Before the Lockheed C-130 Hercules transport became a common sight in military operations, the United State Air Force’s tactical airlift workhorse during the Cold War was the Fairchild C-119 “Flying Boxcar.” The airplane carried supplies, dropped paratroopers, and performed special missions around the world. Aviation enthusiasts readily recognize the aircraft’s distinctive twin-boom design that served as the main plot device in Davis Entertainment and Aldrich Group’s 2004 adventure film, Flight of Phoenix. Those interested in learning more about the C-119 should find Simon D. Beck’s Fairchild C-119 Flying Box Car: The Complete Services Histories a comprehensive and interesting reference book.
Fairchild’s C-119 “Flying Boxcar” had a successful career as a multirole transport. It was a product improvement of the C-82 “Packet” with increased power, payload, and range. While the twin-boom design was unique among most aircraft, it worked well for tactical air airlift operations as its high-wing design and clam-shell rear doors enabled easy and expeditious loading and unloading of cargo and troops. The airplane was powered by either Pratt & Whitney R-4360 or Wright R-3350 radial engines, giving it the ability to lift sixty-two troops or a wide variety of cargo, with operating ranges of up to approximately 1,500 nautical miles. The C-119 performed well for airborne operations, dropping paratroopers and cargo during the wars in Korea and French Indochina. It was also the first aircraft to retrieve satellite payloads in the air, and it even served as a gunship during the American war in Vietnam. In its final years, aviation businesses used C-119s to deliver cargo in remote areas around the world and flew them as air tankers for dropping water or fire-retardant on wildland fires. In all, the Fairchild Engine and Airplane Corporation and the Kaiser Manufacturing Corporation delivered 1,185 C-119s to the US Air Force and various customers from 1948 to 1955.
The author provides extensive detail on aircraft’s design, specifications, and service history. The first part of the book covers the C-119’s evolution as its design was refined to improve its performance and expand its mission beyond air transport, such as flying as a gunship during the war in Vietnam. The author also includes interesting information about some prototype aircraft that were tested to further improve the C-119’s operating range and versatility. The section about the airplane’s military history is very detailed, providing information about where specific C-119s served with military and civilian operators. While the author provides only short summaries of these operations, the extent of the C-119’s service history is impressive. Perhaps what is most interesting in the book is the section that provides the individual history of each aircraft by serial number. A casual scan of the section reveals some intriguing records, such as C-119F-FA, serial number 22115, that flew with the Royal Canadian Air Force from 1953 to 1964, then later as a civilian airtanker for firefighting in the 1970s, which crashed along the banks of the Koyukuk River in Alaska in 1979 after its starboard engine caught fire—fortunately the aircrew and smokejumpers on board the airplane survived the event. The C-119 that flew in the 2004 film Flight of the Phoenix, serial number 10955, also flew with the Royal Canadian Air Force, and later as a civilian airtanker; it was restored to flying condition for the film, and now resides in an aircraft museum in Arizona. These accounts and many other records convey how the book is probably the most detailed publication about the C-119 and its service history.
Simon Beck’s Fairchild C-119 Flying Box Car: The Complete Services Histories is an excellent reference for aviation historians and enthusiasts. The author does not provide a conventional historical narrative about the C-119; however, the book is an extensive but concise reference of the airplane and its service record. Its collection of service histories conveys how the C-119 successfully served as a multirole transport with both military and civilian operators. Anyone interested in aviation history should find this book worthwhile.