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74-682: The Douglas C-133 Cargomaster is an American large turboprop cargo aircraft built between 1956 and 1961 by the Douglas Aircraft Company for use with the United States Air Force . The C-133 was the USAF's only production turboprop-powered strategic airlifter , entering service shortly after the Lockheed C-130 Hercules , which is designated a tactical airlifter . It provided airlift services in

148-436: A McDonnell Douglas MD-11 F $ 9M in 1994, a B767 -300ERF $ 13M in 2007, a Boeing 747-400 PSF $ 22M in 2006, an A330 -300 P2F was estimated at $ 20M in 2016 and a Boeing 777 -200ER BCF at $ 40M in 2017. By avoiding the main deck door installation and relying on lighter elevators between decks, LCF Conversions wants to convert A330/ A340s or B777s for $ 6.5M to $ 7.5M. In the mid-2000s, passenger 747-400s cost $ 30–50 million before

222-552: A Mitsubishi Ki-15 , heading for London. Their mission was to congratulate King George VI on his coronation . The aircraft was named the Kamikaze . During the late 1930s and throughout World War II, Tachikawa Aircraft employed growing numbers of workers, it produced more than 6,000 aircraft. It produced fighters, troop carriers, and bombers. Prototypes were designed and developed at the manufacturing plant. The Imperial Japanese Army built technical schools at Tachikawa, one of which

296-633: A dorsal spine fuselage. Interconnecting 1.5–15.2-metre-long (5–50 ft) long aluminum containers carry the flight loads, aiming to lower overseas airfreight costs by 60%, and plan to convert C-130 H with the help of Wagner Aeronautical of San Diego, experienced in passenger-to-cargo conversions. Beijing-based Beihang UAS Technology developed its BZK-005 high-altitude, long-range UAV for cargo transport, capable of carrying 1.2 t (2,600 lb) over 1,200 km (650 nmi) at 5,000 m (16,000 ft). Garuda Indonesia will test three of them initially from September 2019, before operations in

370-584: A $ 25 million conversion, a Boeing 757 had to cost $ 15 million before conversion, falling to below $ 10 million by 2018, and $ 5 million for a 737 Classic , falling to $ 2–3 million for a Boeing 737-400 by 2018. Derivative freighters have most of their development costs already amortized, and lead time before production is shorter than all new aircraft. Converted cargo aircraft use older technology; their direct operating costs are higher than what might be achieved with current technology. Since they have not been designed specifically for air cargo, loading and unloading

444-432: A 1,200 billion ATKs in 2035. The Cargo Facts Consulting firm forecasts that the global freighter fleet will rise from 1,782 to 2,920 cargo aircraft from 2019 to 2039. Aircraft were put to use carrying cargo in the form of air mail as early as 1911. Although the earliest aircraft were not designed primarily as cargo carriers, by the mid-1920s aircraft manufacturers were designing and building dedicated cargo aircraft. In

518-658: A civilian airport with Japan's first scheduled air service. Tachikawa was originally built at the direction of the Imperial Guard for the purpose of providing aerial defense for Tokyo . The Guard also considered sites in Sagamihara , Kawagoe and Kodaira , but chose Tachikawa for its proximity to central Tokyo, good rail connection (today's Chuo Main Line ) and favorable geography (flat land with few residents). Tachikawa Airfield's origins begin on 14 March 1922 when

592-565: A command center to direct a response to a significant national disaster or emergency. Japan's National Emergency Response Center is located in a complex of underground bunkers and tunnels that were developed for the Japanese military for use during World War II to hide and protect airplanes from the US bombings. These tunnels were taken over by the US Military and used for storage while the base

666-570: A flying squadron of Farman III aircraft, one balloon squadron and a material depot unit moved to Tachikawa from Tokorozawa, Saitama Prefecture. This small group was commanded by a Colonel Arikawa, Engineering Corps and the flying squadron commander was Captain Yoshitoshi Tokugawa . Civil aviation from the airfield commenced in 1929 with the inauguration of the scheduled commercial service by Japan Air Transport to Osaka . Japan's first scheduled air service linked Tokyo and Osaka with

740-443: A military aircraft would have to be rejected, because they are not suitable for a civil freighter. Moreover, each airplane would have to carry some weight which it would not carry if it were independently designed. This additional weight lessens the payload and the profitability of the commercial version. This could either be compensated by a transfer payment at acquisition, or an operating penalty compensation payment. Most important, it

814-444: A personnel stairway centered between the vehicle trackway ramps, that raised the rear of the aircraft into the air and allowed easy loading. A similar rear loading ramp even appeared in a somewhat different form on the nosewheel gear -equipped, late WW II era American Budd RB-1 Conestoga twin-engined cargo aircraft. Postwar Europe also served to play a major role in the development of the modern air cargo and air freight industry. It

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888-576: A profit if they had such an aircraft. To help resolve this disagreement, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) selected two contractors, Douglas Aircraft Co. and Lockheed-Georgia Co., to independently evaluate the possibility of producing such a freighter by 1990. This was done as part of the Cargo/Logistics Airlift Systems Study (CLASS). At comparable payloads, dedicated cargo aircraft

962-531: A spacious facility named in memory of Hirohito , known formally as Emperor Shōwa. It opened in 1983. Tachikawa's city hall and an IKEA store also occupy parts of the footprint of the former base. The Tachikawa air show takes place late each year. It features displays of helicopters from the GSDF, Tokyo Police Department and Tokyo Fire Department. Aircraft from the US Air Force have also appeared. Currently

1036-499: A support base, primarily USAF military housing for Tokyo, and the large USAF hospital remained. On 23 January 1973, the Kanto Plain Consolidation Plan (KPCP) was endorsed by the 14th U.S.-Japan Security Consultative Committee, both the U.S. and Japanese Government agreed to return of Tachikawa Air Base. KPCP was a primary Fifth Air Force program which consolidates major USAF activities at five facilities in

1110-583: A three-hour flight. The airport also had scheduled flights to Dalian ( Zhoushuizi Airport ) and Seoul ( Yeouido Airport ). The operations continued until 1933, when it transferred to Tokyo Airfield, now Tokyo International Airport at Haneda . Tachikawa's next component was formed in November 1933 when the Ishikawajima Aircraft Manufacturing Company ( 石川島飛行機製作所 , Ishikawajima Hikōki Seisakushō ) moved to

1184-606: A wide range of applications, being replaced by the C-5 Galaxy in the early 1970s. The C-133 was designed to meet the requirements for the USAF's Logistic Carrier Support System SS402L for a new strategic transport. The aircraft differed considerably from the C-74 Globemaster and C-124 Globemaster IIs that had preceded it. A high-mounted wing, external blister fairings on each side for the landing gear, and rear-loading and side-loading doors ensured that access to, and

1258-756: Is during the Berlin Airlift at the height of the Cold War , when a massive mobilization of aircraft was undertaken by the West to supply West Berlin with food and supplies, in a virtual around the clock air bridge , after the Soviet Union closed and blockaded Berlin's land links to the west. To rapidly supply the needed numbers of aircraft, many older types, especially the Douglas C-47 Skytrain , were pressed into service. In operation it

1332-439: Is not clear that there will be an adequate market for the civil version or that it will be cost competitive with derivatives of passenger aircraft. Rapid delivery demand and e-commerce growth stimulate UAV freighters development for 2020: Carpinteria, California -startup Dorsal Aircraft wants to make light standard ISO containers part of its unpiloted freighter structure where the wing, engines and tail are attached to

1406-481: Is not optimized; the aircraft may be pressurized more than necessary, and there may be unnecessary apparatus for passenger safety. A dedicated commercial air freighter is an airplane which has been designed from the beginning as a freighter, with no restrictions caused by either passenger or military requirements. Over the years, there has been a dispute concerning the cost effectiveness of such an airplane, with some cargo carriers stating that they could consistently earn

1480-608: The Arado Ar 232 was the first purpose-built cargo aircraft. The Ar 232 was intended to supplant the earlier Junkers Ju 52 freighter conversions, but only a few were built. Most other forces used freighter versions of airliners in the cargo role as well, most notably the C-47 Skytrain version of the Douglas DC-3 , which served with practically every Allied nation. One important innovation for future cargo aircraft design

1554-767: The Boeing 737 -300/400/800, McDonnell Douglas MD-80 and Bombardier CRJ200 . Israel Aerospace Industries ’ Bedek Aviation converts the 737-300/400/700/800 in about 90 days, 767-200 /300s in about four months and 747-400s in five months, and is looking at the Boeing 777 , Airbus A330 and A321 . Voyageur Aviation located in North Bay, Ontario converts the DHC-8-100 into the DHC-8-100 Package Freighter Conversion. An A300B4 -200F conversion cost $ 5M in 1996, an A300 -600F $ 8M in 2001,

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1628-746: The Japan Ground Self-Defense Force 's Camp Tachikawa occupies the western portion of the airfield. The main unit there is the GSDF Eastern Army Aviation Group. It operates helicopters, and also commands the anti-tank helicopter units at Camp Kisarazu . Equipment at Tachikawa includes the UH-1J Iroquois , and the Kawasaki OH-6D and OH-1 . The Tachikawa Disaster-Preparedness Base sits on 115 ha (280 acres) of land. In addition to

1702-681: The RAF 's Iraq Command who flew nearly 500 Sikh troops from Kingarban to Kirkuk in the first ever strategic airlift of troops. Vickers Victorias played an important part in the Kabul Airlift of November 1928 – February 1929, when they evacuated diplomatic staff and their dependents together with members of the Afghan royal family endangered by a civil war . The Victorias also helped to pioneer air routes for Imperial Airways ' Handley Page HP.42 airliners. The World War II German design,

1776-649: The UK during the early 1920s, the need was recognized for a freighter aircraft to transport troops and material quickly to pacify tribal revolts in the newly occupied territories of the Middle East . The Vickers Vernon , a development of the Vickers Vimy Commercial , entered service with the Royal Air Force as the first dedicated troop transport in 1921. In February 1923 this was put to use by

1850-443: The 1503d ATW in 1953. Military Airlift Command operations were reassigned to Yokota Air Base. In the late 1960s, more and more transport operations were shifted to Yokota, and by 1969 the use of the airfield ended with the exception of light aircraft use. On 3 October 1969, Fifth Air Force announced that the flight activity at Tachikawa would be halted until the end of the year. During the 1970s, Tachikawa's mission changed to being

1924-628: The C-130 continues to improve at a rate that keeps it in production. "Strategic" cargo aircraft became an important class of their own starting with the Lockheed C-5 Galaxy in the 1960s and a number of similar Soviet designs from the 70s and 80s, and culminating in the Antonov An-225 , the world's largest aircraft. These designs offer the ability to carry the heaviest loads, even main battle tanks , at global ranges. The Boeing 747

1998-623: The C-5 entered squadron service. C-133s set a number of unofficial records, including records for military transport aircraft on trans-Atlantic and trans-Pacific routes. Among the longest were non-stop flights from Tachikawa Airfield , Japan, to Travis Air Force Base , California (17:20 hours on 22 May 1959, 5,150 mi/8,288 km, 297.2 mph/478.3 km/h), and Hickam Air Force Base , Hawaii, to Dover Air Force Base , Delaware, in about 16 hours (4,850 mi/7,805 km 303.1 mph/487.8 km/h). The only FAI officially sanctioned record

2072-569: The COVID-19 outbreak. It allows almost 320  m of cargo between the three decks. In November 2020 Emirates started offering an A380 mini-freighter, which allows for 50 tons of cargo in the belly of the plane. Cargo aircraft has had many uses throughout the years, but the current importance of cargo aircraft is not highly talked about. Cargo planes today can carry almost everything ranging from perishables and supplies to fully built cars and livestock. The most use of cargo aircraft comes from

2146-549: The Central Pacific Region. In the Tachikawa air disaster on June 18, 1953 when a U.S. Air Force Douglas C-124 Globemaster II transport experienced an engine failure after takeoff and crashed into a field near the base. The accident claimed the lives of 129 people, and was the deadliest air disaster in history at the time. With a runway only 1,500 m (4,900 ft) long, Tachikawa was not adequate for

2220-656: The Communists defeated the Chinese Nationalist forces during the Chinese Civil War. In addition to the MATS operations, Far East Air Force operated numerous Troop Carrier units from Tachikawa, providing theater airlift within the command flying C-46 and C-47 transports during the late 1940s under the 6000th Support Wing. The Korean War saw operations increase, with Troop Carrier units carrying out

2294-666: The Ground Self-Defense Force and the Tachikawa Depot of the Japan Air Self-Defense Force . It is roughly southeast of Yokota Air Base . The alternate center for Japan's national government is located on a portion of what used to be Tachikawa Air Base. The center includes billeting, offices, communications and control centers, hospital and a full cafeteria. The center is for the national government to use if forced to relocate or as

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2368-646: The Kanto Plain (Tachikawa, Fuchu Air Station , South Camp Drake, Kanto-Mura Dependent Housing Area, and Johnson Housing Annex) into Yokota Air Base. Following the completion of the USFJ Facilities and Areas Adjustment Program (1968 to 1971), the plan was developed through the U.S.-Japan Joint Committee and its Facilities Subcommittee. As the first implementation of the KPCP, Yamato Air Station (Tachikawa AB school annex and unaccompanied personnel dormitory area)

2442-622: The Occupation Government in Japan, and provide strategic transport to the United States. Air Transport Command (ATC) was given the assignment to get the airfield cleaned up and operational. ATC established the 1503d Army Air Force Base Unit (AAFBU) to manage the cargo and personnel operations at the airfield, and by 1 January 1946 the base was ready enough to permit C-47 Skytrain and C-46 Commando aircraft to operate from

2516-758: The US's C-82 Packet featured a removable cargo area, while the C-123 Provider introduced the now-common rear fuselage/upswept tail shaping to allow for a much larger rear loading ramp. But it was the introduction of the turboprop that allowed the class to mature, and even one of its earliest examples, the C-130 Hercules , in the 21st century as the Lockheed Martin C-130J , is still the yardstick against which newer military transport aircraft designs are measured. Although larger, smaller and faster designs have been proposed for many years,

2590-779: The USAF hospital became the best barometer of American military activities in the Far East. After the Korean War, the Far East Air Force 6100th SW became the host unit at Tachikawa in 1953, with MATS and Air Materiel Command becoming tenant organizations. MATS flights arrived and departed 24 hours a day operating C-118 , C-121 , C-124 and C-133 from Hickam Field , Hawaii or being staged through Alaska . From Tachikawa, outbound MATS flights headed to Clark Air Base heading to Saigon , Bangkok , and on to Karachi Airport , Pakistan or to Guam , Wake or Midway Island in

2664-401: The USAF. A single C-133A and a C-133B were built and kept at Douglas Long Beach as "test articles". They had no construction numbers or USAF tail numbers. The C-133 had large tail doors and side doors and a large, open cargo area. The C-133A carried many large and heavy loads, including Atlas and Titan ICBMs, although it was not designed specifically to transport ICBMs. It may, indeed, have been

2738-636: The airfield, it includes emergency medical-treatment facilities and stores of emergency supplies. Agencies with a presence at Tachikawa include the Cabinet Office , Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport , Japan Coast Guard , Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries , Tokyo Metropolitan Government, Tokyo Metropolitan Police and Fire departments, National Hospital Organization (an Independent Administrative Institution ), and Red Cross . Also in Tachikawa are Camp Higashi-Tachikawa of

2812-597: The airfield. Six years later it was renamed the Tachikawa Aircraft Company Ltd . In addition, Hitachi , and Showa Aircraft Industry built plants in the vicinity. With the departure of civil aviation in 1933, Tachikawa returned to being an Army airfield. Its warplanes were transferred to a base in Kashiwa in the northwestern corner of Chiba Prefecture in 1939. In 1937, two pilots, Masaaki Iinuma and Kenji Tsukagoshi departed Tachikawa with

2886-409: The airplane and its direct operating cost (because of depreciation and insurance costs) and increases the financial risks to investors, especially since it would be competing with derivatives which have much smaller development costs per unit and which themselves have incorporated some of the cost-reducing technology. One benefit of a combined development is that the development costs would be shared by

2960-691: The base. Larger C-54 Skymasters began using the base by April 1946, and a day/night lighting system was installed and in operation by November 1946. In 1947, Air Transport Command began to support the Seventh Air Force Service Command Japan Air Materiel Area (JAMA) at Tachikawa, which eventually became the major tenant unit at the base, and by 1948 was providing depot-level maintenance for aircraft in Far East Air Force and logistical support from Air Materiel Command . In July 1949, JAMA

3034-452: The cargo area to sit near the ground, numerous wheels to allow it to land at unprepared locations, and a high-mounted tail to allow cargo to be driven directly into and off the aircraft. By 2015, dedicated freighters represent 43% of the 700 billion ATK (available tonne-kilometer) capacity, while 57% is carried in airliner's cargo holds . Also in 2015, Boeing forecast belly freight to rise to 63% while specialised cargoes would represent 37% of

Douglas C-133 Cargomaster - Misplaced Pages Continue

3108-510: The civil and military sectors, and the number of airplanes required by the military could be decreased by the number of civil reserve airplanes purchased by air carriers and available to the military in case of emergency. There are some possible drawbacks, as the restrictions executed by joint development, the punishments that would be suffered by both civil and military airplanes, and the difficulty in discovering an organizational structure that authorizes their compromise. Some features appropriate to

3182-399: The dedicated air freighter is that it can be designed specifically for air freight demand, providing the type of loading and unloading, flooring, fuselage configuration, and pressurization which are optimized for its mission. Moreover, it can make full use of NASA's ACEE results, with the potential of significantly lowering operating costs and fuel usage. Such a high overhead raises the price of

3256-467: The development of cargo aircraft. Many types can be converted from airliner to freighter by installing a main deck cargo door with its control systems; upgrading floor beams for cargo loads and replacing passenger equipment and furnishings with new linings, ceilings, lighting, floors, drains and smoke detectors . Specialized engineering teams rival Airbus and Boeing , giving the aircraft another 15–20 years of life. Aeronautical Engineers Inc converts

3330-407: The end of World War II , Tachikawa was subjected to intense bombing by United States Army Air Forces XXI Bomber Command 29th Bombardment Group B-29 Superfortresses during April and June 1945. The Shintentai , an anti-aircraft kamikaze group, defended the airfield and its manufacturing facilities, however most of the airfield was rendered unserviceable by the bombing raids, along with most of

3404-491: The evacuation of American civilians and then transporting the torrent of Allied military men and material flowing into the war zone. Around the clock, planes arrived and departed. A typical flight might carry 35,000 pounds of hand grenades to South Korea, with 80 wounded personnel arriving to be transported to the USAF Hospital on the base. For thousands of servicemen whose tours took them into, through or out of Tachikawa,

3478-523: The fourth quarter. Garuda plans up to 100 cargo UAVs to connect remote regions with limited airports in Maluku , Papua , and Sulawesi . Tachikawa Airfield Tachikawa Airfield ( 立川飛行場 , Tachikawa Hikōjō ) ( ICAO : RJTC ) is an airfield in the city of Tachikawa , in the western part of Tokyo , Japan . Currently under the administration of the Ministry of Defense , it has also served as

3552-531: The huge new Cam Ranh Air Base with the jet C-141 Starlifter transports. In 1964, operations from Tachikawa began to phase down as its location in the urban area of Tokyo made heavy transport operations undesirable. In addition, Tachikawa's short runway made jet transport operations difficult. As a result, the Air Force chose to develop nearby Tama Airfield (the present-day Yokota Air Base ) with more and more heavy transport operations going there. The 1503d

3626-515: The increase in online shopping through retailers like Amazon and eBay. Since most of these items are made all over the world, air cargo is used to get it from point A to point B as fast as possible. Air cargo significantly adds to the world trade value, Air cargo transports over US$ 6 trillion worth of goods, accounting for approximately 35% of world trade by value. This helps producers keep the costs of goods down, allows consumers to be able to purchase more items, and allows stores to remain with goods on

3700-546: The introduction of the Lockheed C-5 Galaxy , the Cargomaster was obsolete as well as being worn out, and all were withdrawn from service. The C-133 had a 10,000-hour airframe that was life-extended to 19,000 hours. Severe vibration caused critical stress corrosion of the airframes to the point that the aircraft were beyond economical operation. The Air Force managed to keep as many of the C-133 fleet in service as possible until

3774-751: The land to a variety of uses. The Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (GSDF) established a base there, as did the Japan Coast Guard , the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department and the Tokyo Fire Department . Consolidation resulted in the establishment of the Tachikawa Disaster-Preparedness Base. Part of the land has been redeveloped as Fare Tachikawa. The central part of Tachikawa Airfield is now Showa Memorial Park ,

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3848-666: The largest aircraft, and the U.S. decided to extend the runway into the neighboring town of Sunagawa (now part of the city of Tachikawa). The July 8, 1957, Sunagawa Riots (also known as the " Sunagawa Struggle ") resulted in cancellation of the plan, although this wasn't announced until the winter of 1968. As United States military forces began to increase in Indochina , more and more equipment moved into first Tan Son Nhut Air Base in South Vietnam , then to Don Muang Royal Thai Air Force Base , near Bangkok , and in early 1965 to

3922-632: The main MATS organization in the Western Pacific, supporting numerous tenant organizations such as the Air Rescue Service ; Air Weather Service , and Far East Air Force theater Troop Carrier Groups (later Wings) which transshipped supplies and personnel from the MATS Aerial Port at Tachikawa throughout the 1950s. The first major mission by the 1503d was the evacuation of large numbers of Americans out of China in 1948 after

3996-631: The reverse. The C-133 design was frozen by 1955 in order to build the airplanes that first flew in April 1956. The designs of both the Atlas and Titan were not firm until after 1955, when their contracts were signed. With the C-133B, the rear cargo doors were modified to open to the side (petal doors), making ICBM loading much easier. Air transporting the ballistic missiles such as the Atlas , Titan and Minuteman

4070-450: The right wing causing it to stall simultaneously with the left wing. As the aircraft neared the end of its 10,000-hour life-cycle the last C-133B crash occurred on 6 February 1970. It was determined the airframe split at the cargo door. The final fix was a band around the airframe to strengthen; the end of the C-133 was near. The C-5A Galaxy debuted in 1971 and marked the end of the C-133. Of 50 aircraft built, nine were lost in crashes and one

4144-509: The second largest payload capacity of any cargo aircraft, exceeded only by the An-225. An aerospace consultant has estimated that the A380F would have 7% better payload and better range than the 747-8F , but also higher trip costs. Starting May 2020 Portuguese Hi Fly started charting cargo flights with an A380, carrying medical supplies from China to different parts of the world in the response to

4218-515: The shelf.   Not only is air cargo important in the delivery and shipping aspect, it is also highly important in the job industry. Air cargo companies around the United States employ over 250,000 workers, U.S. cargo airlines employed 268,730 workers in August 2023, 34% of the industry total. Nearly all commercial cargo aircraft presently in the fleet are derivatives or transformations of passenger aircraft. However, there are three other methods to

4292-482: The structures and support facilities of the airfield by the time the first United States Army forces moved in on 5 September 1945. After the war, the United States occupied the base, with the airfield being in shambles. Given its proximity to Tokyo, Tachikawa Airfield was designated as a transport base, with a mission to provide transportation for priority passengers and cargo in and around the Tokyo Area; to support

4366-565: The volume of, the large cargo compartment were not compromised by these structures. The cargo compartment (90 ft/27 m in length and 12 ft/3.7 m high) was pressurized, heated, and ventilated. The Cargomasters went directly into production as C-133A; no prototypes were built. The first Cargomaster flew on 23 April 1956. The first C-133As were delivered to the Military Air Transport Service (MATS) in August 1957 and began flying MATS air routes throughout

4440-555: The world. Two C-133s established transatlantic speed records for transport aircraft on their first flights to Europe. The fleet of 50 aircraft proved itself invaluable during the Vietnam War . The Cargomaster soldiered on until the Lockheed C-5 Galaxy entered service in the early 1970s. The C-133 was then retired and most airplanes were cut up within months of being delivered to Davis-Monthan Air Force Base , Tucson, Arizona, after their final flights in 1971. Fifty aircraft (35 C-133A and 15 C-133B) were constructed and put into service with

4514-406: Was destroyed in a ground fire. Data from American military transport aircraft since 1925 General characteristics Performance Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era Cargo aircraft Aircraft designed for cargo flight usually have features that distinguish them from conventional passenger aircraft: a wide/tall fuselage cross-section, a high-wing to allow

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4588-465: Was for many years the only USAF aircraft capable of hauling very large or very heavy cargo. Despite the Douglas C-124 Globemaster II 's capabilities, there was much cargo that it could not carry because of its configuration with a cargo deck 13 ft (4 m) off the ground and its lower, though substantial, engine power. The C-133 continued in service after the formation of the USAFs Military Airlift Command on 1 January 1966. By 1971, shortly before

4662-461: Was found that it took as long or longer to unload these older designs as the much larger tricycle landing gear Douglas C-54 Skymaster which was easier to move about in when landed. The C-47s were quickly removed from service, and from then on flat-decks were a requirement of all new cargo designs. In the years following the war era a number of new custom-built cargo aircraft were introduced, often including some "experimental" features. For instance,

4736-407: Was in December 1958, when C-133A 62008 lifted a payload of 117,900 lb (53,480 kg) to an altitude of 10,000 ft (3,048 m) at Dover Air Force Base, Delaware. Data from: C-133 units, C-133 Tail Numbers Early in its life-cycle the airplane developed a reputation of crashing. Crew members referred to it as a "widowmaker". Some would not fly in the C-133, since the cause of the crashes

4810-415: Was in operation from 1945 to 1977, when the base was given back to the Japanese Government as well as the disposition of the bunker complex. The underground complex is located under what was the west Tachikawa Air Base housing, Military Barracks complex and the runway area. From November 1977 to present day the tunnel and bunker system have been enlarged to accommodate up to 5,000 people and to sustain them for

4884-402: Was introduced in 1939, with the fifth and sixth prototypes of the Junkers Ju 90 four-engined military transport aircraft, with the earliest known example of a rear loading ramp. This aircraft, like most of its era, used tail-dragger landing gear which caused the aircraft to have a decided rearward tilt when landed. These aircraft introduced the Trapoklappe , a powerful ramp/hydraulic lift with

4958-519: Was much less expensive, safer and faster than road transport. Several hundred Minuteman and other ICBMs were airlifted to and from their operational bases by C-133s. The C-133 also transported Atlas, Saturn and Titan rockets to Cape Canaveral for use as launch boosters in the Gemini, Mercury and Apollo space programs. After the Apollo capsules splashed down, they were airlifted in C-133s from Naval Station Norfolk , Virginia, or Hickam AFB , Hawaii, to Ellington AFB , Texas, or to California. The C-133

5032-429: Was originally designed to the same specification as the C-5, but later modified as a design that could be offered as either passenger or all-freight versions. The "bump" on the top of the fuselage allows the crew area to be clear of the cargo containers sliding out of the front in the event of an accident. When the Airbus A380 was announced, the maker originally accepted orders for the freighter version A380F, offering

5106-466: Was redesignated Far East Air Materiel Command (FEAMCOM). The western sector became Tachikawa Air Base, while FEAMCOM took the eastern part. They became a single base again in 1956. With the inactivation of Air Transport Command in 1948, Military Air Transport Service redesignated the 1503d AAFBU the 540th Air Transport Wing, later 1503d Air Transport Wing. The wing became the host organization at Tachikawa Air Base upon activation. The 1503d ATW became

5180-507: Was reduced to Group Level, and operations at Tachikawa focused more on Aeromedical Transport operations from the Philippines, and supporting MATS units at deployed locations in the Pacific. C-130E troop carrier units from Pacific Air Forces continued to operate from the airfield. With the inactivation of the Military Air Transport Service in 1966, the aerial port facilities were turned over to the Pacific Air Forces 6100th Support Wing (formerly 6000th), which had taken over base support duties from

5254-467: Was returned to the Japanese Government on 30 June 1973. After the end of the Vietnam War in 1975, plans were made to close Tachikawa for budgetary reasons. The base was officially closed on 30 September 1977 (Special Order GA-45, Headquarters, Pacific Air Forces, 27 September 1977); on 30 November 1977, Tachikawa Air Base was formally returned to the Japanese government. 2712 Communications Maintenance Squadron (FEAMCOM) The Japanese government put

5328-444: Was said to provide a 20 percent reduction in trip cost and a 15 percent decrease in aircraft price compared to other cargo aircraft. These findings, however, are extremely sensitive to assumptions about fuel and labor costs and, most particularly, to growth in demand for air cargo services. Further, it ignores the competitive situation brought about by the lower capital costs of future derivative air cargo aircraft. The main advantage of

5402-758: Was the Tokorozawa Army Aviation Maintenance School, established in 1935. The school was moved to Tachikawa in April 1939 when the Imperial Japanese Army Air Force Fifth Air Wing moved to the airfield. Cross-trainees, college graduates and Air Academy graduated went to this school to become aviation technical maintenance officers. It also co-existed with the Fourth Aviation Training Unit which provided basic training for Japanese Army Air Force flyers. Near

5476-404: Was unknown. Several issues were discovered after crash investigations. The first issue was with the auto-pitch controller on the propellers. A time delay was added to relieve stress on the nose casing. The second issue was that the stall characteristics gave little warning to the crew. The left wing was found to stall before the right wing. The fix was simple, a small strip of metal was attached to

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