Douglas C - 74 Globemaster The Douglas C - 74 Globemaster was a United States heavy - lift cargo aircraft built by the Douglas Aircraft Company in Long Beach , California . The aircraft was developed after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor . The long distances across the Atlantic , and especially the Pacific Ocean to the combat areas indicated a need for a transoceanic heavy - lift military transport aircraft . Douglas Aircraft Company responded in 1942 with a giant four - engined design . Development and production modifications issues with the aircraft caused the first flight to be delayed until 5 September 1945 , and production was limited to 14 aircraft after the production contract was canceled after V - J Day . Although not produced in large numbers , the C - 74 did fill the need for a long - range strategic airlifter , in which the subsequent Douglas C - 124 Globemaster II was used by the Air Force for many years . Design and development . The Douglas Aircraft Company began studies at their Santa Monica division in early 1942 for a transport capable of fulfilling the global logistical needs of the U . S . military . Its " C - 74 Project Group " used their company ' s DC - 4 as a basis and concentrated on enlarging its capabilities . The group ' s design philosophy was to build a " no - frills " aircraft able to accommodate much of the Army ' s large equipment including light tank s , two howitzer s with their towing vehicles , two angle bulldozers , and smaller utility vehicles . This became the Douglas Model 415 and a cost - plus contract worth more than $ 50 million was signed 25 June 1942 for 50 aircraft and one static test article . There were no XC - or YC - 74 models produced . This first flight of a C - 74 occurred on 5 September 1945 . The first C - 74 , " 42 - 65402 " , was airborne just two months after it rolled off the assembly line . 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 mi ( 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 ( 2 , 424 kW ) Pratt & Whitney R - 4360 - 49 engines . The aircraft was 31 feet longer than the C - 54 Skymaster , and would be 24 feet longer than the proposed C - 118 Liftmaster . The second built , " 42 - 65403 " , c / n 13914 , crashed during flight testing on 5 August 1946 at Torrance , California when it lost a wing during an overload dive test . All four crew bailed out successfully . The fourth aircraft was diverted to a static test article at Wright Field , Ohio and virtually every component was tested to destruction between August 1946 and November 1948 . This was done in order to determine the individual components ' ability to withstand design loads . The fifth C - 74 built was modified to be a prototype for the Douglas C - 124 Globemaster II , which used the same wing as the C - 74 , but used a much larger fuselage . This newer aircraft quickly superseded the C - 74 in service . Douglas had every intention to adapt the aircraft into a civil airliner once the war ended . Pan American World Airways began negotiations in 1944 . Their civilian model would be dubbed a DC - 7 by Douglas ( Model 415A ) and the ' Clipper Type 9 ' by Pan American . Pan American intended to use the 108 - passenger aircraft for international travel between New York , Rio de Janeiro , and other cities . The major difference between the military cargo aircraft and the civil airliner was the non - pressurized fuselage of the military C - 74 and the pressurized DC - 7 . The passenger compartment was to be outfitted with a lounge bar , dining area and sleeping cabins for night flights . In June 1945 , an order was placed for 26 DC - 7 aircraft . With the need for military aircraft greatly reduced by the end of World War II , the order for 50 military aircraft was canceled in January 1946 after production of only 14 aircraft . This cancellation also ended plans to build an airliner version of the C - 74 for the civilian market , as the limited military production run increased the cost per civilian aircraft to over $ 1 , 412 , 000 and Pan American canceled its order . Douglas then canceled the DC - 7 designation . The DC - 7 designation was later used for a completely different civilian airliner project in the early 1950s , having no relationship to the C - 74 . Operational history . Of the 14 Globemasters built , 11 actually saw operational service . All were used by the United States Army Air Forces Air Transport Command ( ATC ) , and later by the United States Air Force Military Air Transport Service ( MATS ) . The C - 74 had a crew of five , including copilot , pilot , radio operator , navigator , and flight engineer . Crew rest quarters were included for long - duration missions . Passageways were provided in the wing to permit the flight engineer to perform servicing and repairs while in flight . It could carry 125 fully equipped troops , 115 litter patients with their medical attendants , or up to 50 , 000 pounds ( 22 , 000 kilograms ) of cargo . The cargo bay had twin hoists that could be moved on a rail up and down the bay . They could be used to drop a removable belly section to ease loading of cargoes , reducing the need for specialized cargo handling equipment . The small numbers of C - 74s built meant that the aircraft ' s service was limited , but it gave the Air Force experience with the operation and utility of large transport aircraft . Service introduction . The " C - 74 squadron " was activated along with the " C - 74 Project " on 5 September 1946 . They were attached to the 554th AAF Base Unit located at Memphis Municipal Airport , Tennessee . The 554th was a part of the USAAF Air Transport Command . The C - 74 Squadron ' s mission was : This project was designed to be a " shakedown " of the aircraft prior to entering operational service . Training of personnel to conduct this test was to have been accomplished by aircrews and technicians initially C - 74 trained at Wright Field , Ohio , and also at the Douglas facility in Long Beach , California . Approximately 30 transcontinental flights were planned . The squadron was moved to Morrision Field , Florida in October 1946 . This was due to the fact that the runways at Memphis were not stressed to take the large gross weight of the C - 74 , resulting in some minor cracking to the concrete surface . Operations included two weekly trips from Morrision Field to Albrook Field , Panama using Río Hato Army Air Base as an alternate field . In 1947 , the 2nd and 3rd Air Transport Groups ( Provisional ) were formed and the C - 74 was declared operationally ready . Humanitarian missions were flown in 1947 that included flood relief to Florida , and Hurricane relief for the southern area of the U . S . MATS operations . Morrison Field was inactivated on 1 July 1947 , and both provisional units were inactivated , the aircraft and support personnel and equipment being reassigned to Brookley Field , Alabama . On 1 June 1948 , the Military Air Transport Service ( MATS ) was formed with the merging of the Air Force ' s Air Transport Command and the Navy ' s Naval Air Transport Service . Within MATS , all of the Globemasters were assigned to the Atlantic Division . Once in operational use , C - 74s began to be used on scheduled MATS overseas routes though the late 1940s and mid - 1950s : Additionally , logistic support flights for Strategic Air Command ( SAC ) , and Tactical Air Command ( TAC ) saw the Globemaster in North Africa , the Middle East , Europe , the Caribbean , and within the United States . Two C - 74s were used to support the first TAC Republic F - 84 Thunderjet flight across the Pacific Ocean to Japan . SAC also continued to use the Globemasters to rotate Boeing B - 47 Stratojet Medium Bombardment Groups on temporary duty in England and Morocco as part of their REFLEX operation . Berlin Airlift . During the Berlin Airlift , a single Globemaster ( " 42 - 65414 " ) arrived at Rhein - Main Air Base on 14 August 1948 and landed for the first time on 17 August at Berlin ' s Gatow Airfield in the British sector carrying 20 tons of flour . Over the next six weeks , the Globemaster crew flew 24 missions into the city delivering 1 , 234 , 000 pounds of supplies . Several airlift records were set by the crew in 414 during Operation Vittles . On 18 September , Air Force Day , the crew flew six round trips into Berlin hauling a total of 250 , 000 pounds of coal setting a new Airlift Task Force utilization record by flying 20 hours during the 24 hour effort . During the construction of Tegel Airfield in the French sector of Berlin , large construction equipment was needed to build new runways . But this equipment , including a rock crusher , was too big for even the Globemaster to accommodate . The mission was accomplished by having the equipment cut into pieces by welding torch at Rhein - Main and flown aboard the C - 74 into Gatow for reassembly . After six weeks of Vittles flights , the Globemaster returned to Brookley AFB . Reportedly , the Soviet Union complained that the Globemaster could be used as a bomber via the open elevator well . The fact that the runways in Berlin were not stressed for the airlifter ' s weight and the aircraft was not compatible with the corridor ' s scheduling were other factors considered for its withdrawal . Support for the Berlin Airlift by the C - 74 changed to flying regularly scheduled flights between the U . S . and Western Germany . This mission was called the " Goliath " and was constantly transporting C - 54 engines and parts for use in the airlift . Cargo arriving in Western Germany 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 , which led to the development of the Douglas C - 124 Globemaster II . Korean War . The invasion of the Republic of Korea by North Korea began another supporting phase of the C - 74 ' s career . From 1 July to December 1950 , the Globemasters logged over 7 , 000 hours in flights to Hawaii hauling troops and high priority cargo westward toward the Korean War and returning eastward with wounded GIs . During the seven months between July 1950 and January 1951 , the Globemasters transported 2 , 486 patients , 550 passengers , and 128 , 000 pounds of cargo from Hickam AFB , Hawaii to the United States mainland while hauling just under a million pounds of cargo westward . The C - 74s did not fly into Japan , Okinawa or any South Korean airfields . These figures , coupled with the fact that , since 1946 , the C - 74 had flown over six million miles and 31 , 000 flying hours without a single injury to crewmen or passengers , give testimony to the Globemaster ' s reliability . Retirement . By 1952 , The C - 74 began to experience shortages of spare parts and increasing maintenance problems . It was recognized by late 1954 , that the deterioration of the C - 74 ' s components were progressing more rapidly than predicted . Plans were made for the eventual retirement of the Air Force ' s only fleet of Globemasters . In June 1955 , the 6th ATS was merged with the 3rd ATS and was flying operational missions with them . On 1 July , the 6th ATS ( Heavy ) was inactivated and its C - 74s and crews were transferred to the 1703rd ATG ' s 3rd ATS ( Heavy ) . On 1 November 1955 , the C - 74s were placed in flyable storage at Brookley AFB while the group waited for instructions as to the disposition of the aircraft . During the first three months of 1956 , the 11 remaining C - 74s were officially removed from the Military Air Transport Service ' s inventory and were flown one by one to Davis - Monthan AFB , Arizona for long - term storage and disposition . Colonel George S . Cassady , who had accepted the first C - 74 for the Air Force and now a Brigadier General , was attending a Continental Division Commander ' s Conference when he learned of the C - 74 ' s last flight . Cassady received special permission to pilot the aircraft on its last flight and on 31 March 31 , 1956 , flew the last C - 74 from Brookley AFB to Davis - Monthan AFB . Most of the C - 74s in storage at Davis - Monthan AFB were scrapped in 1965 , although four wound up in civilian hands , mostly owned by " Aeronaves de Panama " ( holding company for " Air Systems " ) . The National Museum of the United States Air Force scrapped the last vestige of Air Force Globemaster Is when they relegated the Y C - 124 C , " 48 - 795 " ( the prototype of the Globemaster II which had been converted from C - 74 , " 42 - 65406 " ) to fire - fighting training in 1969 . Units assigned . The following USAAF / USAF units flew the C - 74 Globemaster : C - 74 Production . 42 - 65416 through 42 - 65451 cancelled