Douglas C-124 Globemaster II

what is it?

The Douglas C-124 Globemaster II, nicknamed "Old Shaky", is a retired American heavy-lift cargo aircraft built by the Douglas Aircraft Company in Long Beach, California. The C-124 was the primary heavy-lift transport for United States Air Force (USAF) Military Air Transport Service (MATS) during the 1950s and early 1960s, until the Lockheed C-141 Starlifter entered service. It served in MATS, later Military Airlift Command (MAC), and units of the Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard until retired in 1974.

🔎How to recognise it: 4 piston engines with propellers · low wing · retractable tricycle gear · 53.1 m wingspan

base stats

• speed 489 km/htop speed
• seats 200passengers
• size 88.2 tmax take-off weight
• built 448made in total

Bars compare against all aircraft: 3,500 km/h, 20,000 km, 850 seats; size and number built on a log scale up to 640 t (An-225) and 45,000 built (Cessna 172).

fun facts

• 🎂First flew 77 years ago, in 1949.
• 🏎️Top speed is 3.8× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
• 🚗Wingspan of 53.1 m: about 12 cars parked nose to tail.
• 🐘Fully loaded it can weigh as much as 15 African elephants (~6 t each).

piston: A car-like piston engine turning a propeller: simple and cheap, the classic small plane.

spec sheet

first flight

1949-11-27

introduced

1950

retired

1974

status

retired

number built

448

role

heavy-lift military transport aircraft

origin

🇺🇸 United States

makers

Douglas

engines

4× Pratt & Whitney R-4360-63A Wasp Major

crew

6

passengers

200

length

39.8 m

wingspan

53.1 m

height

14.7 m

max take-off weight

88.2 t

top speed

489 km/h

cruise speed

370 km/h

range

—

ceiling

6,645 m

wings

low wing

landing gear

retractable tricycle gear

Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.