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C-124 Globemaster
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Photo: Robert
Deering 10/18/2012 National Museum of the USAF Wright-Patterson AFB (FFO) Dayton, Ohio |
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C-124s
provided heavy airlift during the Korean
War and the Southeast Asia War. Other
important airlifts conducted by C-124s
included resupply missions to
Antarctica, refugee evacuation in the
Congo and mercy flights to Morocco,
Chile and elsewhere throughout the world
following floods and other natural
disasters.
The C-124 evolved from the earlier Douglas C-74. The first flight of the C-124 took place on Nov. 27, 1949, and deliveries of C-124As began in May 1950. The U.S. Air Force bought 448 C-124s before production ended in 1955. To facilitate cargo handling, the C-124, or "Old Shakey" as it was affectionately known, featured "clamshell" loading doors and hydraulic ramps in the nose and an elevator under the aft fuselage. It was capable of handling such bulky cargo as tanks, field guns, bulldozers and trucks. It could also be converted into a transport capable of carrying 200 fully-equipped soldiers or 127 litter patients and their attendants in its double-decked cabin. Most C-124s were transferred to the Air Force Reserve and the Air National Guard by 1970, and all were released from active service in mid-1974. The aircraft on display was assigned to the 165th Tactical Airlift group of the Georgia Air National Guard following its service with the USAF. It was flown to the museum in August 1975. |
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%20(7X4).jpg) Photo: Robert Deering 1974 Fort Worth, Texas |
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