CDF strategic air transport

Air Service strategic transport squadrons, equipped with one of two of the largest jets in the T-60s series, provide large scale airlift for Sober Thought's Land Service. The unarmed and unarmoured passenger transports must fly in secure airspace or be escorted by jet fighters. The same smaller airframe supports the strategic AWACS airplane, and both airframes can be configured for airborne refuelling airplanes.

Along with their propeller driven tactical and smaller jet counterparts, they belong to one ordinal number sequence appearing in arbitrary order, e.g., 1st Strategic Transport Squadron (T-63s), 15th Strategic Transport Squadron (T-62s), 26th VIP Transport Squadron (T-60s and T-61s), 29th Strategic Transport Squadron (T-63s). Three letter squadron codes are assigned at random within the class, and the fourth letter indicating the specific aircraft in the squadron is duplicated as little as possible in the four strategic transport squadrons (combining both aircraft types) the Community Defence Forces raise in every wave per one hundred million national population.

Command and flight crew

Despite the large number of officers and non-commissioned members in the squadron -- double some squadrons -- the command staff of both types of strategic squadrons remains unchanged: Chief Lieutenant as Commanding Officer, Lieutenant as Executive Officer and Warrant Officer as Squadron Sergeant. The three airborne Flights of three aircraft are led by Lieutenants, with Vice Lieutenants as the pilots in the other six squadron aircraft as well as the co-pilots in all squadron aircraft.

Because of the small number of strategic airlift squadrons, and the rapidly changing manner of their use, command and air crew rarely get a chance to make the squadron merely a flying unit and not an administrative unit as well. However, the command staff still has enough air crew to fit out an entire airplane should they desire to take over an existing one.

In the larger T-63, there are four flight crew, the pilot and co-pilot already mentioned, and the navigator and flight engineer. The two pilots rank in the Lieutenant class, while the other two are non-commissioned with one ranking as Leading Flier and the other as Master Flier, who is who varying from airplane to airplane. The eleven cabin crew include a cabin chief (Vice Warrant Officer), a cabin deputy chief (Leading Flier), three cabin team leaders (Master Fliers) and six cabin crew (Fliers).

The smaller T-62 carries a similar but somewhat reduced crew of eleven all ranks. The flight crew is identical, but the cabin chief becomes a Leading Flier unless the pilot is a Flight commander. Furthermore, the following four cabin positions are eliminated: the cabin deputy chief, one cabin team leader and two cabin crew.

Ground crew

The Air Maintenance Flight for both types has 120 all ranks, four officers and the rest non-commissioned members. Happily, the Lieutenant in charge only has to worry about refuelling, repairing and inspecting since the T-60s series aircraft have neither armament nor armour. In fact, the most powerful weapon in the cockpit and cabin area is supposed to be the regulation 9 mm pistols with special disintegrating bullets for use in the pressurised fuselage.

The Supply Detachment for both types has 30 all ranks under a Vice Lieutenant. It is supposed to store all firearms and explosives in the cargo area, away from both passengers and aircraft crew. Its troops also do a lot of the manhandling and warehousing required for the unit.

The Administration Flight of a TP-63 squadron theoretically has 115 all ranks and is headed by the Squadron XO. Practically, however, it has 100 all ranks and is headed by a Vice Lieutenant. These people are responsible for the comfort of the passengers as they board, as well as the physical, financial, consumer and career health of all members of the squadron. The added responsibilities for preparing food on the ground for consumption in the air means that there are a lot more cooks than normal.

The Admin Flight of a TP-62 squadron is slightly smaller, commensurate with the reduction in aircraft its crew, with a theoretical strength of 91 under the Squadron X0. Disregarding the spare aircrew headed by the command staff, however, it has 80 all ranks and is headed by a Vice Lieutenant. Its responsibilities are the same for that of the TP-63 Admin Flight.

Existing strategic transport jet aircraft

The Community Defence Forces' T-60s series jet transports are similar in concept and execution to the real world Airbus A series passenger jets. And while Airbus Industrie does not in fact market such things, I have created the smaller executive and regional jet siblings for this family.

Next in the family pecking order, and first point of discussion for this article, is the TP-62. It has two jet engines, a passenger compartment that can carry roughly 250 troops, and a cargo compartment that can carry their field kit and small arms. It would take two planes to move the sharp end of a light infantry battalion, and another quarter to move the dull one (i.e., administrative or service support rather than combat or combat support troops).

And the biggest sibling, so far, in the whole dang family is the TP-63. It has four jet engines, seating for about 500 troops, and a place to stow their immediately necessary gear and personal weapons. One plane could move a stripped down light infantry battalion.

Possible strategic transport jet aircraft

I do not anticipate it, but I might "invent" a TP-64. It would be yet a bigger version of the TP-62, modelled on one of the doubledecker passenger airplanes that are on the verge of coming into service on both sides of the Atlantic, or one of those huge flip-nosed Antonovs one may currently lease.

I have allowed for the possibility of a TC-63. That is to say, a variant of the larger strategic transport aircraft configured to accept bulk freight only by removing the passenger compartment and converting it entirely to a hold, like FedEx or UPS Boeing 707s but on a grander scale.

Frankly though, this seems like a very expensive and unreliable way to move tanks, tracked armoured vehicles or wheeled armoured vehicles. If you've captured the airport in order to make a safe landing, surely you must have captured a seaport as well where you can dock your transport ships and unload a whole armoured brigade with each vessel (not to mention the marine assault companies on the landing ships). If you haven't captured the airport or established air superiority, why are you sending unarmed (and basically civilian airframed) aircraft into harm's way?

I'll have to do some investigation on this, it would seem to me that you could only squeeze maybe five or six large armoured vehicles onto a TC-63, and half that on a TC-62. To move just the sharp end of an armoured battalion by air, it would seem to me, would take more than an entire squadron of the big ones (and possibly an additional plane for the AV crews alone, depending on whether some or all could be shipped with the AVs in a pressurized cargo hold). Feel free to leave your comments and conjectures on this.

As usual, a silhouette and additional technical details will follow when I have the time to make convincing facsimiles up. After all, one does not want to look like a n00b with n00ks if one can help it.