Lockheed C-141C Starlifter "Hanoi Taxi"
While the C-141A Starlifter had done well in the 1960s, especially in supply efforts over Vietnam, the aircraft had one glaring problem: it would “bulk out” before it reached its projected payload weight: the fuselage would be full, but the aircraft was capable of carrying more. In response to this and the C-141’s need for fueling stops on long trips, the USAF began upgrading the C-141A fleet to C-141B standard.
By adding two plugs fore and aft of the wings, the fuselage was stretched 23 feet. While the Starlifter was still incapable of carrying oversize loads, it now could carry up to its full weight. Inflight refuelling capability was also added. All surviving C-141As were upgraded between 1977 and 1982 to B standard, essentially adding 90 new C-141s to the fleet without building new aircraft. With the C-5B Galaxy also entering service, the C-141B gave the USAF unmatched air transport capability, something that would be very useful in time of war. Its first wartime service would be Operation Desert Shield, the buildup to the First Gulf War of 1991. Starlifters carried nearly half of all payloads delivered to the Southwest Asia theater.
The 1990s would see the most use of the aircraft, especially over the wartorn former nations of Yugoslavia. During NATO efforts to resupply Bosnian towns cut off by Serbian forces, C-141s were flown from Rhein-Main airbase at low level over Bosnia, where cargo pallets were dropped from the rear filled with food. As these pallets could cause damage when they hit the ground, the pallets were replaced by food boxes tied together: these boxes would break apart in midair and float down on individual parachutes. These “food bombs” would be used later in other areas where the C-141 was unable to land. Other Rhein-Main based Starlifters made the trip into the Bosnian capital of Sarajevo, the airport of which was considered one of the most dangerous spots on earth, constantly subject to mortar and sniper fire, and required a diving approach to avoid being shot at by Serbian antiaircraft units posted in the mountains around the airport. C-141s and other NATO transports kept the city alive during its three-year siege, which finally ended in 1995.
In response to this, 13 C-141Bs were modified to SOLL II standard, with low-light vision equipment, GPS, and defensive chaff/flare countermeasures, for operations over high-threat areas or in conjunction with Special Forces units. Later, about a third of the lowest-timed Starlifters were modified to C-141C standard, with a new “glass” cockpit and upgraded avionics.
Despite the upgrade, the days of the C-141 were numbered. It was getting old, and wing cracks had begun to appear on older aircraft. As the C-17 Globemaster III was now coming into service, Starlifters began to be retired. The C-141Cs soldiered on long enough to be used in Afghanistan and Iraq, where they finally used their paratroop-carrying capability in combat, dropping elements of the 101st Airborne Division near Tikrit in northern Iraq. After 2004, the Starlifter was retired from active units and passed on to Air National Guard and Reserve units; the last eight operational C-141s were used to shuttle supplies into New Orleans after the Hurricane Katrina disaster of 2005. This was the Starlifter’s swan song, as after this operation ended the C-141 finally left USAF service after forty years of service. Of 285 aircraft, 19 were lost in accidents; 13 are preserved in museums.
The most famous C-141 ever flown, 66-0177 is known better by its nickname--the "Hanoi Taxi." First assigned as a C-141A to the 63rd Military Airlift Wing at Norton AFB, California, 66-0177 was a regular visitor to Southeast Asia on transport missions. A month after the Paris Peace Accords were signed, North Vietnam began the release of American prisoners of war held at the infamous "Hanoi Hilton"--in some cases, since 1965. 66-0177 was the first to land at Hanoi to pick up the first batch of 80 POWs, and as such became the first bit of America to welcome the prisoners home. Though only one of almost a dozen C-141s that brought POWs out of North Vietnam, 66-0177 was the first, and thus became dubbed the Hanoi Taxi.
Long after the Vietnam War was over, 66-0177 remained in service. In the early 1980s, it was stretched and became a C-141B, and was eventually assigned to the 445th Airlift Wing (USAF Reserve), based at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio; in the early 1990s, it received the C-141C upgrade. As the Taxi closed in on the end of her service life, she was repainted from her AMC Gray scheme to the older Military Airlift Command colors to commemorate the aircraft's history. As such, the Taxi became something of a touchstone and living history museum for former Vietnam POWs. In 2004, the Taxi made one final trip to Hanoi, this time to pick up the remains of two American servicemembers once listed as missing in action. Finally, in May 2006, it was retired and made the short flight from the main part of Wright-Patterson to the National Museum of the USAF.
Today the Hanoi Taxi sits in the Experimental Aircraft and Transport Gallery at the NMUSAF. As mentioned above, it carries the old white-over-gray MAC scheme, complete with MAC stripe on the tail (though it reads "AFRC" for Air Force Reserve Command). The aircraft is open to the public to tour the cavernous cargo bay, as well as see the signatures of POWs who signed the interior.
Lockheed C-141C Starlifter "Hanoi Taxi"
While the C-141A Starlifter had done well in the 1960s, especially in supply efforts over Vietnam, the aircraft had one glaring problem: it would “bulk out” before it reached its projected payload weight: the fuselage would be full, but the aircraft was capable of carrying more. In response to this and the C-141’s need for fueling stops on long trips, the USAF began upgrading the C-141A fleet to C-141B standard.
By adding two plugs fore and aft of the wings, the fuselage was stretched 23 feet. While the Starlifter was still incapable of carrying oversize loads, it now could carry up to its full weight. Inflight refuelling capability was also added. All surviving C-141As were upgraded between 1977 and 1982 to B standard, essentially adding 90 new C-141s to the fleet without building new aircraft. With the C-5B Galaxy also entering service, the C-141B gave the USAF unmatched air transport capability, something that would be very useful in time of war. Its first wartime service would be Operation Desert Shield, the buildup to the First Gulf War of 1991. Starlifters carried nearly half of all payloads delivered to the Southwest Asia theater.
The 1990s would see the most use of the aircraft, especially over the wartorn former nations of Yugoslavia. During NATO efforts to resupply Bosnian towns cut off by Serbian forces, C-141s were flown from Rhein-Main airbase at low level over Bosnia, where cargo pallets were dropped from the rear filled with food. As these pallets could cause damage when they hit the ground, the pallets were replaced by food boxes tied together: these boxes would break apart in midair and float down on individual parachutes. These “food bombs” would be used later in other areas where the C-141 was unable to land. Other Rhein-Main based Starlifters made the trip into the Bosnian capital of Sarajevo, the airport of which was considered one of the most dangerous spots on earth, constantly subject to mortar and sniper fire, and required a diving approach to avoid being shot at by Serbian antiaircraft units posted in the mountains around the airport. C-141s and other NATO transports kept the city alive during its three-year siege, which finally ended in 1995.
In response to this, 13 C-141Bs were modified to SOLL II standard, with low-light vision equipment, GPS, and defensive chaff/flare countermeasures, for operations over high-threat areas or in conjunction with Special Forces units. Later, about a third of the lowest-timed Starlifters were modified to C-141C standard, with a new “glass” cockpit and upgraded avionics.
Despite the upgrade, the days of the C-141 were numbered. It was getting old, and wing cracks had begun to appear on older aircraft. As the C-17 Globemaster III was now coming into service, Starlifters began to be retired. The C-141Cs soldiered on long enough to be used in Afghanistan and Iraq, where they finally used their paratroop-carrying capability in combat, dropping elements of the 101st Airborne Division near Tikrit in northern Iraq. After 2004, the Starlifter was retired from active units and passed on to Air National Guard and Reserve units; the last eight operational C-141s were used to shuttle supplies into New Orleans after the Hurricane Katrina disaster of 2005. This was the Starlifter’s swan song, as after this operation ended the C-141 finally left USAF service after forty years of service. Of 285 aircraft, 19 were lost in accidents; 13 are preserved in museums.
The most famous C-141 ever flown, 66-0177 is known better by its nickname--the "Hanoi Taxi." First assigned as a C-141A to the 63rd Military Airlift Wing at Norton AFB, California, 66-0177 was a regular visitor to Southeast Asia on transport missions. A month after the Paris Peace Accords were signed, North Vietnam began the release of American prisoners of war held at the infamous "Hanoi Hilton"--in some cases, since 1965. 66-0177 was the first to land at Hanoi to pick up the first batch of 80 POWs, and as such became the first bit of America to welcome the prisoners home. Though only one of almost a dozen C-141s that brought POWs out of North Vietnam, 66-0177 was the first, and thus became dubbed the Hanoi Taxi.
Long after the Vietnam War was over, 66-0177 remained in service. In the early 1980s, it was stretched and became a C-141B, and was eventually assigned to the 445th Airlift Wing (USAF Reserve), based at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio; in the early 1990s, it received the C-141C upgrade. As the Taxi closed in on the end of her service life, she was repainted from her AMC Gray scheme to the older Military Airlift Command colors to commemorate the aircraft's history. As such, the Taxi became something of a touchstone and living history museum for former Vietnam POWs. In 2004, the Taxi made one final trip to Hanoi, this time to pick up the remains of two American servicemembers once listed as missing in action. Finally, in May 2006, it was retired and made the short flight from the main part of Wright-Patterson to the National Museum of the USAF.
Today the Hanoi Taxi sits in the Experimental Aircraft and Transport Gallery at the NMUSAF. As mentioned above, it carries the old white-over-gray MAC scheme, complete with MAC stripe on the tail (though it reads "AFRC" for Air Force Reserve Command). The aircraft is open to the public to tour the cavernous cargo bay, as well as see the signatures of POWs who signed the interior.