Fairchild C-82 Packet/C-119 Flying Boxcar (Aerofax)

These specialist twin-boom US military freighters have a significant history and are well known but underpublished. First flown in 1944, with deliveries from the end of 1945, the C-82 was the first freighter to really take advantage of the uninterrupted cargo hold and ground-level loading advantages conferred by the twin-boom layout. A planned lengthy production run was canceled after VJ-Day so that the total number built was 220, some of which served in the Berlin Airlift. An improved version, redesignated as the C-119, was developed from 1947 with deliveries beginning in 1949. It featured more powerful engines, a widened fuselage, and re-designed cockpit area. Nearly 1,100 C-119s were built in various versions, the most numerous of which was the C-119G. The type saw lengthy and important service principally with the United States Air Force Troop Carrier Command wings, Military Air Transport Service, and the Air Force Reserve. It participated extensively in the Korean War, flying from Japan, and gave sterling service for many years thereafter. Overseas customers included Belgium, Italy, and Taiwan. There were also various experimental versions. This Aerofax, which also includes a chapter on civilian operations, will be a valuable tribute to a somewhat unrecognized and unsung workhorse