Douglas C-124 Globemaster II

Heavy-lift military transport aircraft, better known as Old Shaky

Overview

Douglas United States ICAO: C124 1949–1955 $1.6 million (1949)

The Douglas C-124 Globemaster II also known as Old Shaky is a heavy-lift cargo aircraft designed by the Douglas Aircraft Company. It was the main heavy-lift transport of the United States Air Force Military Air Transport Service (MATS) in the 1950s and until the early 1960s.

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Specifications

Units
Engine
4 × Pratt & Whitney R-4360-63A Wasp Major
Engine type
Piston
Power
4 × 3,800 hp · 2,834 kW
Avionics
—
Wing tips
No winglets
Seats
7
Crew
—
Cabin width
—
Cabin height
—
Cabin length
75 ft 6 in  ·  23.00 m
Exterior length
130 ft 7 in  ·  39.80 m
Tail height
48 ft 4 in  ·  14.74 m
Fuselage diameter
14 ft 9 in  ·  4.50 m
Wing span
174 ft 1 in  ·  53.06 m
Baggage volume
—
Gross weight
—
Empty weight
—
Max takeoff weight
194,500 lb  ·  88,000 kg
Max landing weight
194,500 lb  ·  88,000 kg
Max payload
75,000 lb  ·  34,000 kg
Fuel capacity
11,150 gal · 42,100 L · 30,300 kg (AvGas)
Max cruise speed
264 kt  ·  304 mph  ·  489 km/h
Maximum speed
—
Cruise speed
—
Approach speed
—
Range
3,500 nm  ·  4,030 mi  ·  6,480 km
Fuel burn
—
Ceiling
23,000 ft  ·  7,000 m
Rate of climb
760 ft/min  ·  4 m/s
Takeoff distance
—
Landing distance
—
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U.S. Air Force Douglas C-124C Globemaster II Landing

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Operational Context

The C-124 Globemaster II was developed by the Douglas Aircraft Company from 1947 until 1949. It started as a prototype based on C-74 Globemaster and built on acquired lessons throughout the Berlin Blockade. On November 27, 1949, the Globemaster II took to the air for the first time. In May 1950, the delivery of the C-124A commenced. The C-124C version was equipped with an APS-42 weather radar with its distinctive thimble radome.

The aircraft was fitted with four Pratt and Whitney R-4360-63A Wasp Major. It was a 28-cylinder, four-row radial piston engine rated at 3,800 horsepower each with water or alcohol injection. It also had a 3-bladed Curtiss Model C634S-C402 fully-feathering reversible-pitch constant-speed propeller. The C-124 was designed with two sizeable clamshell doors, a ramp hydraulic actuation system located in the nose, and a freight elevator below the rear fuselage. The aircraft could carry a cargo load of 31,100 kg.

The cargo bay was equipped with two overhead hoists that could lift 3,600 kg of load each. The cargo version could bear heavy vehicles such as trucks, as well as guns, tanks, and large equipment.

The passenger version could accommodate two hundred fully equipped troops or one hundred and twenty-seven litter patients with their attendants. The C-124 Globemaster II was the single aircraft during its time that could transport fully assembled outsized equipment like tanks and bulldozers.

The Globemaster II had an exterior length of 39.8 meters, an exterior height of 8.2 meters, a tail height of 14.74 meters, and a fuselage diameter of 4.5 meters. The wheelbase is 9.1 meters, the wingspan is 53.06 meters, and the wing area is 232.8 square meters.

The aircraft had a maximum speed of 264 knots at 20,800 feet, a cruise speed of 200 knots, and a range of 3,500 nautical miles with 1,830 kg of payload. It could fly up to 21,800 feet and could climb at a rate of 760 feet per minute.