One of the 50 Douglas C-133 Cargomasters built between 1956 and 1961
The Douglas C-133 Cargomaster was the heavy airlifter thru the early 60's for the USAF. While it seems many people don't know it even existed, and a large number of people would simply think it was a C-130, the C-133 was a pretty important aircraft in its day. It was also significantly larger than the C-130. Compare the C-130 max takeoff weight of 155,000 pounds with the 286,000 pounds of the C-133. Even more important, compare the C-130's 45,000 pound payload to the C-133's 110,000 pounds. The C-133 was big, fast (325 mph cruise, almost 100mph faster than the C-124 Globemaster II) and was the first of the heavy lifters to offer the low deck height and easy rear loading.
The airplanes worked very hard thru the 60's, but with C-141's coming into service in 1965, and then the C-5 in 1970, the Cargomasters were pretty much ready to give up. Unlike the C-130 that found a niche that it could easily adapt to over the years, the advent of the really big jet airlifter sent the C-133 to a relatively early retirement in 1971. But many people who knew the C-133 have a soft spot in their heart for this workhorse that was powered by 4 Pratt & Whitney T34 turboprops cranking out 7,500 shp each.
The video below is of C-133 serial number 56-1999 and its last flight which was actually made fairly recently in August 2008. It's a great HD video that works well in full screen mode. There's no narration, but somehow that actually makes it very cool. It gives a really nice, quick look at elements of the flight from Alaska, where the airplane had continued to work occasionally thru as recently as 2006, on down to Travis Air Force Base northeast of San Francisco where it's being refurbished for display in the Travis Air Museum. Unfortunately, since 9-11, base access has been handled at Travis in such a way that the museum hasn't been open for unlimited public access. It's located right on the base, so they've limited access to a number of people that can be escorted. However, a plan is in the works to move the museum to a larger all new facility nearby that will solve the security issues. That'll make getting to see this Cargomaster and the rather extensive collection of aircraft in the museum easy... like it used to be when the museum attracted 60,000 people each year.
I hope you'll take a few minutes and watch the video, it's a little different than you see everyday... and it's an airplane from a whole different era. I found it to be a really interesting experience. You can also see some nice pix and explanation about this final flight here.
Last Flight of the C-133 Cargomaster from INVERSION on Vimeo.
Wednesday, January 19, 2011 at 12:25PM 
The prototype Lockheed L-1011 - first flight was November 16, 1970
