Fairchild C-119

Fairchild C-119 Flying Boxcar
Fairchild C-119B "Flying Boxcar"
Type:	Transport plane
Design country:	United States
Manufacturer:	Fairchild Aircraft
First flight:	November 1947
Production time:	1947 to 1955
Number of pieces:	1,183

C-119 deployed over Korea in November 1952

The Fairchild C-119 was a twin-engine military transport aircraft of the Cold War era from US production. The manufacturer was Fairchild Aircraft Ltd. It was developed from the Fairchild C-82 package. Its nickname Flying Boxcar ("flying freight wagon") - which was then also adopted for the C-119 - is derived from the cargo space, which had the dimensions of a rail freight wagon. Between 1947 and 1955, 1,183 aircraft in various variants were produced.

use

The aircraft type was used extensively during the Korean War . In addition to the US Air Force , the C-119 was also used by Canada , Belgium , Italy and India . Because the US Air Force, especially the Strategic Air Command , claimed a large part of the production capacities of Pratt & Whitney from the beginning of the 1950s, the C-119F was switched to Wright R-3350 engines. In some cases, an additional Westinghouse J34 jet engine on the top of the fuselage or two General Electric J85 -GE-17 under the wings were added to further improve the short take-off properties.

Almost all auxiliary drives were electric - instead of hydraulic, as is often the case. There was a rail in the hold that made cargo dropping easier. The flight engineer could use a small oscilloscope , the function of each spark plug - after each motor 56 (28 cylinders with double ignition ) - monitor. Because of the low top speed of 243 knots (450 km / h), the crews liked to joke that a calendar should have been installed instead of the on-board clock.

Another modified military version of the C-119 was also planned. The XC-120 had a replaceable rear fuselage section. The machine could thus accommodate a corresponding module depending on the use and mission. Only one airworthy copy was handed over to the US Air Force in 1950.

On June 27, 1958, two Soviet MiG-17 fighters south of Yerevan intercepted a C-119, the crew of which could be captured unharmed, although the plane crashed and burned out. The crew was handed over to US officials on July 7th.

As part of the “Project Gunship III”, from 1967 onwards, several C-119s were converted into partly heavily armed gunships with the designation AC-119 and used in the Vietnam War.

The C-119 was also used in the remake of the 2004 movie The Flight of the Phoenix .

Versions

XC-119A

Prototype of the production version of the XC-82B, later the C-119A. Conversion to test aircraft EC-119A.

C-119B

Series version with P&W R-4360-20 (2424 kW take-off power), 55 were built.

C-119C

C-119B with P&W R-4360-20W (2610 kW take-off power), the leading edges of the vertical stabilizers extended, 303 were built.

YC-119D

Proposal for a version with a removable transport container, later referred to as XC-128A. The version was not built.

YC-119E

C-119D with R-3350 engines, later referred to as XC-128B. The version was not built.

YC-119F

Conversion of a C-119C and equipment with Wright-R-3350-85 (2610 kW take-off power), both vertical stabilizers extended downwards (was later also retrofitted on C models)

C-119F

Production version of the YC-119F, the landing gear is now retracted and extended hydraulically, 256 were built.

C-119G

C-119F with other propellers (Aeroproducts), 480 were built.

AC-119G Shadow

Conversion of 26 C-119G to Gunships.

YC-119H

Conversion of a C-119C with extended wings and modified tail unit.

C-119J

Equipping 62 C-119F / G with a different rear fuselage.

EC-119J

Conversion of C-119J for satellite tracking.

MC-119J

Designation for C-119J, which could be equipped as ambulance aircraft.

YC-119K

Conversion of a C-119G with two General Electric J85 turbojet engines in nacelles under the wings.

C-119K

Conversion of five C-119Gs analogous to the YC-119K.

AC-119K stinger

Conversion of 26 C-119K to Gunships.

C-119L

22 modified C-119Gs.

XC-120 packing tarpaulin

R4Q-1 of the US Marine Corps 1950.

Conversion of a C-119B with a removable transport container.

C-128

original designation of the YC-119D and YC-119E.

R4Q-1

Designation of the United States Navy for the C-119C, 39 were built.

R4Q-2

Designation of the United States Navy for the C-119F (again C-119F from 1962), 58 were built.

production

Acceptance of the C-119 by the USAF:

141 C-119s were built as part of the Mutual Defense Aid Program (MDAP).

version	Manufacturer	1948	1949	1950	1951	1952	1953	1954	1955	TOTAL	comment
C-119	Fairchild	1								1
C-119B	Fairchild		45	9						54
C-119C	Fairchild			89	98	79	37			303	$ 480,884
C-119F	Fairchild					98	23			121	$ 1,093,940
C-119F	Emperor					15th	56			71	$ 1,093,940
C-119G	Fairchild						127	186	83	396	$ 590,028
YC-119H	Fairchild					1				1
R4Q-1	Fairchild		1	7th	23	8th				39
R4Q-2	Fairchild						58			58
C-119F MDAP	Fairchild					18th				18th	for Belgium
C-119F Sales	Fairchild					11	24			35	for Canada
C-119G MDAP	Fairchild					4th	47	11		62	22 for Belgium, 40 for Italy
C-119G Sales	Fairchild							5	21st	26th	for India
TOTAL		1	46	105	121	234	372	202	104	1185

19 C-119s were lost in Korea, 11 of them in service. Only 2 of them were destroyed by enemy action, the rest by air accidents. 27 C-119B were converted into C-119C. A total of 68 C-119Js emerged from the C-119G.

Military users

•  Ethiopia : 8 ex USAF
•  Belgium : Belgian Air Force 40 new and 6 taken over from the USAF
•  Brazil : 13 from the USAF
•  France : French Air Force used 8 USAF-borrowed aircraft in Indochina
•  India : 79
•  Italy : 40 new, 5 from the UN and 25 ex-USAF
•  Jordan : 4 ex-USAF
•  Cambodia : 4
•  Canada : Royal Canadian Air Force 35
•  Morocco : 12 ex-USAF and 6 ex-Canada
•  Norway : 8 ex-Belgium
•  Spain : 10 ex-Belgium
•  South Vietnam : 91 ex-USAF
•  Taiwan : 114 ex USAF
•  UN : 5 former USAF machines were operated by the Indian Air Force and later passed on to Italy
•  United States

United States Air Force

United States Marine Corps

United States Navy

Incidents

• On August 10, 1955 , during a paratrooper exercise near Edelweiler , Germany, two American Fairchild C-119Gs (license plates 53-3222, 53-7841 ) collided. When crashing in a cornfield or forest area near Edelweiler, all 66 US soldiers on board both machines were killed.

• On July 19, 1960, a Fairchild C-119G of the Belgian Air Force (CP-36 / OT-CBP) had an accident in mountainous terrain near Rushengo ( Republic of the Congo ). Of the 43 occupants, 39 were killed, all 3 crew members and 36 passengers.

• On December 12, 1961, two Fairchild C-119Gs of the Belgian Air Force (registration numbers CP-25 / OT-CBE and CP-23 / OT-CBC) collided during the flight near Montignies-lez-Lens (Belgium). All 13 crew members of both machines (8 + 5) were killed.

• On June 26, 1963, a Fairchild C-119G of the Belgian Air Force (license plate CP 45 / OT-CEE ) was hit by British mortar shells over the Sennelager military training area . Nine paratroopers were able to jump out of the downed machine before it crashed near Detmold. All other 33 paratroopers and the 5 crew members were killed.

• On October 22, 1965, a Fairchild C-119G of the Belgian Air Force (license plate CP-19 / OT-CAS ) flew in Reinhardswald , 2.7 kilometers west-northwest of Reinhardshagen-Veckerhagen into a wooded mountain. All eight inmates were killed. The machine was supposed to deliver supplies for a maneuver in the North Hessian-East Westphalian area.

• On June 6, 1983, a Fairchild C-119G crashed the Taiwanese Air Force (3197) a few minutes after taking off from the airport Kinmen due to the failure of an engine and a stall into the sea. A total of 38 of the 47 inmates died.

Technical specifications

Parameter	Data
crew	5
Payload	up to 62 soldiers, 35 stretchers or 4,500 kg cargo
length	26.35 m
span	33.30 m
height	8.10 m
Wing area	134.43 m²
Wing extension	8.25
Empty mass	18,144 kg
Max. Takeoff mass	30,350 kg
Top speed	450 km / h (243 kts)
Rate of climb	308 m / min (1,010 ft / min)
Service ceiling	7,286 m (23,900 ft)
Range	2,832 km (1,529 NM)
Engines	2 × radial engine Pratt & Whitney R-4360 -20W, each 3,549 PS (2,610 kW) starting power

Web links

Commons : C-119 Flying Boxcar  - Album with pictures, videos and audio files

• Flyingboxcar.com
• USAF National Museum: C-119 Flying Boxcar

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Statistical Digest of the USAF 1948, p. 16; 1949, p. 164 f .; 1951, p. 158; 1952, p. 158; 1953, p. 185 f .; 1954, pp. 70 f .; 1955, p. 80 f .; 1958, p. 83 f.
2. ↑ Statistical Digest of the USAF 1953, pp. 53 ff.
3. ↑ Statistical Digest of the USAF 1961, pp. 86 ff.
4. ^ Accident report C-119 53-3222 , Aviation Safety Network (English), accessed on August 15, 2016.
5. ^ Accident report C-119 53-7841 , Aviation Safety Network (English), accessed on August 15, 2016.
6. ^ Accident report C-119G CP-36 / OT-CBP , Aviation Safety Network (English), accessed on February 11, 2020.
7. ^ Accident report C-119G CP-25 / OT-CBE , Aviation Safety Network (English), accessed on February 11, 2020.
8. ^ Accident report C-119G CP-23 / OT-CBC , Aviation Safety Network (English), accessed on February 11, 2020.
9. ^ Accident report C-119 BAF CP 45 / OT-CEE , Aviation Safety Network (English), accessed on December 4, 2017.
10. ↑ 53 years after the accident: Belgian army creates memorial in Reinhardswald. Retrieved February 11, 2020 . 
11. ^ Accident report C-119 CP-19 / OT-CAS , Aviation Safety Network (English), accessed on February 11, 2020.
12. ^ Accident report C-119, 3197 , Aviation Safety Network (English), accessed on April 29, 2020.