Loadmaster
Encyclopedia
A Loadmaster is an aircrew
member on military transport aircraft
. Loadmasters serve in the Air Force
, Marines, Coast Guard
and Navy
of many nations. These include the USAF
, RAF
, AIRCOM, RAAF, Australian Army
, IAF
, RNZAF and SLAF
,.
and passenger placement to keep the aircraft within permissible center of gravity limits throughout the flight. Loadmasters ensure cargo is placed on the aircraft in such a way as to prevent overloading sensitive sections of the airframe and cargo floor. Considerations are also given to civilian and military regulations which may prohibit the placement of one type of cargo in proximity to another. Unusual cargo may require special equipment to be loaded safely aboard the aircraft, limiting where the other cargo may feasibly be placed. Tactically, loadmasters may also directly affect combat readiness as they are also responsible for determining the load order of aircraft so that more tactically important materiel
(e.g. ammunition) is off-loaded and therefore ready to deploy faster than other support items; this may be especially germane to forward operating bases.
The loadmaster may physically load the aircraft, but primarily supervises loading crews and procedures. Once positioned aboard the aircraft, the loadmaster ensures it is secured against movement. Chains, straps, and integrated cargo locks are among the most common tools used to secure the cargo. Because the aircraft will execute abrupt maneuvers which may shift the cargo in flight, the loadmaster must determine the appropriate amount and placement of cargo restraint.
Many loadmasters may also be required to be qualified for "aerial delivery" of paratroops or cargo by parachute. Compared to the relatively routine transportation of cargo, airdrop
s can be a highly technical and dangerous undertaking. Under some situations, the most effective way to resupply ground troops is by aerial delivery of equipment, ammunition, food, and medical supplies. Many military victories have been dependent in large part upon aerial delivery.
Cargo Helicopter loadmasters provide aircraft clearance information and direct pilots to safe positions when landing and taking off.
During World War II
, aircraft were initially loaded haphazardly, with ground personnel piling as much cargo into an airplane as possible, which often led to weight and balance problems. To alleviate the situation, air terminal squadrons were set up by the troop carrier wings overseas and, after the establishment of the Air Transport Command, at air terminals in the United States. Officers, pilots and navigators, were trained to perform weight and balance calculations and became responsible for load planning. Aerial engineers on bombers and four-engine transports were also trained in weight and balance calculations using special slide rules developed for each airplane and commonly known as "slipsticks".
, because the first known use of the term appears in the flight manuals for the C-124 Globemaster II
aircraft in the late 1940s, the largest piston-engine transport aircraft in the US inventory at the time.
A fixed-wing aircraft is supported in flight only by its wing(s). For an aircraft to become and remain airborne, the wing must move through the air at a specified "angle of attack
". To assure that the wing moves through the air at the proper angle of attack, the aircraft's center of gravity
must fall within a range specified by the aircraft's designers. An aircraft that is too nose-heavy or too tail-heavy will not fly properly, because the angle of attack is affected adversely. This can destroy lift, and cause a stall
in certain maneuvers.
The center of gravity of a transport aircraft is a function of a number of factors: the weight of the empty aircraft (the so-called "basic weight"), the weight of the fuel load (usually carried only in the wings), the weight of the cargo and passenger
s, and the weight of the crew, and the positions of each of these factors. The weight of each of these factors is known before a flight. What varies from flight to flight is not only the weight of any or all of these factors, but the position of such factors as fuel, passengers and cargo. The weight of each of these factors is converted into a "moment", by multiplying the weight of each item times its distance from a reference point which was established when the aircraft was designed. The sum of all moments is then divided by the sum of all weights and the result is the "center of gravity" for the aircraft with crew, fuel, cargo and passengers aboard. This center of gravity must be within a range specified by the designers. Furthermore, as fuel is burned off during flight the center of gravity changes continually, so that the aircraft becomes either more nose-heavy or more tail-heavy as the flight continues. This must be taken into account when the aircraft is loaded. An aircraft which was "within limits" on takeoff could, in the course of a flight, become "out of limits" because of fuel burnoff.
Throughout the 1950s, loadmasters in troop carrier units were assigned primarily to aerial port squadrons. In the Military Air Transport Service, they were assigned to air transport squadrons and flew on missions when cargo was carried. MATS loadmasters were considered cabin crewmembers rather than part of the flight crew and were not afforded crew rest as were members of the cockpit crew.
In 1964 MATS became the Military Airlift Command and assumed more of an operational role. Loadmasters, often first-term airmen, continued the previous role but were also trained for tactical operations, particularly aerial delivery of troops and cargo. When the gigantic C-5A entered service, the loadmaster field became more technical as loadmasters became responsible for operating complex systems to operate the hydraulic systems that operated the forward and aft cargo doors and to kneel the airplane for loading and unloading.
The Vietnam War
also led to the assignment of loadmasters to Airlift Command Elements, commonly known as ALCE, where they were responsible for planning loads at forward locations with Army and Marine Corps units.
John Levitow
became the only loadmaster to be decorated with the Medal of Honor after his AC-47 gunship was struck by a Viet Cong mortar near Bien Hoa in 1968. Badly wounded, Levitow managed to throw an armed flare out of the airplane before it ignited.
Staff Sergeant Charles Schaub was awarded the Air Force Cross
for his actions when his C-130 was struck by ground fire that killed the flight engineer and wounded the copilot and navigator during an airdrop mission over An Loc in 1972.
SSgt. Maynard Grubbs was awarded the Silver Star for his role as the loadmaster on the C-123 crew commanded by Lt. Col. Joe M. Jackson, who landed his C-123 at Khe Sanh to pick up members of an Air Force airlift control team that had been stranded at the besieged camp at Kham Duc. (Lt. Col. Jackson was awarded the Medal of Honor for the action.)
Several other loadmasters received Silver Stars for actions in Blind Bat C-130 flareships and SSgt. Ralph Bemis received the medal after the C-130 he was on was shot down over An Loc.
Sgt Daniel Baxter (RAF) was a Chinook loadmaster and a crew member of the standby Chinook at Camp Bastion
, Afghanistan. On 6 September 2006, he acted with exceptional professionalism and bravery under enemy fire three times.
Aircrew
Aircrew are the personnel who operate an aircraft while in flight. The composition of the crew depends on the type of aircraft as well as the purpose of the flight.-Civilian:*Aviator** Pilot-in-command** First officer** Second officer** Third officer...
member on military transport aircraft
Military transport aircraft
Military transport aircraft are typically fixed and rotary wing cargo aircraft which are used to deliver troops, weapons and other military equipment by a variety of methods to any area of military operations around the surface of the planet, usually outside of the commercial flight routes in...
. Loadmasters serve in the Air Force
Air force
An air force, also known in some countries as an air army, is in the broadest sense, the national military organization that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an army, navy or...
, Marines, Coast Guard
Coast guard
A coast guard or coastguard is a national organization responsible for various services at sea. However the term implies widely different responsibilities in different countries, from being a heavily armed military force with customs and security duties to being a volunteer organization tasked with...
and Navy
Navy
A navy is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake- or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions...
of many nations. These include the USAF
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
, RAF
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
, AIRCOM, RAAF, Australian Army
Australian Army
The Australian Army is Australia's military land force. It is part of the Australian Defence Force along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. While the Chief of Defence commands the Australian Defence Force , the Army is commanded by the Chief of Army...
, IAF
IAF
IAF may refer to the following air forces:* Indian Air Force* Indonesian Air Force* Iraqi Air Force* Israeli Air Force* Italian Air ForceIAF may also refer to:* International of Anarchist Federations* Indian Armed Forces...
, RNZAF and SLAF
SLAF
SLAF may refer to*The Sri Lanka Armed Forces, the combined military of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka**The Sri Lanka Air Force, a subset of the above....
,.
Duties
The loadmaster performs the calculations and plans cargoCargo
Cargo is goods or produce transported, generally for commercial gain, by ship, aircraft, train, van or truck. In modern times, containers are used in most intermodal long-haul cargo transport.-Marine:...
and passenger placement to keep the aircraft within permissible center of gravity limits throughout the flight. Loadmasters ensure cargo is placed on the aircraft in such a way as to prevent overloading sensitive sections of the airframe and cargo floor. Considerations are also given to civilian and military regulations which may prohibit the placement of one type of cargo in proximity to another. Unusual cargo may require special equipment to be loaded safely aboard the aircraft, limiting where the other cargo may feasibly be placed. Tactically, loadmasters may also directly affect combat readiness as they are also responsible for determining the load order of aircraft so that more tactically important materiel
Materiel
Materiel is a term used in English to refer to the equipment and supplies in military and commercial supply chain management....
(e.g. ammunition) is off-loaded and therefore ready to deploy faster than other support items; this may be especially germane to forward operating bases.
The loadmaster may physically load the aircraft, but primarily supervises loading crews and procedures. Once positioned aboard the aircraft, the loadmaster ensures it is secured against movement. Chains, straps, and integrated cargo locks are among the most common tools used to secure the cargo. Because the aircraft will execute abrupt maneuvers which may shift the cargo in flight, the loadmaster must determine the appropriate amount and placement of cargo restraint.
Many loadmasters may also be required to be qualified for "aerial delivery" of paratroops or cargo by parachute. Compared to the relatively routine transportation of cargo, airdrop
Airdrop
An airdrop is a type of airlift, developed during World War II to resupply otherwise inaccessible troops, who themselves may have been airborne forces. In some cases, it is used to refer to the airborne assault itself. Early airdrops were conducted by dropping or pushing padded bundles from...
s can be a highly technical and dangerous undertaking. Under some situations, the most effective way to resupply ground troops is by aerial delivery of equipment, ammunition, food, and medical supplies. Many military victories have been dependent in large part upon aerial delivery.
Cargo Helicopter loadmasters provide aircraft clearance information and direct pilots to safe positions when landing and taking off.
Development, early 1940s, and WW 2
Although the aircraft loadmaster career field was not formally established by the US Air Force until 1953, duties eventually assumed by loadmasters began early in World War II when laundry personnel assigned to Air Corps quartermaster units began flying on troop carrier transports in the Australia and New Guinea, later in the China-Burma-India area of operations, to eject cargo bundles they have previously prepared for airdrop from the doors over drop zones. By 1944 the IX Troop Carrier Command in Europe included personnel designated as "dropmasters" in its troop carrier squadrons. Also in 1944 the Air Transport Command began assigning enlisted men, most of whom had been in training for aircrew duty in other fields, including pilots, navigators and bombardiers, as "flight clerks." The first flight clerks were assigned to special flights known as "Red Ball" which were set up to deliver crucial aircraft parts to ATC units in India assigned to the India-China Ferry. By the end of the war, flight clerks were flying on most four-engine transports to be responsible for cargo manifests and take care of passengers. Weight and balance computation does not appear to have initially been one of their duties, although it has been associated with the loadmaster career field since it was established. They were given the MOS 2967 - Flight Traffic Clerk. The new MOS was obviously an outgrowth of the 967 MOS, which had been given to men assigned to air cargo units as air traffic specialists.During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, aircraft were initially loaded haphazardly, with ground personnel piling as much cargo into an airplane as possible, which often led to weight and balance problems. To alleviate the situation, air terminal squadrons were set up by the troop carrier wings overseas and, after the establishment of the Air Transport Command, at air terminals in the United States. Officers, pilots and navigators, were trained to perform weight and balance calculations and became responsible for load planning. Aerial engineers on bombers and four-engine transports were also trained in weight and balance calculations using special slide rules developed for each airplane and commonly known as "slipsticks".
Late 1940s, Korean War, and the 1950s
The term "loadmaster" is believed to have been created by the Douglas Aircraft CompanyDouglas Aircraft Company
The Douglas Aircraft Company was an American aerospace manufacturer, based in Long Beach, California. It was founded in 1921 by Donald Wills Douglas, Sr. and later merged with McDonnell Aircraft in 1967 to form McDonnell Douglas...
, because the first known use of the term appears in the flight manuals for the C-124 Globemaster II
C-124 Globemaster II
The Douglas C-124 Globemaster II, nicknamed "Old Shakey", was a heavy-lift cargo aircraft built by the Douglas Aircraft Company in Long Beach, California....
aircraft in the late 1940s, the largest piston-engine transport aircraft in the US inventory at the time.
A fixed-wing aircraft is supported in flight only by its wing(s). For an aircraft to become and remain airborne, the wing must move through the air at a specified "angle of attack
Angle of attack
Angle of attack is a term used in fluid dynamics to describe the angle between a reference line on a lifting body and the vector representing the relative motion between the lifting body and the fluid through which it is moving...
". To assure that the wing moves through the air at the proper angle of attack, the aircraft's center of gravity
Center of gravity
In physics, a center of gravity of a material body is a point that may be used for a summary description of gravitational interactions. In a uniform gravitational field, the center of mass serves as the center of gravity...
must fall within a range specified by the aircraft's designers. An aircraft that is too nose-heavy or too tail-heavy will not fly properly, because the angle of attack is affected adversely. This can destroy lift, and cause a stall
Stall (flight)
In fluid dynamics, a stall is a reduction in the lift coefficient generated by a foil as angle of attack increases. This occurs when the critical angle of attack of the foil is exceeded...
in certain maneuvers.
The center of gravity of a transport aircraft is a function of a number of factors: the weight of the empty aircraft (the so-called "basic weight"), the weight of the fuel load (usually carried only in the wings), the weight of the cargo and passenger
Passenger
A passenger is a term broadly used to describe any person who travels in a vehicle, but bears little or no responsibility for the tasks required for that vehicle to arrive at its destination....
s, and the weight of the crew, and the positions of each of these factors. The weight of each of these factors is known before a flight. What varies from flight to flight is not only the weight of any or all of these factors, but the position of such factors as fuel, passengers and cargo. The weight of each of these factors is converted into a "moment", by multiplying the weight of each item times its distance from a reference point which was established when the aircraft was designed. The sum of all moments is then divided by the sum of all weights and the result is the "center of gravity" for the aircraft with crew, fuel, cargo and passengers aboard. This center of gravity must be within a range specified by the designers. Furthermore, as fuel is burned off during flight the center of gravity changes continually, so that the aircraft becomes either more nose-heavy or more tail-heavy as the flight continues. This must be taken into account when the aircraft is loaded. An aircraft which was "within limits" on takeoff could, in the course of a flight, become "out of limits" because of fuel burnoff.
Throughout the 1950s, loadmasters in troop carrier units were assigned primarily to aerial port squadrons. In the Military Air Transport Service, they were assigned to air transport squadrons and flew on missions when cargo was carried. MATS loadmasters were considered cabin crewmembers rather than part of the flight crew and were not afforded crew rest as were members of the cockpit crew.
1960s, the Vietnam War, and 1970s
In the early 1960s with the advent of the Lockheed C-130 and the increasing role of troop carrier transports in Southeast Asia, loadmasters were reassigned from aerial port units to troop carrier squadrons where they assumed duties previously assigned to scanners and became part of the flight crew. Loadmasters became extremely important in the harsh conditions of Southeast Asia, where troop carrier aircraft operated into forward airfields that were often under fire, especially after the Tet Offensive of 1968 when soldiers and Marines began calling C-123s and C-130s "mortar magnets." The loadmaster's task was to discharge the load as quickly as possible so the airplane could get off the ground to avoid incoming rocket and mortar fire. Loadmasters were also trained to drop flares and leaflets, and to operate retrieval equipment used in special operations aircraft.In 1964 MATS became the Military Airlift Command and assumed more of an operational role. Loadmasters, often first-term airmen, continued the previous role but were also trained for tactical operations, particularly aerial delivery of troops and cargo. When the gigantic C-5A entered service, the loadmaster field became more technical as loadmasters became responsible for operating complex systems to operate the hydraulic systems that operated the forward and aft cargo doors and to kneel the airplane for loading and unloading.
The Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
also led to the assignment of loadmasters to Airlift Command Elements, commonly known as ALCE, where they were responsible for planning loads at forward locations with Army and Marine Corps units.
1980s and after
Until the 1980s loadmasters were found primarily within the military, but as civilian airlines became more involved in air freight operations with large airplanes, particularly, the Boeing 747, many companies began using loadmasters on flights where complex cargo loads were carried.Heroic loadmasters
Airman First ClassAirman First Class
Airman first class is the third enlisted rank in the United States Air Force, just above airman and below senior airman. The rank of airman first class is considered a junior enlisted rank, with the non-commissioned officers and senior non-commissioned officers above it.Airman first class is a...
John Levitow
John Levitow
John L. Levitow , was an AC-47 gunship loadmaster for the 3d Special Operations Squadron who received the Medal of Honor for exceptional heroism during wartime.-Biography:...
became the only loadmaster to be decorated with the Medal of Honor after his AC-47 gunship was struck by a Viet Cong mortar near Bien Hoa in 1968. Badly wounded, Levitow managed to throw an armed flare out of the airplane before it ignited.
Staff Sergeant Charles Schaub was awarded the Air Force Cross
Air Force Cross (United States)
The Air Force Cross is the second highest military decoration that can be awarded to a member of the United States Air Force. The Air Force Cross is the Air Force decoration equivalent to the Distinguished Service Cross and the Navy Cross .The Air Force Cross is awarded for extraordinary heroism...
for his actions when his C-130 was struck by ground fire that killed the flight engineer and wounded the copilot and navigator during an airdrop mission over An Loc in 1972.
SSgt. Maynard Grubbs was awarded the Silver Star for his role as the loadmaster on the C-123 crew commanded by Lt. Col. Joe M. Jackson, who landed his C-123 at Khe Sanh to pick up members of an Air Force airlift control team that had been stranded at the besieged camp at Kham Duc. (Lt. Col. Jackson was awarded the Medal of Honor for the action.)
Several other loadmasters received Silver Stars for actions in Blind Bat C-130 flareships and SSgt. Ralph Bemis received the medal after the C-130 he was on was shot down over An Loc.
Sgt Daniel Baxter (RAF) was a Chinook loadmaster and a crew member of the standby Chinook at Camp Bastion
Camp Bastion
Camp Bastion is the main British military base in Afghanistan. Accommodating 21,000 people it is situated northwest of Lashkar Gah, the capital of Helmand Province, and exists to be the logistics hub for operations in Helmand....
, Afghanistan. On 6 September 2006, he acted with exceptional professionalism and bravery under enemy fire three times.