Role Military transport aircraft
National origin United States
Manufacturer Fairchild Aircraft
First flight 17 November 1947
Introduction December 1949
Retired 1995 Republic of China Air Force
Primary users United States Air Force
United States Navy
United States Marine Corps
Republic of China Air ForceProduced 1949–1955
Number built 1,183
Developed from Fairchild C-82 Packet
Variants Fairchild AC-119
Developed into Fairchild XC-120 Packplane
The Air Force C-119 and Navy R4Q was initially a redesign of the earlier C-82 Packet, built between 1945 and 1948. The Packet had provided limited service to the Air Force's Tactical Air Command and Military Air Transport Service before its design was found to have several serious problems. Though it continued in service till replaced, all of these were addressed in the C-119, which had its first test flight already in 1947.
The aircraft saw extensive action during the Korean War as a troop and equipment transport. In July 1950, four C-119s were sent to FEAF for service tests. Two months later, the C-119 deployed with the 314th Troop Carrier Group and served in Korea throughout the war.
In December 1950, after People's Republic of China Expeditionary People's Volunteer Army troops blew up a bridge at a narrow point on the evacuation route between Koto-ri and Hungnam, blocking the withdrawal of U.N. forces, eight U.S. Air Force C-119 Flying Boxcars flown by the 314th Troop Carrier Group were used to drop portable bridge sections by parachute. The bridge, consisting of eight separate sixteen-foot long, 2,900-pound sections, was dropped one section at a time, using two parachutes on each section. Four of these sections, together with additional wooden extensions were successfully reassembled into a replacement bridge by Marine Corps combat engineers and the US Army 58th Engineer Treadway Bridge Company, enabling U.N. forces to reach Hungnam.
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The Bf 108A first flew in 1934, followed by the Bf 108B in 1935. The Bf 108B used the substantially larger, 12.67 litre displacement Argus As 10 air-cooled inverted V8 engine. The nickname Taifun (German for "typhoon") was given to her own aircraft by Elly Beinhorn, a well-known German pilot, and was generally adopted
Development of the type continue and in 1935 the Bf 108B appeared with the fin and rudder having undergone modifications.
Conceived as a competitive aircraft the Bf 108 would take part in the 1936 Berlin Olympics.