The Feasibility of A Global Airlift,
Abstract
The number of aircraft and amount of fuel needed to airlift U.S. imports and exports are determined in this study for both the full flow of U.S. overseas trade and for the more limited importation of only vital strategic materials. Because the airlifting of cargo and of the aircraft fuel needed to extend the range of the cargo aircraft is not yet feasible, the study considers an operation in which surface tankers haul the fuel for cargo aircraft to those overseas points where needed. Finally, the number of surface ships and the amount of fuel needed to sustain the same lift by sea is developed for comparison with the airlift requirements. Surface transport of airlift fuel is shown to be almost as large a task as surface transport of the cargo involved, and modernization of the merchant fleet appears to be a much less costly way to reduce shipping protection requirements. (Author)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Sep 05, 1957
- Accession Number
- AD0719899
Entities
People
- J. W. Higgins
- R. S. Weinberg
Organizations
- Center for Naval Analyses