Airlift

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For other uses, see Airlift (disambiguation).
A large military cargo aircraft: the Lockheed C-5 Galaxy

An airlift is the organized delivery of supplies or personnel primarily via military transport aircraft.

Airlifting consists of two distinct types: strategic and tactical. Typically, strategic airlifting involves moving material long distances (such as across or off the continent or theater), whereas a tactical airlift focuses on deploying resources and material into a specific location with high precision.

Depending on the situation, airlifted supplies can be delivered by a variety of means. When the destination and surrounding airspace is considered secure, the aircraft will land at an appropriate airport or airbase to have its cargo unloaded on the ground. When landing the craft or distributing the supplies to a certain area from a landing zone by surface transportation is not an option, the cargo aircraft can drop them in mid-flight using parachutes attached to the supply containers in question. When there is a broad area available where the intended receivers have control without fear of the enemy interfering with the collection and/or stealing the goods, the planes can maintain a normal flight altitude and simply drop the supplies down and let them parachute to the ground. However, when the area is too small for this method, as with an isolated base, and/or is too dangerous to land in, a Low-altitude parachute-extraction system drop is used.

During disasters and other crises, airlifts are used to support or replace other transport methods to relieve beleaguered civilian populations. Examples include the Berlin Airlift, to supply isolated West Berlin with food and coal, the 1990 Air India airlift to rescue Indian citizens caught up in the Gulf War, and the 1967–70 Biafran airlift during the Nigerian Civil War.

History[]

The Douglas C-47 Skytrain, was used extensively during the Berlin airlift

In November 1915 the French squadron MF 99 S, equipped with Farman MF.11, flew wounded soldiers from Serbia through Albania to Corfu. This was the first medevac operation in air history.[1][2]

In April 1923 aircraft of the British Royal Air Force's Iraq Command flew 280 Sikh troops from Kingarban to Kirkuk in the first British air trooping operation. This operation was only conducted over a short-range and it was not until 1929 that the RAF conducted a long-range non-combat air evacuation of British Embassy staff from Afghanistan to India using a Vickers Victoria during the Kabul Airlift.

The world's first long-range combat airlift took place from July to October 1936.[3] Nazi German Luftwaffe Ju 52 and Fascist Italian Regia Aeronautica Savoia-Marchetti SM.81 were used by the Spanish Nationalist Air Force to transport Army of Africa troops from Spanish Morocco to the Spanish mainland at the beginning of the Spanish Civil War.

Airlifts became practical during World War II as aircraft became large and sophisticated enough to handle large cargo demands. The U.S. Army Air Force's Air Transport Command began the largest and longest-sustained airlift of the war in May 1942, delivering more than half a million net tons of materiel from India to Free China over the Hump by November 1945. After many USAAF airmen were shot down in Nazi-occupied Serbia during Operation Tidal Wave, the U.S. Fifteenth Air Force and the Office of Strategic Services evacuated a number of them in Operation Halyard with the assistance of Draža Mihailović's Chetnik partisans.[4] Additionally, at the end of World War II the USAAF and the RAF arranged humanitarian airdrops to the Nazi-occupied Netherlands through Operations Manna and Chowhound to alleviate the Dutch famine of 1944-45.[5] However, airlifts still sometimes failed to provide sufficient cargo demands. Crucially, the Luftwaffe failed to keep the German Sixth Army resupplied during its encirclement by the Red Army at the Battle of Stalingrad, forcing its commander Friedrich Paulus to surrender. After the successful relief of the Demyansk Pocket, Chief of the Oberkommando der Luftwaffe Hermann Göring's assurance to Adolf Hitler that the Luftwaffe could conduct an airlift was a key factor in his decision not to withdraw the Sixth Army from the city, and the German defeat in that battle marked the beginning of Nazi Germany's military collapse.[6]

The largest airlift was the Berlin airlift, lasting from June 1948 to September 1949, an international operation intended to thwart the blockading of West Berlin by the Soviet Union. The airlift was arranged by the U.S. Air Force, the British Royal Air Force, the French Air Force, the Royal Canadian Air Force, the Royal Australian Air Force, the Royal New Zealand Air Force, and the South African Air Force using C-47 Skytrains, C-54 Skymasters, Handley Page Haltons, and Short Sunderlands.[7] Many Soviet and Western leaders alike initially assumed that an airlift to resupply West Berlin would fail because of the results of the Battle of Stalingrad. However, it instead succeeded and became an embarrassment for the Soviet Union, which ended the blockade.[8][9] The blockade and the success of the airlift would be a major factor in the beginning of the Cold War and the formation of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the Western European Union, and the Federal Republic of Germany.[10][11]

The Israeli Air Force and El Al conducted a number of airlifts during the Jewish exodus from Arab and Muslim countries to Israel after the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. In 1949 Israel evacuated 49,000 Yemenite Jews to Israel via Operation On Wings of Eagles.[12] In 1951 it carried out Operation Ezra and Nehemiah evacuating over 120,000 Jews from Iraq to Israel via British Cyprus.[13] The Israel Defense Forces later evacuated over 8,000 Beta Israel refugees from Ethiopia living in refugee camps in Sudan through Operation Moses, Operation Joshua, and Operation Solomon during the Ethiopian famine and civil war.[14][15][16]

The largest civilian airlift ever, the Biafran airlift, was carried out by Protestant and Catholic churches working together under the banner "Joint Church Aid" (JCA) to carry food to Biafra, during the Biafran secession war from Nigeria in 1967–70. This joint effort (which those involved used to call "Jesus Christ Airlines" as an inside joke from the initials JCA) is estimated to have saved more than a million lives in Biafra. Most airplanes departed from Portuguese São Tomé and Príncipe to the bush landing strip of Uli, the only operational "airport" in Biafra, which was made by enlarging a common road. Flights were made flying at night with all lights off and under near-total radio silence to avoid Nigerian Air Force MiG aircraft. All the airplanes, crews, and logistics were paid, set up, and maintained by the joint church groups. JCA and their crews and aircraft (mostly aging multi prop airliners like DC-7's, Lockheed Constellation and Superconstellations, DC-6's, and DC3's) kept flying into Biafra at the cost of many crews lives.[17][verification needed]

During the 1973 Yom Kippur War, the U.S. Air Force Military Airlift Command conducted Operation Nickel Grass to resupply Israel in the face of a coordinated surprise attack by Egypt and Syria.[18] The airlift allowed Israel to begin a counteroffensive against the Arab states but caused the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries to place an oil embargo on the United States, beginning the 1970s energy crisis.[19]

During the 1974 Turkish invasion of Cyprus the Hellenic Air Force attempted to airlift commandos to Nicosia Airport through Operation Niki but failed after the Nord Noratlas planes were shot down by friendly fire from the Cypriot National Guard after flying over RAF Akrotiri.[20][21]

The largest civilian airlift in history was conducted by Air India during the Gulf War, which repatriated 176,000 Indian migrant workers stranded in Ba'athist Iraq after the invasion of Kuwait.[22][23] India has conducted other airlifts of migrant workers during Middle Eastern crises. The Indian Navy evacuated numerous Indian civilians from the 2006 Lebanon War via Operation Sukoon, from the First Libyan Civil War via Operation Safe Homecoming, from the South Sudanese Civil War via Operation Sankat Mochan, and from the Saudi-Yemen War in Operation Raahat.[24][25][26] The Pakistan Navy also evacuated Pakistani nationals from Yemen via an airlift during the Saudi intervention.[27] The Indian Armed Forces also conducted an airlift to Nepal after the 2015 Nepal earthquake through Operation Maitri.[28]

During the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in Wuhan, numerous air forces and civilian airlines arranged evacuation flights from Wuhan Tianhe International Airport.[29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36]

During the fall of Kabul at the end of the War in Afghanistan after the Taliban captured most of Afghanistan in a 2021 offensive following the withdrawal of US and NATO forces, foreign governments evacuated hundreds of thousands of their citizens as well as at-risk Afghans from Hamid Karzai International Airport.[37][38][39] As part of the U.S. Armed Forces' Operation Allies Refuge, U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin requisitioned U.S. airliners through the Civil Reserve Air Fleet to assist the U.S. Transportation Command.[40] The U.S. Department of Defense later claimed to have evacuated 122,000 people, including U.S. citizens and Afghan Special Immigrant Visa applicants.[41] Other airlifts included the British Armed Forces' Operation Pitting, the Canadian Armed Forces' Operation AEGIS, and the Indian Armed Forces' Operation Devi Shakti.

Strategic airlift[]

Strategic airlift is the use of military transport aircraft to transport materiel, weaponry, or personnel over long distances. Typically, this involves airlifting the required items between two airbases that are not in the same vicinity. This allows commanders to bring items into a combat theater from a point on the other side of the planet, if necessary. Aircraft which perform this role are considered strategic airlifters. This contrasts with tactical airlifters, such as the C-130 Hercules and Transall C-160, which can normally only move supplies within a given theater of operations.

The Airbus A400M Atlas, performs tactical as well as strategic airlift

Examples of late current large strategic airlifters include:

With present technology, it is impossible to shift a substantial mechanised force, particularly tanks, by air. This difficulty has prompted investment in lighter armoured fighting vehicles (such as the Stryker), as well as some preliminary research into alternative airlift technologies such as ground effect vehicles and airships. Civilian aircraft are also commonly used for transportation. For some civilian airlines, such as Volga-Dnepr Airlines, military contracts account for a large portion of their income.

Tactical airlift[]

Tactical airlift is a military term for the airborne transportation of supplies and equipment within a theatre of operations (in contrast to strategic airlift). Aircraft that perform this role are referred to as tactical airlifters. These are typically turboprop aircraft and feature short landing and take-off distances and low-pressure tires allowing operations from small or poorly prepared airstrips. While they lack the speed and range of strategic airlifters (which are typically jet-powered), these capabilities are invaluable within war zones. Larger helicopters such as the CH-47 Chinook and Mil Mi-26 can also be used to airlift men and equipment. Helicopters have the advantage that they do not require a landing strip and that equipment can often be suspended below the aircraft allowing it to be delivered without landing but are fuel inefficient and thus typically have limited range. Hybrid aircraft such as the Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey also exist which attempt to combine VTOL flight with greater range and speed.

Tactical airlift aircraft are designed to be maneuverable, allowing the low-altitude flight to avoid detection by radar and for the airdropping of supplies. Most are fitted with defensive aids systems to protect them from attack by surface-to-air missiles.

The earliest Soviet tactical airlift occurred in 1929, in which forty men of the Red Army were airlifted to the town of Garm, Tajikistan (then the Tajik Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic) to repel an attacking force of Basmachi rebels under Fuzail Maksum.[42]

A RNLAF CH-47 Chinook demonstrating tactical airlift capabilities.

Examples of late current large tactical airlifters include:

Airlifter comparison[]

Airlifters in service during the late 20th/early 21st Centuries:

Aircraft Role Max. payload (Kg) Range (NM) Cruise(Mach) Ceiling (Ft.) Price
Antonov An-72[43] Tactical 10,000 1,728 NM Mach .68 36,089 Ft $12.5m (est.)
C-130J Super Hercules[44] Tactical 19,050 2,380 NM Mach .58 33,000 Ft $ 52m (est.)
Antonov An-12 Tactical 20,000 1,940 NM Mach .55 33,000 Ft —
Shaanxi Y-8 Tactical 20,000 3,030 NM Mach .45 34,000 Ft —
Embraer KC-390 Tactical 26,000 3,140 NM Mach .70 36,000 Ft $ 50m (est.)
Shaanxi Y-9 Tactical 25,000 3,700 NM Mach .53 34,120 Ft —
Airbus A400M Atlas Strategic/tactical 37,000 2,450 NM Mach .72 37,000 Ft € 100m (est.)
Airbus C295 Tactical 23,200 2,100 NM Mach .35 30,000 Ft -
Kawasaki C-2 Tactical 37,600 3,000 NM Mach .80 40,000 Ft $ 120m (est.)
Antonov An-70 Tactical 47,000 1,621 NM Mach .73 40,000 Ft $ 80m (est.)
Ilyushin Il-76 Strategic/tactical 48,000 2,380 NM Mach .70 42,700 Ft —
Ilyushin Il-76 Strategic/tactical 60,000 2,700 NM Mach .70 42,700 Ft $ 120m (est.)
Xian Y-20 Strategic 66,000 2,430 NM Mach .75 42,700 Ft —
C-17 Globemaster III Strategic/tactical 77,520 2,380 NM Mach .77 45,000 Ft $ 225m
C-5 Galaxy Strategic 122,472 2,400 NM Mach .77 34,000 Ft $ 168m
Antonov An-124 Strategic 150,000 2,808 NM Mach .65 35,000 Ft $70–100m
Antonov An-225 Strategic 250,000 2,159 NM Mach .61 33,000 Ft —
Payload comparison of military transport aircraft[45][46][47][48]
Country Aircraft Payload (t) Length of cargo hold Width of cargo hold Height of cargo hold
 Soviet Union An-124 150 36 metres (118 ft) 6.4 metres (21 ft) 4.4 metres (14 ft)
 United States C-5M 129.274 37 metres (121 ft) 5.8 metres (19 ft) 4.1 metres (13 ft)
 United States C-17 77.5 26.83 metres (88.0 ft) 5.49 metres (18.0 ft) 3.76 metres (12.3 ft)
 China Y-20 66 20 metres (66 ft) 4 metres (13 ft) 4 metres (13 ft)
 Russia Il-76MD-90A 60 24.54 metres (80.5 ft) 3.45 metres (11.3 ft) 3.4 metres (11 ft)
 Ukraine An-70 47 19.1 metres (63 ft) 4 metres (13 ft) 4.1 metres (13 ft)
 France Airbus A330 MRTT 45
 Spain A400M 37 17.71 metres (58.1 ft) 4 metres (13 ft) 3.85 metres (12.6 ft)［rear section：4 metres (13 ft)］
 Japan C-2 36 16 metres (52 ft) 4 metres (13 ft) 4 metres (13 ft)
 Brazil C-390 26 18.5 metres (61 ft) 3.00 metres (9.84 ft) 3.04 metres (10.0 ft)
 China Y-9 25 (30 max) 16.2 metres (53 ft) 3.20 metres (10.5 ft) 2.35 metres (7.7 ft)
 United States C-130J 19.8 12.5 metres (41 ft) 3.05 metres (10.0 ft) 2.75 metres (9.0 ft)

See also[]

References and notes[]

  1. ^ Albin, Denis. "Escadrille 525". L'histoire de l'aviation militaire française (in French). Retrieved 15 August 2017.
  2. ^ "Veliki rat – Avijacija". Radio Television of Serbia (in Serbian). 8 February 2014. Retrieved 15 August 2017.
  3. ^ Per photograph caption pg.146 and also text pg.201, Air Power, Budiansky, Stephen, Penguin Group, London England 2005
  4. ^ "The greatest rescue you've never heard of". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved 2021-09-05.
  5. ^ "Operation Manna-Chowhound: Deliverance from Above". The National WWII Museum | New Orleans. Retrieved 2021-09-04.
  6. ^ Beevor, Antony (1999). Stalingrad. London: Penguin. ISBN 0-14-024985-0. OCLC 40646157.
  7. ^ author., Turner, Barry, 1937- (2017). The Berlin airlift : the relief operation that defined the Cold War. ISBN 978-1-5100-8956-3. OCLC 1018254052.
  8. ^ Schrader, Helena (2010). The blockade breakers : the Berlin Airlift. Stroud: History. ISBN 978-0-7524-5600-3. OCLC 495598280.
  9. ^ Taylor, Fred (2006). The Berlin Wall : a world divided, 1961-1989 (1st U.S. ed.). New York: HarperCollins. ISBN 978-0-06-078613-7. OCLC 76481596.
  10. ^ Archives, The National. "Berlin Blockade and formation of NATO". www.nationalarchives.gov.uk. Retrieved 2021-09-05.
  11. ^ "The Berlin Blockade". NATO. Retrieved 2021-09-05.
  12. ^ "On wings of eagles: Operation to bring Yemenite Jews to Israel". The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com. Retrieved 2021-09-04.
  13. ^ "Operation Ezra & Nehemia - The Airlift of Iraqi Jews". www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org. Retrieved 2021-09-05.
  14. ^ "Operation Moses". www.historyofwar.org. Retrieved 2021-09-04.
  15. ^ "1984-1991 Airlift of Ethiopian Jewish community |". 2017-05-10. Archived from the original on 2017-05-10. Retrieved 2021-09-04.
  16. ^ "Operation Solomon". www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org. Retrieved 2021-09-05.
  17. ^ Shadows: airlift and airwar in Biafra and Nigeria 1967–1970, by Michael I. Draper (ISBN 1-902109-63-5)
  18. ^ "Nickel Grass". 2012-03-31. Archived from the original on 2012-03-31. Retrieved 2021-09-05.
  19. ^ Wambold, Adam (2014-10-08). "Operation Nickel Grass: Turning Point of the Yom Kippur War »". Retrieved 2021-09-05.
  20. ^ "Military Histories - July 21st to 22nd 1974". www.militaryhistories.co.uk. Retrieved 2021-09-05.
  21. ^ Nicosia, Associated Press in (2015-08-06). "Cypriot officials say they may have found Greek aircraft shot down in 1974". the Guardian. Retrieved 2021-09-05.
  22. ^ Fabian, K.P.; Journal, Indian Foreign Affairs (2012). "Biggest Ever Air Evacuation in History". Indian Foreign Affairs Journal. 7 (1): 93–107. ISSN 0973-3248. JSTOR 45341807.
  23. ^ Venkataramakrishnan, Rohan. "The Berlin airlift was remarkable, but the largest civilian evacuation in history is by India". Scroll.in. Retrieved 2021-09-05.
  24. ^ "Khaleej Times Online - Return of evacuees brings joy to families". 2007-09-30. Archived from the original on 2007-09-30. Retrieved 2021-09-05.
  25. ^ "India unveils Operation Safe Homecoming, thousands on way". 2011-03-02. Archived from the original on 2011-03-02. Retrieved 2021-09-05.
  26. ^ "India evacuates 4,640 nationals, 960 others from Yemen". oneindia.com. 2015-04-09. Retrieved 2021-09-05.
  27. ^ Haider, Irfan (2015-03-27). "Nawaz orders evacuation of Pakistanis stranded in Yemen". dawn.com. Retrieved 2021-09-05.
  28. ^ "Nepal quake: India launches 'Operation Maitri', airlifts 546 from Kathmandu". 2015-04-26. Archived from the original on 2015-04-26. Retrieved 2021-09-05.
  29. ^ "Coronavirus: Second plane carrying 323 Indians from Wuhan to reach Delhi today". India Today. February 1, 2020. Retrieved 2021-09-05.
  30. ^ Jiang, Steven; Stracqualursi, Veronica. "US chartering flight to evacuate American diplomats and citizens out of China amid coronavirus outbreak". CNN. Retrieved 2021-09-05.
  31. ^ Goldstein, Michael. "US State Department Brings Home Over 85,000 Americans In Coronavirus Crisis". Forbes. Retrieved 2021-09-05.
  32. ^ Chaudhury, Dipanjan Roy. "Coronavirus: India brings back 36 foreigners and 76 nationals from Wuhan". The Economic Times. Retrieved 2021-09-05.
  33. ^ "Эвакуация украинцев из Уханя: куда прилетит самолет, как обустроят карантин и кто протестует?". gordonua.com. Retrieved 2021-09-05.
  34. ^ "Finns arrive in France after repatriation from Wuhan". Yle Uutiset. Retrieved 2021-09-05.
  35. ^ "Canadian government worker, flight crew released from coronavirus quarantine - National | Globalnews.ca". 2020-02-10. Archived from the original on 2020-02-10. Retrieved 2021-09-05.
  36. ^ "Coronavirus evacuation flight from Wuhan lands in Darwin - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)". 2020-02-09. Archived from the original on 2020-02-09. Retrieved 2021-09-05.
  37. ^ Chughtai, Alia. "Infographic: Tracking the flights out of Kabul". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 2021-09-04.
  38. ^ Saric, Ivana. "U.S. allies scramble to leave Afghanistan". Axios. Retrieved 2021-09-04.
  39. ^ "US troops to stay until Americans and eligible Afghans evacuated, says Biden". the Guardian. 2021-08-16. Retrieved 2021-09-04.
  40. ^ Kaufman, Ellie; Liebermann, Oren; Stracqualursi, Veronica; Benveniste, Alexis. "Pentagon activates US airlines to assist with evacuation efforts from Afghanistan". CNN. Retrieved 2021-09-04.
  41. ^ Gaouette, Nicole; Hansler, Jennifer; Starr, Barbara; Liebermann, Oren. "The last US military planes have left Afghanistan, marking the end of the United States' longest war". CNN. Retrieved 2021-09-04.
  42. ^ Tucker, Spencer, 2013. Encyclopedia of Insurgency and Counterinsurgency: A New Era of Modern Warfare: A New Era of Modern Warfare. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO. https://www.abc-clio.com/ABC-CLIOCorporate/product.aspx?pc=A3973C
  43. ^ "An-72 COALER (ANTONOV)".
  44. ^ Pike, John. "C-130J Specifications and Performance". www.globalsecurity.org.
  45. ^ Comparison of military transport aircraft
  46. ^ Caro capacity of military transport aircraft
  47. ^ Lockheed C-5 data Archived May 16, 2017, at the Wayback Machine
  48. ^ "Shaanxi Y-9 (Yun-9)".

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