Douglas A/B-26 Invader
C-119
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Douglas A/B-26 Invader C-119 |
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C-119 Flying Boxcar Military transport aircraft Fairchild Aircraft November 1947 December 1949 1974 United States Air Force 1949-1955 1,183 C-82 Packet XC-120 Packplane The Fairchild C-119 Flying Boxcar (Navy designation R4Q)
was an American military transport aircraft developed from the World War II Fairchild C-82 Packet, designed to carry cargo,
personnel, litter patients, and mechanized equipment, and to drop cargo and troops by parachute. The first C-119 made its
initial flight in November 1947, and by the time production ceased in 1955, more than 1,100 C-119s had been built. Its cargo-hauling
ability and unusual appearance earned it the nickname "Flying Boxcar". The Air Force C-119 and Navy R4Q was initially a redesign of
the earlier Fairchild C-82 Packet, built between 1945 and 1948. The Packet provided service to the Air Force's Tactical Air
Command and Military Air Transport Service for nearly nine years during which time its design was found to have several serious
problems. All of these were addressed in the C-119. In contrast to the C-82, the cockpit was moved forward to fit
flush with the nose rather than its previous location over the cargo compartment. This resulted in more usable cargo space
and larger loads than the C-82 could accommodate. The C-119 also featured more powerful engines, and a wider and stronger
airframe. The first C-119 prototype (called the XC-82B) first flew in November 1947, with deliveries of C-119Bs from Fairchild's
Hagerstown, Maryland factory beginning in December 1949. In 1951 Henry J. Kaiser was awarded a contract to assemble additional
C-119s at the Kaiser-Frazer automotive factory located in the former B-24 Liberator plant at Willow Run Airport in Belleville,
Michigan. Initially, the Kaiser-built C-119F would differ from the Fairchild aircraft by the use of Wright R-3350-85 Cyclone
engines in place of Fairchild's use of the Pratt & Whitney R-4360 radial engine. The Wright engine was a proven design
used previously on the B-29, and though it lacked the R-4360's superchargers it proved to be virtually identical in performance,
and possibly superior at higher altitudes. Kaiser would build 71 C-119s at Willow Run in 1952 and 1953 (s/n 51-8098 to 51-8168)
before converting the factory for a planned production of the Chase C-123 that would never occur. The Kaiser sub-contract
was frowned upon by Fairchild, and efforts were made through political channels to stop Kaiser's production, which may have
proven successful. Following Kaiser's termination of C-119 production the contract for the C-123 was instead awarded to Fairchild.
Most Kaiser-built aircraft were eventually turned over to the South Vietnamese Air Force. The AC-119G "Shadow" variant was fitted with four six-barrel
7.62 mm mini-guns, armor plating, flare-launchers, and night-capable infrared equipment. Like the AC-130 it would be a potent
weapon. The AC-119 was made more deadly by the introduction of the AC-119K "Stinger" version, which featured the addition
of two 20 mm cannon, improved avionics, and two underwing-mounted General Electric J85-GE-17 turbojet engines, adding nearly
6,000 lbf of thrust. Other major variants included the EC-119J, used for satellite
tracking, and the YC-119H Skyvan prototype, with larger wings and tail. In civilian use, many C-119s feature the "Jet-Pack" modification,
which incorporates a 3,400 lbf Westinghouse J34 turbojet engine in a nacelle above the fuselage. Number Built: 1183 consisting of: Two additional airframes were built by Fairchild for static tests The aircraft saw extensive action during the Korean War as a
troop and equipment transport. In July 1950, four C-119s were sent to FEAF for service tests. Two months later, the C-119
deployed with the 314th Troop Carrier Group and served in Korea throughout the war. From 1951 to 1962, C-119C, F and G models served USAFE and FEAF
as the first-line Combat Cargo units, and did yeoman work as freight haulers with the 60th Troop Carrier Wing, the 317th TC
Wing and the 465th TC Wing in Europe, based first in Germany and then in France with roughly 150 aircraft operating anywhere
from Greenland to India. A similar number of aircraft served in the Pacific and the Far East. In 1958, the 317th absorbed
the 465th, and transitioned to C-130s, but the units of the former 60th TC Wing, 10th, 11th and 12th Troop Carrier Squadrons
continued to fly C-119s until 1962, the last non-reserve operational units to fly the "Boxcars." The USAF Strategic Air Command had C-119 Flying Boxcars in service from 1955 - 1973. The C-119s saw service with the 456th Troop Carrier Wing which
was attached to the Strategic Air Command from 25 April 1955 to 26 May 1956. The C-119s performed aerial recovery of high
altitude balloon-borne instrument packages. C-119s from the 6593rd Test Squadron based at Hickam Air Force Base in Hawaii
performed several aerial recoveries of film-return capsules during the early years of the Corona spy satellite program. On
1960-08-19 the recovery by a C-119 of film from the Corona mission code-named
Discoverer 14 was the first successful recovery of film from an orbiting satellite and the first aerial recovery of an object
returning from Earth orbit. The C-119 would go on to see extensive service in Vietnam, beginning
in 1954 with aircraft secretly loaned by the CIA to French forces for troop support. These aircraft were generally flown in
French markings by American CIA pilots often accompanied by French officers and support staff. The C-119 was to play a major
role during the siege at Dien Bien Phu, where they flew into increasingly heavy fire while dropping supplies to the besieged
French forces. During the Sino-Indian War of 1962, the C-119 was extensively
used for supply of Indian forces. President Kennedy allowed sales of spares of C-119 on priority basis upon request by the
Indian government. After its retirement from active duty, many C-119s and R4Qs soldiered
on in the US Navy, Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard until the mid-1970s, and until recently they were still in use
by the Taiwanese Air Force. The last military use of the C-119 by the United States ended in 1974 when a single squadron of
Navy R4Qs based at Selfridge ANG Base near Detroit, Michigan, and two squadrons based at Naval Air Station, Long Beach, California
replaced their R4Qs with newer aircraft. Many were provided to other nations as part of the Military Assistance
Program, including Belgium, Brazil, Ethiopia, India, Italy, Nationalist China, and as previously mentioned, South Vietnam.
The type was also used by the Royal Canadian Air Force, and by the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps under
the designation R4Q. A number of aircraft were acquired by companies who were contracted
by the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) and the Bureau of Land Management to provide airtankers for fighting wildfires. Others were
pressed into civilian cargo service. After a series of crashes, the age and safety of the aircraft being used as airtankers
became a serious concern, and the U.S. C-119 airtanker fleet was permanently grounded in 1987. Many of these aircraft wound
up being provided to museums across the U.S. in a complicated - and ultimately illegal - scheme where stored USAF Lockheed
C-130A Hercules transports and Navy P-3 Orion anti-submarine patrol aircraft were provided to the contractors in exchange
for the C-119s. Two are airworthy in Palmer, Alaska (www.flyingboxcar.com): They can be used for public service contracts,
like hauling building materials to the 260 villages in the bush of Alaska that have no road access whatsover to the highways.
Everything is flown into those villages, from dumptrucks to toilet paper. After the end of the Airtanker days many C119s flew
in Alaska for Northern Pacific Transport, Gifford Aviation, Stebbins&Ambler Air Transport, and DeltaAssociates. General characteristics
Payload: 10,000 lb (4,500 kg) of cargo
Length: 86 ft 6 in (26.37 m)
Wingspan: 109 ft 3 in (33.30 m)
Height: 26 ft 6 in (8.08 m)
Wing area: 1,447 ft² (134.4 m²)
Empty weight: 40,000 lb (18,000 kg)
Loaded weight: 64,000 lb (29,000 kg)
Max takeoff weight: 74,000 lb (34,000 kg)
Powerplant: 2× Pratt & Whitney R-4360-20 radial
engines, 3,500 hp (2,611 kW each) each Performance
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