The C-119, developed from the WWII Fairchild C-82 Packet, was 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. The U.S. Air Force used the airplane extensively during the Korean War, and many were supplied to the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps and to the Air Forces of Canada, Belgium, Italy, and India. In South Vietnam, the airplane once again entered combat, this time in a ground support role as AC-119 gunships mounting side-firing weapons capable of firing up to 6,000 rounds per minute per gun.

The aircraft was used in the 2004 movie, Flight of the Phoenix.

Specifications

General Characteristics

• Span: 109 ft 3 1/4 in (33.31 m)
• Length: 86 ft 5 3/4 in (26.36 m)
• Height: 26 ft 7 3/4 in (8.12 m)
• Weight: 66,900 lb (30,350 kg) max.
• Armament: None
• Engines: Two Wright R-3350s of 3,500 hp (2.6 MW) ea.
• Cost: US$590,000

Post-Korea models of the C-119 used P&W 4360 engines. The plane also had a glycol tank (~300 U.S. gal or 1100 L) behind each engine which was used to give (considerable) additional horsepower for takeoff. In addition, the cargo area contained a monorail system for rapid air drops of cargo. Also, practically everything was electrically operated as opposed to the use of hydraulics.

At the flight engineer's desk (behind the co-pilot) he could monitor the firing of all 56 sparkplugs (2 per cyl) on a small oscilloscope and, if necessary, unfoul them in flight by injecting raw gas onto them.

Performance

• Maximum speed: 290 mph (470 km/h)
• Cruising speed: 200 mph (320 km/h)
• Range: 2,000 statute miles (3200 km)
• Service Ceiling: 30,000 ft (9100 m)