The Douglas C-133 Cargomaster, a four-engine, turboprop transport, was larger and faster then earlier Douglas military cargo airplanes. The Cargomaster went into production without a prototype and had an unusual circular fuselage with top-mounted wings.
The C-133 could fly the equivalent of 22 loaded railroad boxcars nonstop between Los Angeles, Calif., and New York for about 5 cents per ton per mile. It carried fully assembled tanks and transported the Douglas-built Thor intermediate-range ballistic missiles. Douglas built and delivered the last Cargomasters in 1961. NASA used Cargomasters to drop-test early space capsules and to transport a variety of space products.
Douglas built 50 Cargomasters, but after the C-133, Douglas did not built transports specifically for the military for another 10 years.
| First flight: | April 23, 1956 |
|---|---|
| Model number: | C-133 |
| Wingspan: | 179 feet 8 inches |
| Length: | 157 feet 6 inches |
| Height: | 48 feet 3 inches |
| Ceiling: | 19,000 feet |
| Range: | 3,975 miles |
| Speed: | 359 mph |
| Power plant: | Four 6,500-horsepower P&W T34-P-7WA turboprop engines |
| Accommodation: | 10 crew, 200 passengers or 80,000 pounds of equipment |