C-133 Cargomaster Book out now

[The AvgasDinosaur]

Hello everyone,
Just thought I'd let you know Cal Taylors masterpiece on the C-133 is now at the printers.

I can remember these beasties rumbeling across blue one Wallasey-Dogger en route Frankfurt in my dim and distant youth.
I wasn't if this should go here or on the military section?
Be lucky
David

Edit: And if the printers would like to pay for the ad you placed, now removed, we would be happy to hear from them. We do NOT allow free advertising.

[411A]

C133.
Now there is a recall to the distant past.
An operator in Alaska at one time long ago was going to get these on a civvy certificate and fly 'em in support of the North Slope oil drilling program but this fell apart rather dramatically when it was discovered by the FAA that the engines on this rather large aeroplane tended, from time to time, to rip themselves from the mounts, thus ruining your whole day....:{

[con-pilot]

411A, I can remember looking at those things in Anchorage many years ago. Do you know what happened to them?

[Kieron Kirk]

C-133 Cargomasters bring back many memories. A deep throbing sound that would rattle the windows as they trundled along G1 WOD-DVR at FL190-250.

On Sunday 24th January 1971 the first USMC AV-8A Harrier left Dunsfold inside C-133B 59-0536 (the last built) from 60MAW. The peace of Chessington was rudely interrupted at 10 past 10 in the morning as the C-133 roared overhead at FL90 on its way EPM-BPK to Mildenhall.

The last time I saw a C-133 was on 11th May 1971 (56-2000 C-133A 436MAW E G1 WOD1823-EPM26-DET34-DVR41 FL190 to EDAA).

Wing failures caused the a/c to be withdrawn from service.

Happy memories !

[The AvgasDinosaur]

Hello all,
Yes N199AB still flies not often but flies.
http://www.ruudleeuw.com/c-133_by_sibitzky.htm
They are on a restricted C of A so can only fly for government departments
Be lucky
David
I would post the homepage for the C-133 but it includes the price of the book and I don't wish to upset anyone.
Give me an e-mail and I'll forward it

[firstfleet]

It was not wing failures that caused the C-133 to be retired. In fact, the wings were pretty damned strong. The airplanes were retired becuase they were simply worn out. Originally a 10,000-hour airframe, they were life-extended three times, to 15,00, 17,000 and then 19,000 hours. At that point, the managing Air Material Area told the Air Force that they SHOULD NOT be extended any more. At that point, there were only 30 of them left, most with pretty high time on the air frame. Also, that was in 1971 and the C-5A was coming into service. The C-133s were managed to keep as many in service as possible until the C-5 could be fully up to speed.

Engines and propellers were the key issues with the C-133. The T34 engine never delivered what the manufacturer promise. Consequently, the airframe went through three design iterations to pull out weight even before any metal was cut. That left a structure significantly less robust and far more subject to the effects of vibration from the 18' diameter propellers whose tips operated in the transsonic range. Vibration was absolutely awful.

The propellers were pushing the bounds of the techniological envelope. They had to convert nearly 7,000 eshp to thrust through a bunch of gears working in a tight confines at rapid rates of change. Nose case failures and other issues were endemic.

The last crash, in Feb 1970, came from catastrophic propagation of an old skin crack. At 23,000' over SW Nebraska, it extended from about one foot to 17", alowing huge slabs of skin to peel off and into number three. The airplane came apart very rapidly and dramatically.

Despite all of the accidents and crashes, the airplane and crews accompished unbelievable efforts of airlift, including very large NASA equipment, M41 tanks and 155mm SP howitzers, aircraft carrier propellers and shafts and on and on.

The airplane and its people performed strategic airlift of heavy and outsized cargo for 15 years, from Norway to Antarctica, and Vietnam to Turkey and everywhere in between.

Cal Taylor

Yes, it is my book.

[Kieron Kirk]

firstfleet.

Many thanks for your comments. Many memories of Cargomasters at Mildenhall and Lakenheath. Will try to find a copy of your book.

[treadigraph]

An aeroplane who's time sadly ended before mine really got going - I'd love to have seen one in the air (and a Globemaster!). I was at Mojave about six years ago and there were two parked amongst the stored aircraft on the north side - I see they are visible on Google Map (http://maps.google.co.uk/?ll=35.06542,-118.142306&spn=0.002108,0.003573&t=k). Are they still there?

[HEATHROW DIRECTOR]

Yep.. last one I logged was 56-1998 over Morden, Surrey on 30 July 1966 not long before I left the UK. I never got to talk to one unfortunately.. Excellent machine.

Now if someone would get a B36 flying.......

[treadigraph]

Now if someone would get a B36 flying.......

Amen to that, and wasn't it you thast posted that B-36 soundbite on here a while back HD?

[pzu]

C133 engaged in transporting men/material to Congo for UN (Indian?)
Got an urgent call from the Tower
Son, bring me your Observers World Air Forces book out here ASAP;
Reason - required to verify a/craft weight for runway strength!!!
Dad was duty ATCO and couldn't believe weight as transmitted by USAF
PZULBA - Out of Africa

[con-pilot]

Now if someone would get a B36 flying.......

They tried, see below.



www.cowtown.net/proweb/last_one.htm

[firstfleet]

Yes, the two C-133s are stilll at Mojave Airport. They belong to Cargomaster, Inc., Morris Carlson's outfit at Ted Stevens International Airport, Anchorage, AK. They serve as spares bins, as far as I can tell. If you use Google Earth, you can find them at the (I believe) SE area of the field.

The Alaska C-133, N199AB (ex-61999) still flies and, I'm told, has a full plate for this summer. A former C-133 pilot who lives in AK said he saw them changing an engine recently.

The Congo missions were to airlift Swedish Army MPCs and J-29 and S29 Tunnan fighters. I have some good photos of the cargo, provided by one of the crew members on the first mission and also by Bo Widfeldt, the Swedish aviation historian, showing an S29 being loaded at Arlanda Airport in 1962.

[HEATHROW DIRECTOR]

Thanks con-pilot.. We saw several at Wright Patterson and Wright Field back in the 60s. Only ever saw one fly - that was over my house in southern UK when I was a kid.

An ex-colleague of mine, who still talks to the jets, has, I believe, flown in the C133 N199AB. Lucky devil!

[con-pilot]

You're welcome H-D. My father flew B-36s out of Carswell AFB in the 1950s. As a child I would hear them flying all the time. The B-36 created a noise that no other airplane could ever duplicate. You never had to look up to see if was a B-36, the noise would always tell you.

Some of the stories my father and other B-36 pilots told about that airplane I still remember.

My favorite story regarding B-36s is when they retired them from active duty they couldn't find one, it was missing. There were so many built and then they deducted the ones that crashed/written off and came up one short. I mean just how does one lose a B-36? Some of my father's friends figured the Navy stole it.

It was finally 'found' at Wright Patterson AFB. (I can just see some poor officer in the Pentagon calling all the Air Forces Bases in the world and asking,
"Hi, how many B-36 do you guys have? Oh, would you mind terribly much to go back out and count them again?")

Some of the best film footage of B-36s is in the movie "Strategic Air Command" starring Jimmy Stewart.

[firstfleet]

. . .
An ex-colleague of mine, who still talks to the jets, has, I believe, flown in the C133 N199AB. Lucky devil!

Was that Peter Bish? He had a good article in a 1982 edition of Propliner magazine.

[kms901]

Funny you should talk about that movie, con-pilot. Every time my old Mother saw a contrail, she said out loud " Strategic Air Command". Must have made an impression.

[RatherBeFlying]

As a kid on vacation in the mid-50s in Honolulu, we were being driven out to the airport past the runway when it sounded like an airplane was flying through the windows -- it was a Globemaster at maybe 50'

Too young to check if it was on 3 or 4.

[Fifty North]

I remember the C-133 when it used to fly over Southend around 11pm on its way in to Mildenhall. It had a beautiful deep throbbing sound!

[JW411]

When I got on to the Belfast in the RAF, the boss man on the OCU was one Sqn Ldr Andy Wilson (who went back to the B-24 Liberator). He did an exchange tour with the USAF on the C-133. He told me that its biggest problem was the electric props. Two went missing without trace and it was only after one of them ditched off Japan with all engines stopped that the auto-feathering prop problem was solved because some of the crew survived.

Everywhere we went in the USA we were asked by ATC "what in hell's name is an SH5". This was always a difficult question to answer if you were still in the air. Andy, one day, came up with "it's like a C-133 only our one works"!

My best one was to answer "It's a Short Belfast". The answer usually was "Jeeze, I'd hate to see the long one"!

[The AvgasDinosaur]

Again from my ex 53 Sqdn Heavylift pal,
Going into Anchorage "What Sir is a SH5 ?"
NP 1234 " Its like a SH7 but bigger"
Later on a 6 mile final "Jeez you never said how much bigger"

An early flight to some where in Texas produced an amusing anecdote, As the Belfast taxied to a halt a set of stairs began circleing the craft apparantly looking for the crew door. The Crew emerged ground level with hands raised and a white shirt waving !!
No wonder some called it happylift
Be lucky
David