, a Lockheed C-5A Galaxy participating in the first mission of Operation Babylift crashed on approach during an emergency landing at Tan Son Nhut Air Base, South Vietnam. The cause was ascribed to loss of flight control due to explosive decompression and structural failure. The accident, which killed 138 of the 314 people aboard the plane, marked the second operational loss and first fatal crash for the C-5 Galaxy fleet and is the third deadliest accident involving a U.S. military aircraft, after the 1968 Kham Duc C-130 shootdown and Arrow Air Flight 1285R (1985).

Evidence: — • authority: 80

ANALYSIS OF THE STRUCTURE OF THE AIRCRAFT FLEET OF THE LARGEST CARGO AIRLINES IN THE WORLD

Evidence: — • authority: 72

The McDonnell Douglas/Boeing C-17 Globemaster III is a large military transport aircraft developed for the United States Air Force (USAF) during the 1980s and the early 1990s by McDonnell Douglas. The C-17 carries forward the name of two previous piston-engined military cargo aircraft, the Douglas C-74 Globemaster and the Douglas C-124 Globemaster II. The C-17 is based upon the YC-15, a smaller prototype airlifter designed during the 1970s. It was designed to replace the Lockheed C-141 Starlifter, and also fulfill some of the duties of the Lockheed C-5 Galaxy. The redesigned airlifter differs from the YC-15 in that it is larger and has swept wings and more powerful engines. Development was…

Evidence: — • authority: 72

Military gliders (an offshoot of common gliders) have been used by the militaries of various countries for carrying troops (glider infantry) and heavy equipment to a combat zone, mainly during the Second World War. These engineless aircraft were towed into the air and most of the way to their target by military transport planes, e.g., C-47 Skytrain or Dakota, or bombers relegated to secondary activities, e.g., Short Stirling. Most military gliders do not soar, although there were attempts to build military sailplanes as well, such as the DFS 228. Once released from the tow craft near the front, they were to land on any convenient open terrain close to the target, hopefully with as little da…