Why C-5 airlift cannot replace Atlantic sealift

Could NATO put its vital equipment on C-5 Galaxy aircraft instead of exposing it on container ships?

Only selected critical loads; the available aircraft, turnaround demands, and safe-airfield limits were far too restrictive to sustain the whole war by air.

Only about 81 C-5As were available, with the C-5B build still beginning, and each aircraft had to return and be serviced after delivery. Heavy loads reduce the number of useful sorties further, while vulnerable German airfields are poor destinations for such scarce transports. Aircraft therefore needed long, survivable runways away from the front, so cargo landed in Britain or France would still require onward movement. The exchange shows why urgent airlift can rush selected critical loads but complements rather than replaces transatlantic shipping.