Speifications
Aircraft Type: C-119G, S/N 51-8024L, “Flying Boxcar,” Fairchild Aircraft.
Mission: Cargo Transport
NUMBER BUILT : Fairchild and Kaiser built a total of 1,151 C-119s. The break down is as follows: 1 C-119A, 54 C-119Bs, 303 C-119Cs, 210 C-119Fs, 484 C-119Gs, 41 R4Q-1s (Marines), and 58 R4Q-2s (Navy and Marines).
Powerplant: Two Wright R-3350-89W air-cooled radial engines, 3,400 horsepower each.
Weight: Empty 39,982 lbs., Loaded 74,400 lbs., Maximum takeoff weight 74,400 lbs.
Dimensions: Wingspan 109’3″, Length 86’6″, Height 26’3″.
Performance: Maximum speed 296 MPH at 17,000 feet, Cruising speed 200 MPH, Service ceiling 24,000 feet.
Significance of Type
The C-119 design began in 1941 as the XC-82 Packet. It was first flown on 17 November 1947, at Fairchild Aviation Company’s Hagerstown, Maryland plant. The XC-82 was the first American aircraft designed during World War II specifically for a fast, mobile, cargo-carrying function. It entered production as the C-82A, a twin-boomed transport powered by two Pratt and Whitney R-2800-85 air cooled engines rated at 2,100 horsepower each. The C-82 was used in the Berlin Airlift during 1948, but was not as well publicized as the more numerous C-47s or C-54s. In 1947, the 137th production model C-82A was extensively modified into the XC-82B. This plane had a relocated crew compartment for improved vision, a wider fuselage, strengthened wings and larger engines. Because this aircraft was more than a new version of the C-82A, the Air Force redesignated the plane the C-119 and nicknamed it “The Flying Boxcar”. When production of the C-119s ended in 1955, 1,151 planes had been built, half of which were still in service in 1969.
About Our C-119G, S/N 51-8024L : The Museum’s C-119 was manufactured by Fairchild Aircraft, Hagerstown, Maryland, and delivered to the USAF on January 5, 1953. Below are the unit assignments of this aircraft:
January 1953- To 316th Troop Carrier Group (Tactical Air Command), Sewart AFB, Tennessee (deployments to Burlington, Vermont and Elmendorf AFB, Alaska)
November 1954- To 314th Troop Carrier Wing (TAC), Sewart AFB, Tennessee (deployment to Elmendorf AFB, Alaska)
July 1957- To 2466th Air Reserve Flying Center (US Air Force Reserve), Bakalar AFB, Indiana
May 1958- To 2472nd Air Reserve Flying Detachment (AFRES), Tinker AFB, Oklahoma
March 1959- To 305th Troop Carrier Squadron (AFRES), Tinker AFB
January 1961- To 434th Troop Carrier Wing (AFRES), Bakalar AFB, Indiana
May 1963- To 930th Troop Carrier Group (AFRES), Bakalar AFB, Indiana
June 1968- To 71st Air Command Squadron (TAC), Lockbourne AFB, Ohio
October 1968- To 4413th Combat Crew Training Squadron (TAC), Lockbourne AFB, Ohio
February 1969- To 1st Special Operations Wing (TAC), Lockbourne AFB, Ohio
July 1969- To 4410th Combat Crew Training Wing (TAC), Lockbourne AFB, Ohio
March 1970- Dropped from inventory by transfer to the Strategic Air & Space Museum