Still the largest U.S. military aircraft more than three decades after its first flight, the Lockheed C-5 Galaxy remains an integral part of Air Mobility Command into the 21st century. Lockheed C-5 Galaxy chronicles the development and service career of this behemoth of the airways, starting with the early 1960s requirement for a larger airlifter to supplement the C-141A, through Galaxys troubled early history to the types service during the Nickel Grass, Desert Shield, and other airlift operations. Several Galaxy counterparts, such as the Antonov An-124, are also depicted. Over 140 photographs, nearly all in color and many never before published, show the C-5 and other airlifters in a variety of paint schemes, while detail shots will be of use to the scale modeler.
The C-5 Galaxy is truly an effective military aircraft. It remains an essential, successful component of the U.S. military airlife capability. This book reveals the events that led to the C-5 requirement; and the controversies of its early operational existence. Details of testing, flight characteristics, operational accomplishments and world flight records are presented. Interviews from senior Lockheed management and experienced flight crews validate the C-5's decisive accomplishments.
C-5 Galaxy first made its appearance in March 1968 it has been given such varied nicknames as 'Fat Albert', 'Big MAC', 'White Elephant', and 'FRED'. Almost as long as a football field and as high as a six-story building, the C-5 Galaxy is one of the world's largest aircraft and the only aircraft that can transport nearly every type of US Army combat equipment, including tanks and helicopters. It's front and rear cargo doors and 'kneeling' landing gear system enables fast and easy loading of bulky equipment, it's intercontinental range enables it to carry troops and material to any area in the world. Since the 1970s the Galaxy has been projecting power around the globe, taking part in dozens of major military and humanitarian operations. This reprint includes 6 all-new pages packed with color photos and additional information about the Galaxy.
The C-5 Galaxy was designed in the mid-1960s to transport vast quantities of material to any part of the globe. The result was the largest aircraft in the world. However, it became a symbol for government excess and production was limited to just 81 machines. Initial operations struggled with frequent breakdowns AND, in an extraordinary move, the gravely under-designed wing was replaced. Even more remarkable was the decision to reopen production after a decade for another 50 machines. Because of its incredible capacity and range, the C-5 Galaxy remains indispensable. The decision has been made to refit the aircraft for decades of more operation. This is the remarkable story of the Galaxy's controversial birth, climb to eminence, and quarter century of service. This detailed story is told with hundreds of supporting illustrations, objectively exploring controversial subjects based on thorough research. Never before have the structural and subsystem problems experienced by the C-5 during its early years been explored so succinctly in a manner suitable for popular publication. This was possible because the author's background as an aeronautical engineer involved in aircraft development and flight test. The book also lays out the jet's history and details of the currently-underway modernization program. Unique missions such as airdrop are shown in rare photographs and drawings, with hundreds of other illustrations appealing to modelers and historians. Dimensions: 8-3/8 x 10-7/8 inches # of pages: 104 # of color photographs: 40 # of black and white photographs: 250
Without the support of airlift, the modern American military machine would be brought to a standstill. Since World War II--beginning with the Cold War and continuing up to the present day--the U.S. armed forces have come increasingly to rely upon airlift for mobility. The power to rapidly move and thereafter support a military operation--anywhere in the world, at any time--has become a foundational element of American defense policy. This work provides the reader with a comprehensive historical survey--including technical specifications, drawings, and photographs--of each type of fixed-wing aircraft used by U.S. military forces over a nearly 90-year period to carry out the airlift mission.
Except in a few instances, since World War II no American soldier or sailor has been attacked by enemy air power. Conversely, no enemy soldier orsailor has acted in combat without being attacked or at least threatened by American air power. Aviators have brought the air weapon to bear against enemies while denying them the same prerogative. This is the legacy of the U.S. AirForce, purchased at great cost in both human and material resources.More often than not, aerial pioneers had to fight technological ignorance, bureaucratic opposition, public apathy, and disagreement over purpose.Every step in the evolution of air power led into new and untrodden territory, driven by humanitarian impulses; by the search for higher, faster, and farther flight; or by the conviction that the air way was the best way. Warriors have always coveted the high ground. If technology permitted them to reach it, men, women andan air force held and exploited it-from Thomas Selfridge, first among so many who gave that "last full measure of devotion"; to Women's Airforce Service Pilot Ann Baumgartner, who broke social barriers to become the first Americanwoman to pilot a jet; to Benjamin Davis, who broke racial barriers to become the first African American to command a flying group; to Chuck Yeager, a one-time non-commissioned flight officer who was the first to exceed the speed of sound; to John Levitow, who earned the Medal of Honor by throwing himself over a live flare to save his gunship crew; to John Warden, who began a revolution in air power thought and strategy that was put to spectacular use in the Gulf War.Industrialization has brought total war and air power has brought the means to overfly an enemy's defenses and attack its sources of power directly. Americans have perceived air power from the start as a more efficient means of waging war and as a symbol of the nation's commitment to technology to master challenges, minimize casualties, and defeat adversaries.
The Lockheed Plant in Marietta has been building many of the world's most legendary aircraft for the past 60 years--and that doesn't even count its service building B-29 bombers for the Bell Aircraft Company during World War II. Lockheed's six decades have seen the plant build jet bombers, like the B-47 Stratojet; the world's most dominant fighter jet (the F-22 Raptor); and the most vaunted cargo planes (C-130 Hercules, C-141 StarLifter, and C-5 Galaxy). In Images of America: The Lockheed Plant, readers will learn about those planes, the people who designed and assembled them, and the plant in which they were built. The striking images in this book were shared by Lockheed Martin and the Marietta Daily Journal and depict the plant from its construction through today.
