The Last Flight of the C-133 Cargomaster

  • Published
  • By John M. Lacomia
  • 60th Air Mobility Wing History Office
TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. --  It is in very rare instances that a person gets to see the last of something occur in front of their very eyes. This will be the case on Aug. 30 during the 2008 Travis Air Expo, when the last Douglas C-133 "Cargomaster" flies from Alaska to Travis. Thousands of spectators will be on hand to witness this historic last flight of an aircraft whose lifespan has spanned over six decades. The C-133 flew at Travis from 1958 until its departure in 1971.

The Cargomaster was the largest turboprop transport to be used by the United States Air Force. At over 157 feet along with a wingspan of 179 feet, plus its four Pratt and Whitney T34-P-7WA engines were rated each at 6,500 horsepower and enabled the aircraft to do what was considered impossible at the time. There were only 50 Cargomasters produced; 35 "A Models" and 15 "B Models." It was the first aircraft in Air Force history to go directly into production without any prototypes.

The aircraft was flown only at Travis and Dover Air Force Bases for the 1501st (later the 60 MAW) and 1607th (later the 436 MAW) Air Transport Wings. Three squadrons flew the aircraft that included the 1st, 39th and 84th Air Transport Squadron (later military airlift squadrons).

As a result of its design, the C-133 was capable of carrying large payloads that included transporting the Atlas, Titan and Minuteman ballistic missiles. The C-133 would also do work for NASA transporting Atlas, Saturn and Titan rockets to Cape Canaveral as the launch booster for the Gemini, Mercury and then the Apollo space programs.

The first C-133A arrived at Travis on Oct. 17, 1958 and was dubbed the "State of California" and was assigned to the 84th Air Transport Squadron of the 1501st Air Transport Wing. The last Cargomaster a C-133B departed Travis on July 30, 1971 for the Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Arizona.

The C-133A (Tail Number 56-1999) was assigned to Travis from February thru November 1960. It is the last Cargomaster in flyable condition and will become a permanent static display at the Travis Air Museum.

N199AB as it was re-dubbed on Dec. 6, 1975 was purchased by Maurice Carlson for the Cargomaster Corporation and was flown to Alaska to haul cargo for the Alaskan Pipeline. Forty-eight years after its departure from Travis, it will return to a base that it called home for the last time.