C-141 Starlifters transported troops and cargo for over 40 years before C-17s made them obsolete. Take a look inside.

• The C-141 Starlifter was known as the “workhorse” of the US Air Force for over 40 years.
• The planes transported troops and cargo and participated in humanitarian missions.
• They operated from 1965 to 2006 and were replaced by the C-17 Globemaster III.

The C-141 Starlifter operated in the US Air Force from 1965 to 2006.

The flight engineer was responsible for monitoring and managing the aircraft’s systems, including the engines.

The role largely became obsolete with the introduction of digital technology.

As the Air Force retired C-141 Starlifters, they were replaced by the C-17 Globemaster III.

The C-17 Globemaster III only requires three crew members: a pilot, co-pilot, and loadmaster. It can transport up to 170,900 pounds of cargo — more than twice the capacity of the C-141B — and fly at 450 knots, or about 517 miles per hour. It can also operate on runways as short as 3,500 feet.

The C-17 entered service in 1993 and continues to support the Air Force’s combat operations and humanitarian missions, picking up where the C-141 Starlifters left off as the US military’s primary long-haul transport aircraft. Boeing has a $2.5 billion contract to sustain the Air Force’s C-17s, and there continues to be interest in building new Globemasters even though Boeing closed the production line over a decade ago.

“In every conflict, every disaster, every contingency anywhere on the globe, Starlifter crews have been the first responders,” June Shrewsbury, Lockheed Martin’s vice president of Strategic Airlift, said at a C-141 retirement ceremony held in 2004. “The C-141 has quite a record of achievement.”