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| Despite having been the world's largest landplane transport when it flew in 1945, the Douglas C-74 Globemaster was actually too small-in volume-to accommodate the outsized loads dictated by the American military's postwar logistical needs. In response to this problem, the fifth C-74 was held back at the factory to undergo far- reaching modifications under the new designation YC-124. Using the wings, engine nacelles, and tail group of the C-74, Douglas evolved an entirely new fuselage by adding five feet ten inches to overall length, raising the height of the main cargo bay five feet, and lowering the depth of forward fuselage to permit loading of trucks, artillery pieces, aircraft sub- assemblies, or bulky equipment through a set of full- width clamshell doors in a new nose section that incorporated a built- in, hydraulically lowered ramp. The aft, belly loading hatch of the C-74 was retained, and to assist fore and aft movement of large loads, two overhead hoists, with 16,000 lbs. lifting capacity each, were installed in the main cargo bay. When rigged in a double deck configuration, the new fuselage design could also house 200 fully equipped troops or 127 evacuees in medical litters.
Dubbed "Globemaster II," the YC-124 completed its maiden flight on November 27, 1949, and deliveries of the first of 204 C-124A production models to the USAF commenced in May 1950. The prototype became the YC-124A when re- powered with 3,800-hp R-4360-35A engines, then reemerged in 1954 as the YC-124B after being modified to serve as a flying testbed for 5,500-shp Pratt & Whitney YT34 turboprop engines. A KC-124B tanker variant was considered as a potential KC-97 replacement but never materialized. The Long Beach plant shifted to production of 243 improved C-124Cs delivered between 1952 and 1955, which differed in having 3,800-hp R-4360-63A engines, an APS-42 weather radar in a nose- mounted thimble radome, and wingtip- mounted combustion heaters that provided thermal de-icing and cabin heating, and over a period of years, the existing C-124A fleet received retrofits that brought them up to the C standard. A pressurized variant was studied as the C-124X but never built, and during the mid-1950s, a much redesigned turboprop- powered, swept- wing derivative, designated XC-132, got as far as the mockup stage but was ultimately canceled in favor of the C-133.
C-124As began entering service during 1950 in time to play an important role in the Korean War (1950-1953). For the first time, MATS possessed a long- range aircraft capable of loading bulky items like tanks, guns, trucks, and construction equipment without major disassembly; and in Strategic Support Squadrons, new Globemasters gave SAC the ability to deliver large aircraft components to any of its widespread bases. As the USAF's C-124A and C fleet grew to planned strength in the mid-1950s, it formed the bulk- carrying nucleus of every major U.S. military airlift operation conducted from that time up until the late 1960s. Some of the C-124's more notable achievements included moving an entire squadron of Lockheed F-104s from the U.S. to Taiwan during the Formosa Straits Crisis in 1958; during Operation Deep Freeze (1957-1962), regular airdrops from C-124s formed the supply line from McMurdo Base to outlying stations in the Antarctic; and as part of Operation Big Lift in 1963, MATS C-124s moved the 2nd Armored Division and a TAC Strike Force from U.S. bases to Germany in two and a half days.
At their peak in 1963, 377 C-124s were operating with 20 different transport squadrons. As American involvement in Southeast Asia escalated in the mid-1960s, C-124s began flying transport sorties directly into South Vietnam, and from early 1966, continued with Military Airlift Command (MAC) when that organization replaced MATS. Although the USAF started the process of phasing- out C-124s from frontline service and transferring them to reserve and ANG units in mid-1960s, the type's bulk cargo capacity was not matched until Lockheed C-5s became operational with MAC during 1969-1970. From 1964 to 1972, to augment MATS/MAC operations, USAF reserve units flew C-124s on overseas sorties from eleven different bases within the continental U.S., and starting in 1966, they also served in eight ANG squadrons until the last examples were retired in mid-1974, finally ending the type's military service. The last recorded flight of a C-124 occurred on October 9, 1986 when C-124C AF Ser. No. 52-0994 was ferried from Selfridge ANG Base, Michigan to McChord AFB, Washington.
E.R.Johnson "American military transport aircraft since 1925", 2013
There was little doubt of the load-carrying capability of the C-74 and when, in late 1947, the newly-formed US Air Force decided it needed a heavy strategic cargo transport, discussions between the.USAF and Douglas resulted in development of the C-124 Globemaster II, based on the C-74.
In fact, the prototype YC-124 was basically the fifth C-74 provided with a new, deeper fuselage and strengthened landing gear. Powered by 2610kW R-4360-49 radial engines, it was flown for the first time on 27 November 1949. The type entered production as the C-124A, of which 204 were built, the first of them entering service with the USAF in May 1950. The next, and final, production version was the C-124C, with more-powerful R-4360 engines, weather radar in a distinctive nose radome and, equally useful recognition points, wingtip fairings housing combustion heaters to de-ice the wing and tailplane leading edges and to heat the cabin. C-124C production totalled 243, the last machine being delivered during May 1955.
The fuselage of the Globemaster II had clamshell nose loading doors with an associated built-in loading ramp, an electric hoist amidships which was a carry-over from the C-74, and two overhead cranes (each with a capacity of 7257kg which could traverse the entire length of the 23.47m-long cargo hold. The flight deck, accommodating a crew of five, was mounted high in the nose, over the clamshell doors. When used in a transport role (with two decks installed), the Globemaster II could carry a maximum of 200 fully-equipped troops, or 123 stretcher cases plus 45 ambulatory patients and 15 medical attendants.
Serving with the USAF's Air Materiel Command, Far Eastern Air Force, Military Air Transport Service, Strategic Air Command and Tactical Air Command, and used in conjunction with Douglas C-133s, the Globemaster Us remained in service until replaced by the Lockheed C-5A Galaxy during 1970.
When the Globemaster Is ended their useful, service life; some were acquired by civil cargo operators.
D.Donald "The Encyclopedia of World Aircraft", 1997
| CREW | 6 |
| PASSENGERS | 200 |
| ENGINE | 4 x P+W R-4360-63, 2795kW |
| WEIGHTS |
| Take-off weight | 84000 kg | 185189 lb |
| DIMENSIONS |
| Wingspan | 53.1 m | 174 ft 3 in |
| Length | 39.8 m | 131 ft 7 in |
| Height | 14.7 m | 48 ft 3 in |
| Wing area | 233.0 m2 | 2507.99 sq ft |
| PERFORMANCE |
| Cruise speed | 520 km/h | 323 mph |
| Ceiling | 6100 m | 20000 ft |
| Range w/max.fuel | 6500 km | 4039 miles |
| Range w/max payload | 1970 km | 1224 miles |
| Bill Ross, e-mail, 18.01.2016 21:15 Can anyone put me in touch with Deb Gregory who lost her father in a 1966 Spain C-124 crash? My father was, at that time, the commander of the 15th TCS and I have a memento from the service at the Base Chapel that I've had for 49 years. Thanks reply | | Mike Baechle, e-mail, 06.01.2016 17:18 Anyone wanting a book with a lot of C-124 photos and diagrams, including photos of the various crew positions, and a few interesting stories, can find them in a book by Earl Berlin. It is listed on eBay, if you search under C-124 Globemaster". reply | | Mike Baechle, e-mail, 03.01.2016 22:03 C-124 loadmaster 1965-1966, out of Hunter AFB, Ga. The C-124 was a wonderful airplane, just tremendously interesting. When my unit started phasing them out, I was transferred to a C-130 unit. The contrast, in terms of comfort, was as if I had moved from the Waldorf to a tent. I'd like to comment that the performance data usually published about the C-124 are just plain false. Top speed 323? Maybe in a max-power dive, but I doubt it. Ceiling 20,000 feet? Maybe if you were empty and had 40 minutes to climb to that altitude. Cargo capacity 65,000 pounds? Only if you had a mere 10,000 pounds of fuel aboard. Actual C-124 cruise speed was 200 kts, usual altitude was 10,000 feet plus or minus, actual cargo weight capacity with enough fuel aboard for a 10-hour mission was 25,000-27,000 pounds. By comparison, for the C-130, actual data were: cruise speed was 280-300 kts, usual cruise altitude 25-35,000 ft, cargo capacity for a 10 hour mission was 25-30,000 lbs. So, although the C-130 was somewhat faster, it carried about the same weight on a mission to Vietnam; but what the C-130 (and the C-141) could NOT do was carry bulky items of the type the C-124 routinely carried. reply | | Gene Wright, e-mail, 28.12.2015 03:33 WILLIAM F. RUPNICK, 08.12.2010 Would like to contact this man. I was on the flight he mentioned in Canada. Any help appreciated. reply | |
| | gene shudrue, e-mail, 29.11.2015 00:49 L /M flew out of westover 1953 /54 attached to 1600 A.T.S.
flew with 15th 20th &31st , anybody still around?V.bREEN.j LANKOWSKI j.sPENGELER j.chadwell reply | | Dave Newell, e-mail, 21.11.2015 06:59 Great reading all these comments. I cross-trained from Air Freight to Loadmaster in 1962 while stationed at Tachikawa,Japan. Begin flying Ole Shakey with the 22TSC at Tachikawa in 1962. Most of our flights were to Kadena, Clark, and then in-country (Vietnam) Lost count of how many times I flew into Vietnam until I rotated from Tachi in 1965. Wish now I had kept better track of the flights and loads we carried. Would be interesting reading now. Great Airplane. Loved every minute I had on her. reply | | Troy D. Jackson, e-mail, 20.11.2015 21:57 Yes during 1960-62 at Clark AB, Philippines. Also the Fred May, 29.07.2015
dOES ANYONE RECALL CARRYING AGENT ORANGE ON OLD SHAKEY TO Vietnam IN 1963
Yes, June 1960- June 1962 Clark AB, Philippines. I personally was logging in and shipping out, loading and unloading the Chemicals and the T-28's "Secret" air force "supplies" used for "training the GREAT SVA pilots BS" Under "Secret" Security Clearance when I arrived in the Philippines in June 1960. I was handling, shipping and logging "Secret" bodies out of NAM under "Secret" Security Clearance. Don't look for any documentation you won't find any! Ask the Stars and Stripes PR Personnel. If you saw it you didn't see it, it didn't happen! I know for a "I saw it fact" that they were using it while "I was there" and it was being used in spraying NAM. reply | | Troy D. Jackson, e-mail, 20.11.2015 21:37 Yes during 1960-62 at Clark AB, Philippines. Also the T-28's "Secret" used for training SVA pilots "BS" that were used to spray the crap. The Vietnam war was going on before I arrived in the Philippines in June 1960. I was handling and logging bodies out of there under "Secret" Security Clearance. Don't look for any documentation you won't find any! Ask the Stars and Stripes PR Personnel. If you didn't see it, it didn't happen! reply | | Troy D. Jackson, e-mail, 20.11.2015 21:12 I was in a Belly landing at Travis AFB, Fairfield, CA in December 1956. Crew was 1st Lt J.J. McGuigan (Best darn Pilot ever in my opinion), Co-Pilot 1st Lt William J.H. Foster (same) M /Sgt Ocal Mizell Engineer, T /Sgt M.S. Ensor Scanner, A /3C E.P.Ponton Scanner and myself A /3C Troy D. Jackson Scanner. Our Landing gear failed all efforts to get it to go down. We flew until the fuel ran dangerously low as we circled the Base. Finally (Thanks to our Pilots, we had a (.01 in a 100 to survive the crash)the other 99.9 percent was used praying and asking God to forgive us for crapping in our pants and the other .01 percent goes to the miracle workers 2000 x 30 foot strip foam on the runway the Base Emergency Response Team laid down. There is no record in any of our Medical or Personnel Files about our enlarged rectums from crapping or PTSD prayers we appealed to God. There was a cover-up of this accident and only a report by the USAF PUBLIC RELATIONS OFFICEER and BASE COMMANDER put out to the Media! To cover their own a$$e$!
If it weren't for the picture and news articles I got out of newspapers, that my mother put in her FAMILY BIBLE, and thought had misplaced or inadvertently thrown away, no one would have known about this CRASH. Troy D. Jackson reply | | Jim, e-mail, 15.11.2015 01:51 Does anyone have any information on the C-124C that crashed on Jan. 22, 1965, killing all? Registration number of the aircraft was 52-1058; it crashed into Mt. Helmos near Greece and my brother was one of the 10 that died. We never received much information from the USAF and I would really like to know more about this crash. Thanks. reply | | James C. "Speedy" Wheeler, e-mail, 26.10.2015 14:20 Good Morning John,
Thanks for the nice comments. First, the C-124A number 51-158. The timing you gave fits at least very closely with the transfer of aircraft of the 19th Logistics Support Squadron (LSS). I left the 19th in April for a tour at Lajes in the Azores and shortly after is when I believe the 19th updated their aircraft from the C-124A's to the C-124C's.
On my opinion on the fuel question, I took the 4th of more than 60 of the EC-47's from New Hampshire to Vietnam. Of course the aircraft had 4 fuel tanks with a total capacity of 804 Gallons. When we reached California we had 2 250 Gallon tanks installed in the fuselage giving the total of 1304 Gallons. Our longest leg was from Guam to Clark AB in the Philippines of 13 hours and 25 minutes. Normally fuel burn is taken to be 100 Gallons per Hour so you can see we were VERY LOW ON FUEL. Speedy jc@ec47.com reply | | john Hille, e-mail, 26.10.2015 04:59 Speedy, enjoy all your post as ell as all the others. Seems you have an incredible recall as to the specifics of numbers. We used two bladder tanks when we ferried the C-7s back from Nam, but I sure don't remember the gallons of them. However I do remember in great detail everything we did during engine conditioning, i.e. mag installation, air /valve checks and after phase run ups to check all the systems. I think I could work the engineers panel blindfolded. Some things one never forgets, and I do think the more you enjoyed the things you did the longer you remember those things. Oh, and those planes that flew non-stop Hickham to the East coast--maybe they went to 35,000 feet and caught the jet stream. Well, just saying. reply | | James C. "Speedy" Wheeler, e-mail, 25.10.2015 15:08 I know I have been in here several times but I enjoy the reading as I did serving with the aircraft so I hope you don't mind another comment /opinion.
Whether or not the C-124 could fly from the east coast to Hawaii without stopping for fuel, why would anyone be foolish enough to want to try because if you do you have only two options, Land in Hawaii or in the Pacific.
Not on the C-124 but the old C-47 I took to Saigon, our longest leg was 13 Plus hours flying time with a Max Load of fuel (with 2 extra tanks) of 1304 Gallons, we landed on Fumes Only due to weather /wind changes. I hope you forgive the comparison. J.C. "Speedy" reply | | Reece, 25.10.2015 06:04 We took a couple of 124s from Barksdale AFB, LA to Hickham Field in 1970 in support of a Hawaiian National Guard Exercise. We stopped at March AFB, CA both ways to refuel. reply | |
| | John Hille, e-mail, 24.10.2015 21:17 Reading the last couple of comments about flying the ol' bird non-stop from Hickam to the east coast has got to be a figment of imagination, and I'm not implying it's untrue, but the range, with full fuel load is stated as 4039 miles. the distance from Hickam to Charleston is about 4750 miles, as the crow flies. Even with good tail winds flying the extra 700 miles beyond the range is quite a feat. Took us two weeks to get good enough weather to fly some C-7 Cariboos from Hickam to Travis. Actually for the pilot to even attempt to fly that distance took a lot of balls, as the saying goes. That alone would have overloaded the aircraft. We had a pilot try to fly from Rein Main to Donaldson, arrived Donaldson, was told on final to do a go around for some reason. He did not have enough fuel for a go around, but luck was with him, as the Greenville airport was on the same heading just a few miles North, so he continued to make an almost dead stick landing there. He was later charged $500.00 landing fee. So it goes! reply | | Jack Hoyt, e-mail, 22.10.2015 14:38 I served as a copilot in the 1st SS at Biggs in 1953 - 1955. I remember a ship in our squadron that flew non-stop Hickam to Charleston (obviously without refueling)... Note: SAC 124s had disconnected autopilots in those days. Hand-flew them all the way. reply | | Bob Lassiter MSGT USMC, e-mail, 14.10.2015 04:00 MT Dad, John Lassiter was a flight Eng. at DAFB During the 50 /60's. Enjoyed the 10 years as a dependent there. Retire as a Msgt in the USMC. reply | | James C. "Speedy" Wheeler, e-mail, 12.10.2015 15:51 This is in reply to the note left by Don Goodfleisch.
Don it has been a long time, 45 years to be exact since I was on the C-124's at Kelly but to the best of my failing memory, the C-124 would not have been able to make it from Georgia to Hawaii without refueling but I could be wrong. Just another stick for the pile. I am now 77 and except for the memory loss I guess I am doing pretty good. Hope you have a great day. Speedy reply |
| Don Goodfleisch, e-mail, 10.10.2015 16:49 I am trying to find anyone else who knows that Agent Orange was carried on C-124's to Vietnam. Please e-mail me at donsandy@netscape.com. Thanks reply | | Don Goodfleisch, e-mail, 10.10.2015 16:43 Don Goodfleisch. I served at Hickam AFB from 1967-1970 as a recip engine mechanic in the build up shop and finally on the flight line doing transient aircraft maintenance. Ron Reier, Curt Roessler were assigned there from Travis and still maintain contact. We often wonder where the others who we worked with are now. We had many good times there. Anyone who can provide info on Tom Reed, Joseph Thibault, or anyone else there from 1967-1970 would be appreciated. I recall a C124 that arrived with a log entry stating all 4 engines over boost on take off from Georgia (I think) requiring all engines r&r. That crew went home via Pan Am. But they got 4 brand new engines, The build up shop at Hickam was rated as the best in the Air Force; can't help but wonder if that crew knew that. Anyway, email me with any info you may have please. donsandy@netscape.com. reply |
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Hello mr wheeler just wanted to let you know that my father Walter Raby passed away this month he was a friend of yours He flew the 124 at Kelly and the xc99
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