Aircraft with most crew members (minus cabin crew)

[BoeingDriver99]

Hi all,

Random question about older aircraft. What aircraft had the most crew members to operate the aircraft?

Off the top of my head;

1. Captain
2. First Officer
3. Flight Engineer
4. Navigator
5. Radio Operator
6. Loadmaster
7. Second Officer

Any other roles I am missing?

Thanks

[ATNotts]

I'm sure I read that the AN-225 has up to 20 crew members including the loadmaster and the cargo handling crew. I guess the crew compliment on the AN-124 may be not much different.

[Shackman]

Are you asking Military or Civil?

[bingofuel]

I believe the Hindenburg had a crew of 40.

[Less Hair]

The An-225 seems to have not only two flight engineers one a loadmaster but a full team of at least a dozen loaders many of them aviation engineers. They have some modular loading system and onboard cranes to get whatever it is onboard. Everybody is accommodated in the upper deck racks, so permanent crew.

[Herod]

Do the men in the black leather coats count as cabin crew?

[B2N2]

What is considered “operate”?
A loadmaster is not required to fly the aircraft.

[ATNotts]

What is considered “operate”?
A loadmaster is not required to fly the aircraft.

I would include the loadmaster as on cargo aircraft the load is hardly self loading, and likewise those on board to operate the equipment for loading and unloading the aircraft.

[Krystal n chips]

What is considered “operate”?
A loadmaster is not required to fly the aircraft.

Getting into the realms of semantics here it seems but any Mil Loadmaster in particular would "less than politely " inform you otherwise.

As for crew compliments, yep, the AN 124 has two drivers, two F/ E's , a Nav and a Radio Op along with....a Loadmaster. The rest of the crew are a mix of ground engineers / loaders butt they all get involved it seems with constructing the loading ramps. They live, literally, at the rear and there's a tunnel to get forward when required, but, as we were informed by the Loadie, there's a demarcation zone as it were and it was suggested we didn't venture past it. That said, on the ground, they were happy for us to have a look at the cockpit. The Loadie has his own station on the left at the rear.

That's all now as it were, but surely some of the American / Russian heavy bombers carried a large compliment in the past until they were designed out by technology.

[Brit312]

Now back in the 1960s if we operated an aircraft across the Atlantic we needed a Navigator as part of the crew , but if we were operating say just to Rome and back there was no need for a Navigator so the crew were say 2 pilots and a F/E

[rog747]

Passenger airliners, first Jets -
Even the Comet 1 series had 4, or sometimes 5 flight crew in the cockpit/pointy end, as did 707's & VC-10's on the Transatlantic & Pacific until NAV aids and Comms were much improved.

1. Captain
2. First Officer
3. Flight Engineer
4. Navigator/Second officer
5. Radio Operator

Plus, often would also carry a ground engineer as well for remote outstations.

Then we found ourselves in the late 1960's with old 80 seater DC-4's (such as Channel AW & Air Ferry) just flying around with 2 pilots.

[Quemerford]

What is considered “operate”?
A loadmaster is not required to fly the aircraft.

...which is akin to saying you don't need a rigger to fly the aircraft. But you won't fly long without one.

[Miles Magister]

Hawker 801

2 pilots
Flight engineer
2 navigators
1 Air Electronics Officer
3 Wet men
4 Dry men
Sometimes a few more

[Brit312]

Rog747 I can assure you the VC-10 did not carry a Radio Officer. The last British airliner I know of which had a R/O position was the Britannia 312 and I specify 312 because all the other versions of the 300 series did not have a R/O position,

[Spooky 2]

1649 Constellation, DC7C: Europe to KLAX/KSFO, 20+ hours
1 Capt/AC Commander
2 FO
2 FE
2 Navs

Boeing 707, Same routing: <12 Hours
1 Capt/AC Commander
1 FO
2 FE (Union policy)
1 Nav/RP

Some operators, most notably BOAC and Pan Am supplemented duties between Nav duties and FO duties (2nd Officer).

[rog747]

Thanks Brit312 - perhaps it was EAAC that had 5 crew on their VC-10's sometimes?
I did read somewhere about a radio officer...

[FlightlessParrot]

What is considered “operate”?
A loadmaster is not required to fly the aircraft.
The ATA showed that a 1940s four-engined bomber could be flown by a single person, so I think it's more interesting to considerr the number of people required to operate the aircraft in a normal fashion; FAs are a pretty clearly separate category.

[etudiant]

Not sure if it qualifies, but iirc the 'Caspian Sea Monster' had a crew of 22, who were required for the trimming of the aircraft.
Inadequate coordination of this team reportedly was what caused the crash of the prototype.

[Pom Pax]

Nobody has mentioned boats both civil and military, were they crew heavy?

[FlightlessParrot]

Not sure if it qualifies, but iirc the 'Caspian Sea Monster' had a crew of 22, who were required for the trimming of the aircraft.
Inadequate coordination of this team reportedly was what caused the crash of the prototype.
Excuse me, but I have an image of a lot of big Russian blokes running fore and aft at the commands of the Captain.

[BoeingDriver99]

Wow great discussion started here! I don’t really mind what’s included in the chat. All great stuff.

[Peter47]

I've just been reading A Pictorial History of Pan American World Airways by P. St John Tuner. At the end of Chapter 6 (Clippers to Europe) he says that B-314 seaplane had a flight deck the size of the DC3s passenger cabin, 21ft 4in long 9ft 6in wide with seven work stations. The crew consisted of Captain, First Officer, Second Officer. Navigator, Engineer, Radio Officer & Junior Flight Officer. I don't know how often supplementary crew would have been carried. The typical passenger load was 35 so that's five passengers per flight crew member. Things gave changed a bit since then!

[AARON O'DICKYDIDO]

If you are talking military the Nimrod R1 must be up front of the list!

Aaron.

[Beamr]

How about Zeppelin-Staaken R.VI.
Apparently crew of ten: commander, two pilots, two copilots, two radio operators, and fuel attendant in the cockpit, one mechanic in each engine nacelle.
I'd hate to be the in-flight mechanic, though.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zeppelin-Staaken_R.VI

[Allan Lupton]

Mention of Zeppelin brings me to point out that airships were airborne for many days at a time so needed at least two shifts of crew. R101 had 54 POB when it hit France, of whom only about 12 were not crew.

Since the OP wrote "aircraft" I think it can include airships. . .

[chevvron]

The BAC 1-11 (XX919) and Comet 4 (XV814) at RAE Farnborough were routinely operated with 4 on the flight deck; 2 up the front plus Nav and AE; mind you they needed the nav 'cos a lot of trials were done away from radio navaids.
The Comet actually had seating for 5; I know because I did a trip in the 5th seat where the 'transponder operator' sat; yes really, the pilots couldn't operate it because it was on a panel behind them!

[Less Hair]

The E-4B "doomsday plane" has up to 112 crew.
https://www.af.mil/About-Us/Fact-Sheets/Display/Article/104503/e-4b/

[dixi188]

I remember a "Straight and Level" pic in "Flight" that had a large crew about to board some vintage aircraft with a balloon caption saying "One more and we'll have a cricket team".

[Wunwing]

More recently.
Qants B747 SP, SYD/LAX/SYD.
Capt
F/O
2 x S/O
2 xFE.

Even more recent, B747 300 SYD/ FCO and FRA.
Capt
F/O 2 x S/O and
FE

Wunwing

[LJ60FFWD]

Recent flying aircraft AN124 and AN225
6 Crew on Flight deck:
1 Captain
1 F/O
2 Engineer
1 Navigator
1 Radio Operator

Not to mention the loadmasters in the back...

[Blacksheep]

Surprised no-one has mentioned the ten man crew of a Shackleton, but surely the E-3 AWACS beats the lot with the 4 flight deck and 18 operators.

[TLoraine]

Spruce Goose

According to Wikipedia, when Howard Hughes flew the Spruce Goose his crew included a copilot, two flight engineers, 16 mechanics, and two other flight crew. It also carried seven invited guests from the press corps and an additional seven industry representatives. In total, thirty-six people were on board.