Air University Review, September-October 1967

Tactical Airlift

Captain Lowell W. Jones and Captain Don A. Lindbo

It was a little after 0300, in the early hours of 27 December 1966. The speaker standing before a serious-faced gathering of tactical airlift pilots and navigators was Lieutenant Colonel Luu Kim Cuong, Commander, 33d Wing, Vietnamese Air Force. Colonel Cuong was explaining to this joint gathering of American and Vietnamese airmen that the mission to be flown in the next few hours was to be the first airborne assault in a new offensive against the Viet Cong in the Mekong Delta region of South Vietnam. Vietnamese paratroopers, together with a sprinkling of American advisers, would be airdropped into two separate drop zones and form a pincer movement against a known battalion of Viet Cong. The Vietnamese Air Force would be flying C-47s; and the Americans, C-130s. Once again, the most widely known use of tactical airlift was being employed to initiate this new offensive against “Charlie.”

Tactical airlift, as it is known in the military today, was not developed by accident; it was born and bred. In 1908 Lieutenant Frank P. Lahm climbed aboard with Orville Wright and became the first military passenger in a heavier-than-air craft. In 1912, Captain Albert Berry stepped into the “wild blue yonder” with a parachute as his companion and completed the first successful jump from an airplane. From this beginning, the story of airlift has unfolded into a vast arena that offers many challenges.

Although progress was slow, the trend continued, and by World War II airlift started to become a part of air power along with the fighters and the bombers. In 1918, some military planes were used for the transportation of mail, beginning the air transportation system of today. It was not until after World War I, however, that the military’s first transport aircraft was built. Known as the Martin GMP or XT-1, it was a 12-place aircraft, patterned after the Martin bomber. Then with World War II such aircraft as the C-46 (the first aircraft designed for paratroop operations), C-47, C-54, and C-60 brought military airlift into its own. Since all these aircraft were versions of commercial designs and the later C-97 was a converted bomber (the B-29), the C-82 built in 1944 became the military’s first cargo aircraft specifically designed for that purpose.¹ Following the “Hump,” the Normandy invasion, and other airlift episodes, the pace quickened as new areas of conflict required great reaction and mobility of forces.

Since World II, a tremendous airlift capability has been needed to meet transportation requirements. The Berlin Airlift, Korea, Dien Bien Phu, the Congo rescue, the Dominican crisis, and now Vietnam are only a few examples of the mounting importance of airlift and the capabilities required.

Over the past decade, the overall airlift mission has evolved. The new concepts and tactics needed to support the Army in combat brought about an increasing requirement for a more sophisticated type of airlift support, which as become known as tactical airlift. The Tactical Air Command was given the primary responsibility of this mission. In contrast to strategic airlift (intertheater), which is the long-haul capability of the Military Airlift Command, tactical airlift (intratheater) provides direct airlift support to Army forces. This direct support environment requires TAC to maintain a dual capability: one is to support airborne assault, and the other is to provide airborne, airmobile, and conventional Army forces battlefield mobility and forward area resupply. This is the job now being performed in Southeast Asia.

airborne assault

The airborne assault operation conducted on 27 December in the Delta region of South Vietnam was the first phase of a new offensive, but it was not the first employment of airborne assault in Vietnam. Numerous airborne operations involving personnel drops of hundreds of troops have been conducted in South Vietnam. U.S. Air Force C-123s and C-130s have been performing a majority of the drops, but other old-timers such as the C-47 still do their share of the work.

These airborne assault operations are not such “old hat” that they are taken for granted. Exercise Swift Strike III in 1963 employed mass drops of men and equipment using newly developed techniques and procedures. The “pop-up” method of airborne delivery was tested at this time, using the C-130 in a new in-trail formation, flying low and fast to the drop zone, and then “popping up” to drop altitude over the drop zone. This procedure and others were tested again during Exercise Deep Furrow 65, when joint NATO forces were dropped in a war exercise in Turkey. Since then Exercises Rapid Strike and Frontier Assault (February 1967) have been conducted to test other new techniques, the latter specifically to test new equipment under arctic conditions.

It is during the airborne assault operation that the heavy-equipment airdrops are used to the greatest extent. Large numbers of airdropped troops must be supplied with their unit equipment quickly so that operations on the ground can be initiated immediately after the drop. For heavy-equipment drops performed by the tactical airlift fleet, a simple roller conveyer or “skate wheel” device is installed in the C-7A and C-123, and a more sophisticated 463L Materials Handling System is installed in the C-130. In each of these systems the load is strapped to a platform with a collapsible packing of a corrugated cardboard called honeycomb, which absorbs the shock. An extraction chute, deployed at drop time, cuts a breakaway strap and pulls the load from the aircraft. The main parachutes (normally six or fewer) are then deployed and the load is on its way. The use of airborne assault will continue as long as the requirement exists to rapidly deploy a force directly into a distant combat zone.

intratheater logistical airlift

Although the airborne assault operation is the most challenging role of tactical airlift, intratheater logistical support of the Army is the more important role. This support is accomplished in two ways by tactical airlift forces: airland and airdrop. Airland is self-explanatory and is performed by all the aircraft of the tactical airlift fleet. Air Force C-7As (formerly the Army CV-2), C-123s, and C-130s operate daily into and out of a variety of places, including some of the shortest and most insecure landing strips in the world. These missions originate in response to routine requests, which are scheduled daily, and rush or emergency requests, which require the swiftest resupply possible to save an outpost or military operation. Not all these requests can be fulfilled by airland operations, for lack of usable landing area. The development of airdrop techniques, along with the newer extraction modes, has produced reliable systems to supplement airland when it cannot be used. This is particularly true in supporting small units of the Army in forward areas, where landing zones are usually not available.

463L Materials Handling System

To support these airland and airdrop roles, a cargo handling system was needed to replace the mixture of nonstandard items that was being used. The system was to include all phases of cargo handling from the terminal to the user and was to provide a rapid aircraft onload and offload capability. This need resulted in the development of the 463L Materials Handling System. The 463L system includes terminal, ground handling, and aircraft equipment designed to standardize the handling of air freight. This system was designed primarily for air logistic missions but has been adapted to the roles of tactical airlift. The 463L aircraft equipment includes rails that are fastened to the floor along the sides of the cargo compartment. These rails have integral locks which secure the standard 463L aluminum cargo pallets in place. The pallets are easily loaded and offloaded on floor rollers which are a part of the 463L aircraft equipment. All tactical airlift C-130 aircraft have had the 463L system installed. This system has proved its worth in ground time saved in loading and offloading aircraft at established airfields having terminal equipment. Considerable time will also be saved for aircraft operating in an intratheater role when more ground handling equipment becomes available at forward landing strips.

The 463L system has been a major factor in the development of new and more efficient aerial delivery systems, which have allowed the theater commander flexibility in selecting the best mode of delivery to meet the tactical situation. The multiple modes of delivery can be broken down into two airdrop methods, paradrop and extraction.

paradrop

The paradrop modes of delivery are those in which the load is lowered to the ground with a parachute, whereas with the extraction method the load is considered to fall to the ground, but it is extracted, stabilized, and slowed by the parachute.

PLADS. The parachute low-altitude delivery system (PLADS) is a paradrop method of delivering A-22 resupply containers into small, isolated areas where pinpoint accuracy is required. The A-22 container is equivalent to four 55-gallon oil drums. The system can be used to support Special Forces operations or to resupply company-size units in forward areas. PLADS is capable of delivering one 500-to 2000-pound container on each pass across the drop zone. The load to be dropped is placed on the rear edge of the aircraft ramp and is held in the aircraft by a calibrated nylon breakaway strap. A single ringslot extraction parachute is used to extract and lower the load. The ringslot parachute is constructed of concentric rings of material, spaced several inches apart, extending from the skirt to the apex of the canopy. Approximately 10 seconds prior to the drop, the extraction chute, with its skirt tied (reefed) to a smaller diameter, is deployed into the slipstream and towed behind the aircraft. At drop time, the parachute jump light (green light) is turned on, completing an electrical circuit to an explosive reefing line cutter, which cuts the reefing line and permits the extraction chute to expand (dereef) to its full diameter. When the parachute canopy fully deploys, it breaks the nylon breakaway strap and extracts the load from the aircraft. The load, following a pendulum trajectory, impacts at or near the vertical after swinging 90 degrees of arc.

The PLADS drop is made at 225 feet above ground level (AGL) and at 120 knots speed. The accuracy of this drop is evidenced by the fact that a 20-yard by 20-yard drop zone (DZ) is considered adequate for PLADS operations. PLADS can also be dropped into trees or jungle if necessary, as the relatively high velocity of this drop will enable it to penetrate through the trees with a good probability of load survivability. The high accuracy of PLADS gives it a distinct advantage over other systems, although the one container per pass, with its weight limitation, is presently a drawback. This useful method of airdrop was developed for and is primarily used in the C-130 aircraft, but it has now been adapted for use in the C-123 and C-7A aircraft also.

CDS. The container delivery system (CDS) is a method of dropping multiple A-22 containers from 463L rail-equipped C-130s. The system is a recent adaptation of earlier A-22 container drop systems to the 463L-configured aircraft. The C-130 is presently capable of dropping 12 containers weighing up to 2200 pounds each, and the system will soon be approved for dropping 16 containers. This will give the C-130 the capability of dropping up to 35,200 pounds of supplies. The CDS is primarily a gravity drop in that once the aft restraint is removed the containers are free to roll out of the aircraft. An extraction parachute cuts the retaining strap holding the load in the aircraft. CDS drops are normally performed with no flaps, to give the aircraft a nose-high attitude, which speeds the departure of the load once the aft restraint has been cut.

There are now two CDS’s for the C-130, the G-13 (24-foot-diameter parachute) or low-level CDS and the G-12 (64-foot-diameter parachute) CDS. The G-13 CDS can be used for containers weighing up to 750 pounds with one G-13 cargo parachute and up to 1500 lb if two G-13s are used. The G-13 CDS can be performed from as low as 400 ft AGL and employs a pull-up during delivery, which gives a greater density of containers on the ground. The G-12 CDS uses one G-12 cargo parachute and it has the capability of dropping up to 2200 lb. The minimum drop altitude for this type chute is 600 ft AGL.

Positive ejection systems. There are many other methods or adaptations for dropping the A-22 and similar containers. The powered-impulse or motor-operated sled ejections are methods of boosting the load from the aircraft. These methods have the advantage of predictable exit time and thereby eliminate one of the many variables affecting drop accuracy. Some of these methods are being investigated for possible adaptation to the tactical airlift fleet. All tactical airlift aircraft (C-130, C-123, C-7A) airdrop the various resupply containers by different means. The reserve C-119 also has the capability to airdrop heavy equipment as well as the various resupply containers needed to support ground forces.

extraction

The extraction modes of aerial delivery are relatively new innovations that have many applications and advantages over some of the existing systems. The extraction systems use either a parachute or ground-installed equipment to extract and decelerate loads from aircraft flying at approximately five feet AGL. Any relatively clear and level area that will permit five to ten seconds of flight at five feet AGL can be used for extraction deliveries.

LAPES. The low-altitude parachute extraction system (LAPES) is a self-contained system using a 28-foot ringslot parachute to extract and decelerate the load. The parachute, electrical components, and the dereefing technique are identical to those used in the PLADS drop. Fifteen or twenty seconds prior to the drop, the reefed extraction chute is deployed and towed behind the aircraft. The aircraft continues a descending approach and is stabilized at approximately five feet AGL in a level-flight attitude when crossing the panels marking the extraction zone (EZ). At this time the copilot turns on the green “jump” light and electrically dereefs the extraction chute. The greatly increased drag of the fully deployed extraction chute overcomes the load restraint, pulls the load from the aircraft, stabilizes it, and aids in slowing it to a stop.

The C-130 is presently capable of extracting a tandem load (2 platforms) weighing up to 28,000 pounds, and testing is currently in progress to raise this capability to 48,000 pounds. Besides the heavy tonnage capability, LAPES can deliver loads into narrow areas such as dirt or paved roads, river beds, etc., or into airstrips too short for C-130 airland operations.

LOLEX. The Army developed an extraction system called LOLEX (low-level extraction), which is presently being used in the C-7A aircraft. The basic difference between LAPES and LOLEX is the type of chute used. LOLEX uses an unreefed ringslot extraction chute instead of the reefed chute. The primary advantage of the LOLEX system is its simplicity in that it does not require the electrical wiring and dereefing needed for LAPES. The immediate extraction provided by LAPES gives a predictable exit time and a more accurate delivery into a shorter EZ.

GPES. Another system that has been extensively tested by TAC but is not being used is the ground proximity extraction system (GPES), which operates in much the same manner as the arresting gear of a Navy aircraft making a carrier landing. The need for ground installed equipment, its cost, and the difficulty of engaging the arresting cable are the principal disadvantages of GPES.

Free fall. Another method of airdrop being used in Vietnam is known as the freefall method. Certain relatively indestructible items, such as rolls of concertina wire, have been “thrown” or rolled from the aircraft without any airdrop rigging or parachutes attached. This drop is performed from a relatively low altitude. The aircraft enters a shallow climb at the drop zone to effect the drop by gravity. The C-123 is the primary aircraft used for this type of drop in Vietnam today.

As early as 1963 these new modes of paradrop and extraction were tested and evaluated in joint exercises with the Army; GPES was tested in July and August of 1963 during Swift Strike III. In 1964 Desert Strike, the Indian River series, and Gold Fire I concentrated on the application of LAPES, GPES, and PLADS to current tactics associated with Army operations. Exercise Rapid Strike in May-June 1966 continued the testing of these new techniques. Such exercises have determined the feasibility and value of the systems tested and many have been incorporated in the operations in Southeast Asia.

other TAC aircraft roles

Aeromedical evacuation is another important role of tactical airlift, especially in Southeast Asia. Operating in the forward areas where the action is, C-123, C-7A, and C-130 aircraft evacuate wounded to the larger established bases, where they can be treated and transferred to other aircraft for airlift out of country. Emergency evacuations are not limited to combat personnel, however, as tactical airlift aircraft often evacuate military personnel or civilians who need immediate attention.

Airlift aircraft are inherently versatile, since they were originally designed to perform a variety of tasks. Because of this versatility, many other jobs have been discovered for them. In addition to the missions we have discussed, the tasks performed by tactical airlift include augmenting the Military Airlift Command (MAC) in intertheater airlift and search and rescue operations, supporting the National Aeronautics and Space Administration during space shots, participating in worldwide combat exercises, serving as airborne command posts, spraying populated areas to suppress disease, defoliating jungle areas that harbor our enemies, and supporting State Department missions such as USO shows and other goodwill activities. This growing list of missions signifies the importance of tactical airlift operations in our world today.

aircraft in Southeast Asia

The multiple role and versatility of the tactical airlift mission can be seen in day-today operations in Southeast Asia today. Secretary of the Air Force Dr. Harold Brown stated in December 1966:

Within the theater, our C-130’s, C-123’s and combined Air Force/Army CV-2’s have hauled a greater tonnage thus far in 1966 than was airlifted by troop carrier units in the entire Korean War. These tactical airlift forces move troops into battle and supply them with food, weapons, equipment, and ammunition in a land of heavy forests, soggy rice fields, and often unpassable roads. Airlift has been a priceless asset. Without it, our air and ground forces could not have operated nearly so successfully.²

In support of Secretary Brown’s statement, it is interesting to note that the C-123 and C-130 aircraft flying in South Vietnam last year logged more than 175,000 sorties to deliver 545,000 tons of cargo and more than 1,500,000 passengers.³

The C-130 units in South Vietnam are located at four different bases: Tan. Son Nhut AB outside Saigon, and Cam Ranh Bay AB, Nha Trang AB, and Da Nang AB on the eastern coastline near large port facilities. The crews and aircraft rotate from out-of-country bases and stay in-country several weeks at a time. C-7A and C-123 crews are permanently stationed in South Vietnam. The C-123s operate out of Tan Son Nhut, Bien Hoa, Nha Trang, and Da Nang, while the C-7A crews stage at Vung Tau, Cam Ranh Bay, and Phu Cat.

A typical day for a C-130 crew in South Vietnam begins at or before dawn and ends that evening, twelve hours later. Twelve hours is the normal duty day but may be extended to accomplish an important mission. The crew reports to the aircraft approximately two hours prior to the scheduled takeoff time, to make necessary preparations. With each crew member performing his job in a professional manner, the propellers are soon turning as the big four-engine turboprop begins what is to be a full day’s work. . . . Eleven tons of rice, C rations, and helicopter parts, plus ten passengers, fill the cargo compartment as the C-130 lifts off on schedule for its destination in the central highlands of Vietnam near Pleiku AB. The cargo and passengers are delivered into a 3000-foot dirt strip that is the center of a large U.S. Army operation. Soon the C-130 is airborne again, with medical evacuees and high-value items being returned to the rear for repairs. After a short flight, the C-130 touches down at the home base. This time the crew receives a mission to carry a load of fuel bladders to an outpost only 40 miles from Saigon, where a large helicopter operation needs the fuel badly. Nine fuel bladders with a total weight of over 30,000 pounds are loaded by forklift, and at destination, only 15 minutes after takeoff, the bladders are rolled out the rear loading ramp without stopping engines. After only a few minutes on the ground, the C-130 is on its way back for another load. The engines are shut down for reloading, and the crew takes time to refuel, check over the aircraft, and possibly buy a hamburger or break open some C rations for lunch. Shortly the C-130 is taxiing out again for takeoff. The round trip, including loading time, takes approximately one hour, and the crew completes four more shuttles before the sun goes down and the short runway at the outpost can no longer be seen. The crew has flown twelve sorties (six shuttles) since the day began, carrying 45 bladders of fuel in five shuttles and 24,000 pounds of supplies and passengers on the first shuttle. The aircraft is quickly checked and refueled, and another crew reports, prepared for a 12-hour night shuttle tour. The night crew normally flies routine resupply missions into the larger airfields.

The activities just described are by no means standard. The missions vary greatly, and so do the loads. One crew may not go into the same airfield more than once a week, and the missions may include airdrops, flare missions, or any of the other tasks previously discussed. The new modes of aerial delivery, such as PLADS and LAPES, are rapidly becoming integrated into the tactical airlift operations in South Vietnam. As for load variety, the tactical airlift fleet literally carries everything from pigs to plasma. The C-123 is the “hog hauler” of the fleet, virtually able to supply an outpost with all its livestock needs. Even though the C-130 performs most of the airlift in South Vietnam and is used as the example here, the tactical airlift fleet relies heavily on both the C-123 and C-7A, which carried the bulk of the intratheater airlift workload before 1965 and still performs operations into the shorter strips where the C-130 is limited.

In Southeast Asia today the airlift task is monumental, requiring not only planes and crews but also men and equipment to support them. As an example of the airlift requirements in South Vietnam, a look at the tonnages handled by Tan Son Nhut Air Base should serve as an eye-opener. During August of 1966, the 8th Aerial Port at Tan Son Nhut set a one-day record of 1201 tons.⁴ By comparison, Travis AFB, California, MAC’s busiest stateside terminal on a record day in February 1967 handled 951 tons of cargo. This cannot be accomplished with men and planes alone. Aerial port, maintenance, transportation, POL, combat control teams, and many other base support personnel are all responsible for attaining this record. Outstanding performance is required from the tactical airlift fleet and the people who support it, and the record shows that this performance has become a reality in South Vietnam today.

needed improvements

Despite these impressive accomplishments and capabilities, there is a requirement for many near-term improvements to overcome some present limitations. A problem area that is being rapidly improved but still needs further effort is that of decreasing onloading and offloading times. Vietnam experience has shown that this problem is magnified in several ways at some of the more austere airfields, where parking space limits the number of aircraft that can be on the ground at one time to one or two. These fields either have only Army personnel who are completely unfamiliar with the aircraft to assist in on/offloading or have an aerial port detachment of maybe two people with very little or no equipment. As more rough-terrain loaders and forklifts become available at these austere airfields, the aircraft turnaround times will decrease and tonnages will increase.

Tactical Air Command at Langley AFB, Virginia, in conjunction with the Tactical Air Warfare Center (TAWC) at Eglin AFB, Florida, and the newly organized Tactical Airlift Center (TALC) at Pope AFB, North Carolina, is continually studying and testing new methods, techniques, and equipment so that tactical airlift can continue to provide support to anyone, anytime, anywhere.

Considerable emphasis is being placed on the development and procurement of equipment that will improve airland capabilities. Portable, lightweight, readily assembled LZ/DZ markers and lights and a portable instrument landing system (ILS) are some of the items that will improve present airlanding and airdrop capabilities. Very lightweight markers and lights that combat control teams (CCT’S) can jump with and assemble readily are being developed and tested. The portable ILS under development will be installable in minutes and will bring an aircraft down to an LZ or EZ with weather minimums of 200 feet and ½ mile.

Fertile areas for improvement are the paradrop and extraction modes of aerial delivery. These delivery modes evolved primarily to make up for the limitations of existing airlift aircraft. They are much more expensive than airlanding, but they do enable an aircraft to deliver troops, equipment, and supplies farther forward in the battle area. It is believed that the advent of large numbers of vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) aircraft will decrease the importance of these delivery Systems. However, the present tactical airlift aircraft, especially the C-130, will be around for many years, so continued interest in improving airdrop and extraction capabilities is vital. Immediately needed improvements include higher reliabilities, improved accuracies, cheaper chutes and equipment, heavier unit load capabilities, and the ability to drop from lower altitudes. Much effort is being expended toward improvement in these areas.

The Army is conducting development efforts toward establishing the capability to deliver cargo/equipment loads of from 2000 to 35,000 pounds at altitudes of 500 feet or less. The Air Force is sponsoring a development program for the airdrop of payloads of 25,000 to 70,000 pounds at minimum altitudes up to 30,000 feet and at airspeeds up to 200 knots. Tests are also being conducted to determine the lowest safe altitude from which equipment can be dropped using present-day chutes and procedures. Wind is the most unpredictable element and the variable most affecting drop accuracy. Lowering drop altitudes drastically reduces exposure time to the wind and thereby has a great effect on improving accuracy.

Tests are being conducted under a program called low-altitude aerial delivery Systems (LAADS). The objective of this program is to use the main parachute(s) both for extracting a platform load of supplies or equipment from the aircraft and for lowering it to the ground. This would serve to lower drop altitudes to 500 feet or less by reducing the vertical distance required for the main parachutes to deploy fully. These chutes, with their large area, provide a tremendous extraction “g” force, creating the problem of rigging the load and platform to withstand it. Another very serious problem is that if the load should snag or hang tip on anything on its way out, the results could be catastrophic.

Airdrop methods are expensive, and the bigger and heavier the item, the more expensive the system becomes. Both low-cost disposable parachutes and reusable parachutes are under development, but it is not known when they may become available. A cost analysis of a heavy drop using 6 G-11 parachutes, based on one delivery and without the recovery of equipment, showed an approximate cost of $9200. The same analysis showed that a LAPES delivery of the same weight would cost approximately $2800.⁵ Actual costs would be less than these, since some of the parachutes and equipment could be reused. These figures indicate that pursuing some of the new modes of delivery is sound from the standpoint of cost.

Considerable effort has also been expended in the development of steerable parachutes, to be dropped from high altitude. This type of drop could conceivably have many applications, but the cost of the radio control equipment and parachute steering mechanisms may limit its use to special or emergency deliveries.

There is urgent need for an improved adverse-weather capability for tactical airlift. There is a program to develop the adverse-weather aerial delivery system (AWADS), to provide the C-130 fleet with this capability. When this equipment is installed, flying formation (enroute station keeping), airdrops, and airlanding at remote sites will be possible at night and tinder adverse weather conditions.

There is a future requirement for aircraft designed more specifically for the tactical airlift role. This is considered necessary to enable tactical airlift to continue supporting the Army in its ground combat role and to increase the capability of providing it battlefield mobility. A true STOL aircraft would be an interim measure until VTOL technology and development are more advanced. A V/STOL transport aircraft with its range, speed, and vertical capability has many applications. A fixed-wing V/STOL aircraft will inherently have much better STOL than VTOL performance; an example is the XC-142, which can take off and land vertically with approximately 8000 pounds of cargo but can carry approximately 16,000 pounds when operating in the STOL mode. Such an aircraft would obviate or certainly minimize much costly and time-consuming runway construction. It would interface with strategic sealift either directly from the ship or from the beach. It would eliminate much transshipment between tactical airlift and Army organic air by providing delivery to the user in the battle area. By being able to land virtually anywhere, it would greatly enhance Army battlefield mobility.

New alloys, plastics, and fiber materials, with greatly improved strength and weight characteristics, are being developed. These developments eventually may make it possible to build a V/STOL aircraft with greater lift-to-weight ratios than the lift/drag of an aircraft wing. If this occurs, the skeptics should be convinced that fixed-wing V/STOL aircraft are entirely feasible and a needed capability for tactical airlift.

The future of tactical airlift is both interesting and challenging. New technological advances have opened many avenues through which tactical airlift operations will benefit. Long-term possibilities include the hot cycle, stowed rotor, folding rotor, rotor wing, lift fan, and vectored thrust concepts.

The requirement to provide the Army battlefield mobility and support in the forward areas remains the primary mission of the tactical airlift force. The present capabilities and future developments that have been discussed are only a part of the continuing effort to expand and improve tactical airlift’s ability to accomplish this mission.

Hq Tactical Air Command

Notes

1.Charles H. Lamback, Highlights of Air Transportation in the United States Air Force (Pittsburgh, 1954), pp. 15-18.

2.Secretary of the Air Force Harold Brown, Speech to Aviation/Space Writers Association Meeting, Washington, D.C., 8 December 1966, Supplement to the Air Force Policy Letter for Commanders, January 1967, p. 6.

3. Strike, Vol. V, No.10 (January 1967), MacDill AFB, Tampa, Florida, p. 4.

4.Major C. L. Deare, Jr., USAF, “Airlift in Vietnam,” Air Force and Space Digest, Vol. 49, No. 11 (November 1966), p.50.

5. PLADS PAK. Combined Usage System Status Report, Aerospace Research Corporation, Minneapolis, Minnesota, 31 May 1966.

Contributor

Captain Lowell W. Jones (USAFA) is an Operations Staff Officer, Directorate of Airlift Operations, Hq Tactical Air Command. After graduating from the Academy, he completed flying training in 1962. Then attended the USAF Survival School, Stead AFB, Nevada. While assigned to the 464th Troop Carrier Wing, Pope AFB, North Carolina, in 1963 he spent six months in South Vietnam, flying C-123 transport aircraft. In 1964 he flew C-130E missions during the Dominican crisis, and in 1966 served with the 776th Troop Carrier Squadron, based at Ching Chuan Kang Air Base, Taiwan. Captain Jones is a 1965 graduate of the Squadron Officer School.

Captain Don A. Lindo (B.S., University of North Dakota) is an Air Operations Officer, Tactics and Systems Branch, Directorate of Airlift, DCS/Operations, Hq Tactical Air Command. Commissioned from ROTC, he completed flying training in 1962 and attended the USAF Survival School, Stead AFB, Nevada. He served as a C-130A aircraft commander and instructor pilot, 815th Troop Carrier Squadron, Tachikawa AB, Japan, 1963-66, Captain Lindbo completed the U.S. Army Basic Airborne Course in 1964 and qualified as a parachutist.

Disclaimer

The conclusions and opinions expressed in this document are those of the author cultivated in the freedom of expression, academic environment of Air University. They do not reflect the official position of the U.S. Government, Department of Defense, the United States Air Force or the Air University.

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