Douglas C-74 Globemaster (2024)

History of the Douglas C-74 Globemaster

World War II (1939-1945) forced the US military to request all types of aircraft, which airlines happily accepted. The Douglas Aircraft Company has been making aircraft for a long time, having been operating since 1921, the company supplied some of the most famous platforms of the war - the A-26 Intruder attack system, the SBD Marine Corps dive bomber Dreadnought " and the transport aircraft C-47 "Sky Train".

The Skytrain, a development of the early 1936 DC-3 troop carrier, was in extensive service throughout the war, with more than 10,000 produced by the end.

After the DC-3 that served Douglas, the DC-4 came. This model introduced a fairly modern tricycle landing gear with two engines on its low-mounted monoplane wing attachment and was in service in the C-54 "Skymaster". Over 1,200 examples of this model were made between 1942 and 1947. It was this aircraft that the Douglas team chose to convert into a large long-range heavy truck for the U.S. Army Air Force.

Engineers largely kept the original design lines, but started making a larger DC-4 version in 1942. The result was the "Type 415," which impressed Army officials so much that they ordered it without a prototype or development product, as part of a hasty plan -- which for military aircraft is rare.

The Army order includes a single dynamometer platform and 50 production quality units for service.

By this stage of the war, the Army needed heavy transport to transport personnel, machinery, and supplies to distant oceans. U.S. troops operate in North Africa, Europe, and the Pacific, where a variety of war supplies are needed.

The Type 415 is certainly a step in the right direction for a company with experience designing and supplying military transport types. The Type 415 is already about 30 feet longer than the current C-54 and is expected to have greater strategic capabilities.

The Type 415 became the U.S. military's C-74 "Globemaster", with a long tubular fuselage with the co*ckpit in the front and the unpressurized cargo compartment in the middle. Interestingly, the pilot and co-pilot sit under separate canopies above the nose - this is undoubtedly detrimental to the quality of communications and a "feature" that is quickly lost in the operational model. Using three-wheeled landing gear again, the low-position main aircraft are now equipped with two engines each, which drive large-diameter four-bladed propellers.

The rear is conventional, with a single vertical fin and low level. The standard operator number is 5 people, with a length of 37.8 meters, a wingspan of 53 meters and a height of 13.3 meters. The curb weight is 39,100 lbs and the maximum takeoff weight (MTOW) is 172,000 lbs. Its cargo bay can carry 125 combat-ready infantrymen, light armoured vehicles, fully equipped medical cars or general cargo.

The power of 4 Pratt & Whitney radial engines (3,250 hp each) combined with a streamlined design provides speeds of up to 330 mph, range of up to 3,400 miles, a service ceiling of up to 21,300 feet and a rate of climb of 2,605 feet per minute.

It turned out that the development of this aircraft was slower than necessary, as the first aircraft did not appear until August 1944, and the first flight was not recorded until September 5 of that year. By this time, D-Day had arrived in northern France, opening a new front of warfare.

The fifth C-74 completed was converted into a DC-6, known in the military as "C-118".

With the collapse of Germany in May 1945 and the end of the Japanese Empire in September, the U.S. military abandoned many aircraft programs, including its contract to purchase 50 C-74s. Fourteen aircraft were completed prior to cancellation, which affected Douglas' plans to convert the C-74 into a long-haul civilian airliner (known as the "DC-7", the company's "Type 415A"). The C-74 served with the U.S. Army Air Force until the Air Service section was modified to the U.S.

Air Force. One example was used during the 1948 Berlin Airlift (along with C-47s and C-54s) and was commissioned during the Korean War (1950-1953). In the latter operation, the C-74 was used to transport supplies from the U.S.

West Coast to Hawaii while bringing back casualtiesit did not enter the official theater of operations.

Despite limited procurement and a lack of required replacement parts, the C-74 eventually became so marginalized that by the mid-1950s the line began to show wear and tear. In 1956, the series was discontinued at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona, and most of the fleet was scrapped in 1965.

Some have ended their days in the civilian market, but sadly haven't stood the test of time.

The C-74 had a chance to become a classic WWII heavy transport aircraft, but events dictated its range on the battlefield, and limited production dictated its longevity in US service. The upcoming C-124 "Globemaster II" will see even better numbers, with 448 built and serving in the USAF until 1974.

Douglas C-74 Globemaster Specification

Basic

Year:

1945

Staff:

5

Production

[14 units]:

Douglas Aircraft Company - USA

Roles

- Traffic

Dimensions

Length:

124.18 ft (37.85 m)

Width:

173.26 ft (52.81 m)

Height:

13.34m

Weight

Curb Weight:

39,100 kg

MTOW:

78,000 kg

(difference: +85.760lb)

Performance

4 x Pratt & Whitney R-4360-49 radial piston engines, 3,250 hp each.

Performance

Maximum Speed:

329 mph (530 km/h; 286 knots)

Service Limit:

21,325 ft (6,500 m; 4.04 mi)

Maximum range:

3,399 miles (5,470 km; 2,954 nautical miles)

Rate of climb:

792 m/min (2,600 ft/min)

Armor

No.

Changes

C-74 - Name of base series; fourteen examples completed.