Douglas C-124 Globemaster Page 45.5

HISTORY: 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.