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Douglas C-124 Globemaster II |
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The C-124 evolved from the earlier Douglas C-74. 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, bull dozers, and trucks. It could
also be converted into a transport capable of carrying 200
fully-equipped soldiers in its double-decked cabin or 127 litter
patients and their attendants.
The first flight by a C-124 took place on Nov. 27, 1949 and
deliveries of C-124As began in May 1950. The USAF bought 448
C-124s before production ended in 1955. Many of them were used
to provide airlift support to the Vietnam War. They were
also used for 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 Strategic Air Command use them to transport
nuclear weapons.
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.
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