US Fairchild C-119 ''Flying Boxcar'' Transport

By Crusader1307

The Fairchild C-119 ''Flying Boxcar'' was a US Transport and Cargo Aircraft first deployed by The US in 1949. The design was born from the late World War II need to have a reliable and large air platform to transport war materials and move mass wounded casualties. Although The War ended (1945), needs still remained. Over 1,800 C-119s were produced for US Military usage. They were US Navy and Air Force staples during The Korean War and during The Berlin Airlift Emergency. ''Boxcars'' were also heavily used in The Vietnam War, as assets for The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). The C-119 was even proposed for modification into a Gunship Class (also in Southeast Asia) – but the success of The Douglas AC-47 negated this. The C-119 was incorporated into Civilian service as a Fire Fighting Platform for large scale wildfires and were in active use until the 1990s. Crewed by (5), The ''Flying Boxcar'' was 87-feet in length with a wingspan of 110-feet. Power was provided by Twin Pratt and Whitney R4360, 28-Cylinder engines (Props), capable of 3,500-HP each. The rated airspeed was 280-mph with an operational ceiling of 24,000-feet. They could support 27,000-lbs of Cargo or Personnel. They were traditionally not armed.