C-119 Flying Boxcar (Unusual Aircraft Collection)

The C-119 Flying Boxcar was developed soon after the end of World War Two and remained in service until 1974.   The twin-boom tail is very uncommon on a large aircraft, and the "jet pack" mounted on top of this version makes this one of the few aircraft powered both by piston engines and a jet engine.   Other planes with both types of powerplant include the P-2 Neptune and the B-36 Peacemaker bomber.

The twin-boom tail was fitted to allow paratroops to jump out of the clamshell cargo doors at the back of the plane without the risk of them hitting the tail.   American paratroops were dropped in this way over Korea during the Korean War, and the French used it in this way during the Indo-China war which evolved into the Vietnam War.   Another version of the Flying Boxcar was fitted with equipment to do mid-air recovery of exposed film dropped from spy satellites.   The AC-119G "Shadow" was given armor plating, four six-barrelled gatling guns and infra-red equipment so it could operate at night as a gunship.   The AC-119K "Stinger" was even better equipped, with two 20mm cannon and a jet engine under each wing so it could fly faster and carry a heavier load.

The Flying Boxcar is the aircraft that crashes in the desert in the 2004 movie "Flight of the Phoenix".   The character Elliot shows the other survivors how to disassemble the plane and rebuild it into a much cruder single engine aircraft which they then fly to safety.