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The Douglas C-74 Globemaster was the largest U. S. landplanenext to the Douglas XB-19 when it flew for the first time onSeptember 5, 1945. Pan Am ordered twenty-six from Douglas underthe designation DC-7, but the order was cancelled in late 1945.The Air Force acquired fourteen Globemasters.
Douglas C-74 Globemaster plans
Rollout of the first C-74 Globemaster, 42-65402 at Long Beach,California. A ramp was constructed to raise the nosewheel andlower the tail so that the tail would clear the hangar door.
C-74, 42-65402 at Long Beach, California. Note the B-17ssitting without their engines in the background.
A Douglas A-26 Invader has been placed undernaeath the wing ofthe C-74 to emphasize the great bulk of the new transport. Thefreight loading elevator is resting on the ground underneath theGlobemaster. It appears directly below the inboard engine.
The freight loading elevator of C-74, 42-65402 .
C-74, 42-65402 at Long Beach, California.
C-74, 42-65402 at Long Beach, California.
C-74, 42-65402 using reversepropeller pitch to back up at the General Electric Air ResearchLaboratory in Schenectady, New York on June 22, 1946.Photographer: Richard Lockett.
C-74, 42-65402 in flight at theGeneral Electric Air Research Laboratory in Schenectady, New Yorkon June 22, 1946. Photographer: Richard Lockett.
C-74, 42-65402 landing at theGeneral Electric Air Research Laboratory in Schenectady, New Yorkon June 22, 1946. Photographer: Richard Lockett.
C-74, 42-65402 taxiing at theGeneral Electric Air Research Laboratory in Schenectady, New Yorkon June 22, 1946. Photographer: Richard Lockett.
Douglas C-74 Globemaster, 42-65408 flying for the Military AirTransport Service (MATS). The two bubble canopies have beenreplaced by a single canopy that improved communication betweenthe two pilots. All C-74 Globemasters were retired from activeduty with the Air Force by July 1955.
Civilian Globemasters
C-74 42-65409 was retired from the Air Force in 1956. After reconditioning at Oakland, California, it was registered by Air Systems in Panama as HP-379. By 1963 it and two other civil Globemaster-Is were flying cargo in Europe. It served as a Danish Dairy Cow transport to customers in Middle East countries. Its service is described in the book Flying Cowboys by Tad Houlihan. Air Systems went out of business after the crash of Globemaster Hp-385 (AF 42-65404) at Marseilles, France in October 1963. HP-379 was abandoned in Milan. By 1969 it had been flown to the Turin Airport.
C-74 HP-379 appearing in the Michael Caine film The Italian Job in 1989. The film company painted it in the colors of thefictitious Communist Chinese Civil Aviation Airlines Corporationfor the movie. After the movie, the Globemaster was on public display untilit caught fire on June 11, 1970. While it was beingsalvaged, it caught fire a second time on September 24, killingtwo salvage workers.
C-74 42-65408 was registered by Air Systems in Panama as HP-367. It is een here in Nicosia on September 17, 1963. It was dismantled at Milan, Italy in August 1972. It was the last surviving Globemaster. Photo courtesy Jack Ford.
The disposition of the C-74 Globemasters:
The Air Force scrapped all the C-74s at Davis-Monthan AFB, Arizona in 1965. The Air Force Museum scrapped the last vestige of Air Force Globemaster Is when they relegated the YC-124C, 42-65406 (the prototype of the Globemaster II which had been converted from C-74, 42-65406) to fire-fighting training in 1969.
42-65402 Scrapped at Davis-Monthan AFB 1965
42-65403 crashed Torrance, CA 5 August 46
42-65404, N3182G, HP-385 crashed at Marseilles, France 9 October 1963
42-65405 diverted to static test at Wright Field. Tested to destruction from August 1946 to November 1948
42-65406 converted to YC-124A, 42-65406. Consigned to fire training by the Air Force Museum at Wright-Patterson AFB, OH 1969
42-65407 Scrapped at Davis-Monthan AFB 1965
42-65408, N8199H, HP-367 dismantled at Milan, Italy August 1972
42-65409, N3181G, HP-379 salvaged at Turin, Italy September 1970
42-65410 Scrapped at Davis-Monthan AFB 1965
42-65411 Scrapped at Davis-Monthan AFB 1965
42-65412, N3183G dismantled at Long Beach, CA 1964
42-65413 Scrapped at Davis-Monthan AFB 1965
42-65414 Served in the Berlin Airlift. Scrapped at Davis-Monthan AFB 1965
42-65415 Scrapped at Davis-Monthan AFB 1965
Airliners of the Post-War Era | ||||||||
| Type | First Flight | Wing Span | Length | Wing Area (sq ft) | Gross Weight (lb) | Passengers | Cruise Speed (mph) | Engines |
| Lockheed 1049 Super Constellation | 1950 | 123ft,00in | 113ft,07in | 1,650 | 120,000 | 92 | 255 | 4 x 2,700 hp R3350 |
| Bristol Brabazon | 1949 | 230ft,00in | 177ft,00in | 5,317 | 290,000 | 100 | 250 | 8 x 2,650hp Bristol Centaurus |
| Convair XC-99/Model 37 | 1947 | 230ft,00in | 185ft,00in | 4,772 | 320,000 | 204 | 300 | 6 x 3,500hp R4360 |
| Republic XF-12 Rainbow | 1946 | 129ft,02in | 98ft,09in | 1,640 | 113,250 | 46 | 450 | 4 x 3,000hp R4360 |
| Douglas DC-6 | 1946 | 117ft,06in | 100ft,07in | 1,463 | 97,200 | 50 | 328 | 4 x 2,100 hp R2800 |
| Douglas C-74 Globemaster | 1945 | 173ft,03in | 124ft,02in | 2,506 | 145,000 | 108 | 296 | 4 x 3,000hp R4360 |
| Boeing C-97 Stratofreighter/Stratotanker | 1945 | 141ft,03in | 110ft,04in | 1,738 | 120,000 | 4 x 3,000hp R4360 | ||
| Lockheed 049 Constellation | 1943 | 123ft,00in | 95ft,02in | 1,650 | 86,200 | 64 | 275 | 4 x 2,000 hp R3350 |
| Douglas DC-4 | 1942 | 117ft,06in | 93ft,10in | 1,460 | 73,000 | 44 | 227 | 4 x 1,350 hp R2000 |
Booksabout the Douglas C-74 and C-124 Globemaster available from
Booksabout the Douglas C-74 and C-124 Globemaster available from 
Douglas Jumbo's: The Globemaster by Anthony J. Tambini
Aircraft of the United States' Military AirTransport Service by Nicholas M. Williams
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