A cargo Boeing 747 aircraft with a sub-floor of 463L pallets can transport up to 6 M113A3 tracked armored vehicles inside its cargo hold. The M113A3 is 11 tons and fits within the weight and size limits for cargo 747 transport. A ramp would need to be designed and fabricated to allow the tracked vehicles to drive directly into the cargo hold of the 747 to speed up the loading and unloading process. Minor modifications may also be needed to accommodate vehicles wider than the standard 2.44 meter cargo pallet width, such as the 2.54 meter wide M113A3. With a sub-floor and a loading ramp, cargo 747 aircraft provide a way to rapidly

1. Cargo 747 Air-Mech of M113A3,
11-ton tracked AFVs
Special thanks to Mr.
Carlo Kopp of the
Australian Aerospace
Center for
inspiration/artwork!

2. Line 747 Floor with 463L pallets to enable vehicles to be
carried...
www.adtdl.army.mil/cgi-bin/atdl.dll/fm/55-450-2/Ch4.htm
463L CARGO SYSTEM. In 1957, the USAF adopted a standardized system to facilitate the rapid movement of general
cargo aboard airlift aircraft. This 463L system encompasses all phases of cargo loading including MHE, cargo loading
platforms, restraint equipment, and in-aircraft systems. The 463L system is the Air Force standard for movement of
concentrated cargo. The system is extremely efficient and can reduce ground times by as much as 75 percent.
The 463L master pallet is made of corrosion resistant aluminum with soft wood core and is framed on all sides by
aluminum rails. The rails have 22 steel tie-down rings attached in such a manner that there are six rings on each long
side and five rings on each short side. The rails also have indents (notches) designed to accept the detinet locks located
on numerous types of MHE and are found on board all airlift-capable aircraft. The overall dimensions of the 463L pallet
are 108 inches wide by 88 inches long and 2 1/4 inches thick. However, the usable dimensions of the upper surface are
104 inches wide by 84 inches long. This allows for 2 inches around the periphery of the pallet to attach straps, nets, or
other restraint devices. An empty 463L pallet weighs 290 pounds (355 pounds with nets) and has a maximum load
capacity of 10,000 pounds. The maximum pounds per square inch (psi) for the 463L pallet is 250 pounds. Concentrated
loading should not exceed 330 pounds on any one square foot. If a load exceeds this amount, then shoring must be

3. FM 55-9 Field Manual No. 55-9
HEADQUARTERS
DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY
Washington, DC, 5 April 1993
UNIT AIR MOVEMENT PLANNING
CHAPTER 3
CIVIL RESERVE AIR FLEET AIRCRAFT
www.adtdl.army.mil/cgi-bin/atdl.dll/fm/55-9/Ch3.htm
"Problems associated with loading
CRAF aircraft are not usually
encountered in loading military aircraft.
The cargo compartment of a B-747, for
example, is 16 feet above ground level
(AGL). Standard military materials-
handling equipment cannot be used to
load the aircraft. Like the floors of the
KC-10, the floors of all civilian aircraft
are not strong enough to withstand the
ground pressure of vehicles. A subfloor
of 463L pallets must be installed before
loading any vehicles. Despite
subflooring, any vehicle heavier than a
2 1/2-ton truck cannot be loaded onto
most civilian aircraft. Pallet stations may
also have weight restrictions, and
planners must adjust loads (see AMCP
55-41)."
"Except for some B-747 models with
ramps, vehicles cannot be driven onto
the aircraft as doors on the fuselage
sides are relatively small."

4. With a "sub-floor" of 463L pallets 11-ton M113A3s can be air-transported by cargo 747s;
18.8 ton LAV-IIIs cannot even fit and are too heavy...the M113A3 weighs roughly the same
as a 2.5 truck = 11 tons. How many M113A3s in a B-747?
Vehicle length figures are:
M113A3 = 208.5 inches long
Wiesel 1 = 137.79 inches long
Wiesel 2 = 165.35 inches long
M8 AGS = 239.4 inches long
B-747 in 33 x 463L pallet configuration (2 rows of 16 x 108" wide x 88" long pallets) =
1344 inches total length available
So a B-747 could carry 6 x M113A3s = 1254 inches
_____________________________________________
6 M113A3 Armored Fighting Vehicles! (M113A3s likely loaded side-by-side, 3 long)
So if the U.S. Army was prudent, it would base its IBCTs around M113A3s so it could use
CRAF and/or leased cargo 747s to guarantee in a crisis that the majority of its air-
deployable forces can get to the conflict to achieve land maneuver dominance to balance
out precision firepower forces so enemies can be collapsed not just annihilated.
Wheeled HMMWVs replaced by 4-ton tracked Wiesel 2 AFVs for 16-21 per cargo 747
depending on 2-row loading with 463L flooring or 3-row loading without 463Ls are used.
Tracked M8 Armored 105mm Gun System shoot-on-the-move light tanks may be 747
transportable with extra plywood shoring on top of the 463L pallet second floors, increasing
BCT firepower/lethality. M113A3 (Gavins), Wiesels (Ridgways) and M8 (Bufords) would all
have rubber, single-piece “band-tracks” to lighten their overall weight and reduce pressures
on cargo 747 floors.

5. M113A3 LAV-III

6. Boeing On-Board Loader = 13K anywhere
2
3
1

7. The Freighter/Combi Nose Door allows the aircraft, with minor
modifications, to carry the Boeing On Board Loader device, which is stowed
in the nose of the aircraft and deployed once on the ground to provide
autonomous freight handling. This device takes 30 minutes to deploy or
stow, weighs 6.6 tons and can handle payloads of up to 13.6 tons. When
stowed it displaces two 2.44 x 6.05 meter containers or 6.7 per cent of main
deck capacity. The Boeing On Board Loader may be disconnected from the
aircraft nose and used as a free standing loader. It is designed to load and
unload 2.44 x 6.05 meter pallets or containers, using either the Nose Door or
the Side Cargo Door. The loader is powered from the aircraft’s electrical
system at either door, or by a ground based generator. This loader may not
be suitable in its basic configuration for the handling of the M113A3/4s and
may require some size changes to get a looser fit, though its width and
length seem adequate. Nominal time to load or unload an aircraft using this
device is about one hour, assuming the device is already deployed. One
option is a mixed fleet with only some aircraft fitted with the Nose Door,
4
whereby these are used to deploy one or more Boeing On Board Loaders
into a site at the beginning of a lift. These loaders would be recovered at the
end of the airlift. Other aircraft without Nose Doors would use the deployed
loaders. There may be some scope for faster reconfiguration time between
the airlift and troop carrying configuration, by using dedicated 2.44 x 6.05
meter pallets fitted with fixed canvas troop seats, rather than commercial
Combi airliner seating. This could be implemented in a manner which saves
considerable weight, against commercial seating, thereby allowing more
troops and freight to be loaded into the aircraft. A simple measure of the
Boeing 747-200CF/300CF/400F as an airlifter is that it provides payload
range performance in the class of a C-5 Galaxy, but its freight loading door
limits payload items to sizes similar to those carried by a C-130 Hercules or
C-141 Starlifter. With the exception of length, the Boeing 747 SCD can
handle items slightly larger than either the C-130 or C-141. Therefore any
Army assets air-portable by C-130 would almost certainly be portable by
747, thereby taking a significant load off the USAF C-17/C-130 fleet.
5 6

8. BOBL unloading a height-reduced M35 2.5
ton 6x6 truck from a cargo 747
M35A2
http://msnhomepages.talkcity.com/Terminus/load
warrior/images/spdimensions.jpg
Width: 97.8 inches 2.48 meters
Length: 278.3 inches 7.068 meters
Height: 112 inches 2.84 meters
M113A3
Width: 100 inches 2.54 meters
Length: 207 inches 5.3 meters
Height: 73 inches 2 meters
2.48 meters
7
wide

9. M35 2.5 ton truck
on sliding pallet
Cargo on sliding
pallet

10. Boeing On Board Loader (BOBL)
Side Cargo
Door The Boeing On Board Loader was
manufactured by Boeing for the Iraqi national
airline during the nineteen eighties. This
device is designed to be stowed in the nose
of a Boeing 747-200C/F Combi or Freighter.
The nominal time to load or unload the full
capacity in pallet or container freight for a
747-200C/F is about 1 hour.
Loader Weight: 6.6 tons
Deployment Time: 30 minutes
2.44 meters Stow Time: 30 minutes
Power Supply: 747 electrical system or
115V/400 Hz ground generator
Maximum Payload Mass: 13.6 tonnes
Maximum Payload Size: 2.44 x 6.05 meter
pallet (see left) or container or vehicle. Minor
modifications are required to the Nose Door
area to accommodate attachments for loader
deployment and stowing.
The existing loader design can be used for
standard pallet and container freight, and
vehicles.
More than 2.2 inches for M113A3 width to fit

11. Roll-On/Roll-Off cargo 747 nose ramp?
“We've come to the conclusion that a ramp would need to
be fabricated for the purpose and weight of the vehicles. I
would guess that some sort of folding design would be
desireable in order to slide under or next to the vehicles
on the main cargo deck. It's been suggested that FMC
(Food Machinery Corporation, www.fmc.com) might be a
good candidate for this item.
Sorry I can't be more help, but the good news is that
development of a loading ramp wouldn't be that difficult
once the dimensions are determined (based on
approach/departure angles of the vehicles, vehicle climb
capability, etc.), the stowage limitations with vehicles on
board, any folding requirements to meet stowage space,
amount of manpower assumed to operate ramp versus
machinery requirements, etc. An interface between ramp
and airplane would be required. It would be a fun project
to work on!”
Ronald E Wilander
Boeing Service Engineering
Phone 425-266-5609, FAX 425-266-4884
40-84, Col F9

13. Carlo Kopp of Australian Aerospace
Center’s RO/RO 747 Ramp

14. Built-in Airstairs to load
crew/Soldiers
One problem is the absence of a door or hatch and internal ladder for crew and passenger access
to 747 aircraft at sites without appropriately sized boarding facilities for airliners. The solution is to
employ a modification used on the USAF’s Boeing E-4 NEACP airborne command post and the VC-
25A VIP aircraft. These aircraft carry a deployable set of airstairs stowed in the forward lower lobe
cargo bay. The VC-25A and E-4B both carry internal airstairs to provide crew and passenger
access at sites without airliner boarding facilities. The airstairs deploy from the forward cargo
door. Integration of the deployable airstairs would render some small portion of the main deck
floor above the forward lower lobe cargo bay unusable for freight, so as to provide space for a
hatch to access the airstairs. Since retractable stairs should be installed to provide access
between the main deck and the upper deck, these should be located adjacent to the hatch to the
airstairs to minimise the loss to main deck floor space. The airstairs provide the ability to load and
unload passengers, as well as providing access for the crew, regardless of site facilities

15. U.S. ARMY/TRANSCOM
www.defence.gov.au/aerospacecentre/publish/paper82.htm
Australian cargo/tanker 747 study
Morton, Beyer & Agnew (MBA), Future Aircraft Values, 1999 Edition, pp.56, 143-144. Freight
conversions are performed by Boeing Wichita, GATX-Airlog, Pemco Aeroplex, Israel Aircraft
Industries and HAECO with costs depending on the scope of the conversion package. Typical
costs are between $12M and 20M per airframe.
P. 137. Many late build 747-200 series aircraft will have acceptable fatigue life and the following
analysis and conclusions for the 747-200/300 series would apply to these. The last -200F
freighters were built during the early 1990s. Typically the fatigue life of older 747s can be
extended through Section 41 reworks, and Pylon and D checks, with the cost of such a work
package reaching up to USD 10M per aircraft. Engine overhauls typically cost $1.5M each at
intervals of 1200 to 1500 cycles.

16. The poor load-bearing capacity, lack of length/smoothness of most landing strips/runways in potential problem
areas prevents the direct-insertion of troops and supplies by civilian airliners; only military transports using
parachute airdrop can seize the initial assault landing zone and then airland using their rough field landing gear
and short take-off/landing features. Therefore a two-tier model, whereby the strategic heavy-lift aircraft deliver to
the nearest airfield with a 747-rated runway, and USAF C-130 Army CH-47D/Fs are employed over shorter
distances to deliver the payloads into the area of operations. Should a runway of suitable quality be available in
the immediate vicinity of the problem area, the exposure of a high-value asset such as a large transport to small-
caliber ground fire, shoulder-launched SAMs or mortar attack on the ground must be avoided. Current U.S. Army
thinking is to restructure its assets so that everything can be lifted into a theatre by a C-17, and then moved
inside the theatre by a C-130. See Fulghum D.A., “Army Chief Stresses Agility, Firepower”, AW&ST, 18 October
1999, page 36
Strategic Cargo 747s fly vehicles/men
to Theater Support Base (TSB); USAF
C-130s and Army CH-47D/Fs fly them
CH-47 Chinook to the Assault Zone
C-130 Hercules

17. *TRANSCOM asset, Just 7 x cargo
frees USAF airlift to 747s can move
airdrop/STOL airland a 42 x M113A3
Army force-entry
Mechanized
units
Infantry
*Can be Pre- Battalion
Positioned/Loaded Combat Team
in one lift!
* Low-Cost using
existing M113A3s 24 x 747s move
and unused 747s an entire
under lease Brigade
Combat Team!
* Moves BCT
vehicles, supplies,