C-74 Globemaster

Infobox Aircraft
name= C-74 Globemaster


caption=C-74 Globemaster at Long Beach, California.
type=Strategic airlifter
manufacturer=Douglas Aircraft Company
designer=
first flight=1945-09-05
introduced=
retired=1970s
status=No surviving aircraft
primary user=United States Army Air Forces
more users=United States Air Force
produced=1945-1946
number built=
unit cost=
variants with their own articles= C-124 Globemaster II

The Douglas C-74 Globemaster was a United States heavy-lift cargo aircraft built by the Douglas Aircraft Company in Long Beach, California.

Development

The C-74 Globemaster was developed in response to a need by the United States Army Air Forces for a large transport aircraft with transoceanic range. Douglas Aircraft Company responded in 1942 with a giant four-engined design. The aircraft did not actually fly until 5 September 1945. With the need for military aircraft greatly reduced by the end of World War II, the order was canceled and production ended in January 1946 after production of only fourteen aircraft. This cancelation also ended plans to build an airliner version of the C-74 for the civilian market.

At the time of its first flight, the C-74 was the largest landplane to enter production, with a maximum weight of 172,000 lb (78,000 kg). It was able to carry 125 soldiers or 48,150 lb (21,840 kg) of cargo over a range of 3,400 statute miles (5,500 km). Perhaps the most notable feature of the C-74 was its cockpit arrangement with separate canopies over the pilot and copilot; the same arrangement was used for the XB-42 Mixmaster. This arrangement was unpopular with flight crews, however, and the aircraft were retrofitted with a more conventional arrangement. During the life of the aircraft, the radial engines were also upgraded to 3,250 hp Pratt & Whitney R-4360-49 engines.

The C-74 supported the Berlin Airlift by flying cargo from the U.S. to staging bases in Europe, from which it was flown to Berlin in smaller C-47 Skytrain and C-54 Skymaster aircraft. Experience with the Berlin Airlift demonstrated that the new United States Air Force needed a heavy strategic airlift capability. The fifth C-74 built was modified to be a prototype for the C-124 Globemaster II, which used the same wing and empennage as the C-74, but used a much larger fuselage. This newer aircraft quickly superseded the C-74 in service. All of the surviving C-74s were scrapped in the 1960s and 1970s. One aircraft (42-65409) made a brief appearance in the 1969 movie The Italian Job.

Fame

The Douglas C-74 Globemaster was used in the 1969 film, The Italian Job. It is the Chinese aircraft that delivers the gold to FIAT in Turin.

pecifications (C-74 Globemaster)

aircraft specifications

plane or copter?=plane
jet or prop?=prop

crew=3
capacity=125 troops
payload main=48,150 lb
payload alt=21,840 kg
length main=124 ft 2 in
length alt=37.85 m
span main=173 ft 3 in
span alt=52.81 m
height main=43 ft 9 in
height alt=13.34 m
area main=2,510 ft²
area alt=233 m²
empty weight main=86,172 lb
empty weight alt=39,087 kg
loaded weight main=154,128 lb
loaded weight alt=69,911 kg
max takeoff weight main=172,000 lb
max takeoff weight alt=78,000 kg

engine (prop)=Pratt & Whitney R-4360-49
type of prop=radial engines
number of props=4
power main=3,250 hp
power alt=2,424 kW

max speed main=328 mph
max speed alt=285 knots, 528 km/h
range main=3,400 mi
range alt=2,950 nm, 5,470 km
ceiling main=21,300 ft
ceiling alt=6,490 m
climb rate main=2,605 ft/min
climb rate alt=13.2 m/s
loading main=61 lb/ft²
loading alt=300 kg/m²
power/mass main=0.08 hp/lb
power/mass alt=140 W/kg

ee also

aircontent
related=
* C-124 Globemaster II

similar aircraft=

lists=
* List of military aircraft of the United States

see also=

References

*

External links

* [http://www.air-and-space.com/Douglas%20C-74.htm C-74 at air-and-space.com]