National Museum of the U.S. Air Force Visit: Airpark in Winter - Fairchild C-119J Flying Boxcar

By Fred Harl

The National Museum of the U.S. Air Force Airpark contains a unique Fairchild C-119J Flying Boxcar.  The design was an improvement of the company's C-82 Packet, a postwar cargo aircraft used during the Berlin Airlift and the Korean War.  The C-119 family of aircraft continued service through the Vietnam War era, serving an important role as AC-119G Shadow and AC-119K Stinger gunships working over the Ho Chi Minh Trail.  The aircraft at the Air Park was modified to retrieve film capsules from early spy satellites, including Discoverer XIV.  Here is what C-119J s/n 51-8037 looked like on a recent snowy day: