Two for Good Measure

While bossing the Berlin airlift, Major General William H. Tunner -often thought of what the ideal military cargo plane should be like. Last week, at an "Air Cargo Day" meeting in Manhattan's Hotel Statler, he described it. It should have four engines and be able to carry 50,000 Ibs. of cargo on a 3,000-mile flight at 250 m.p.h. It should be able to fly at 20,000 ft., land on a 6,000-ft. runway. Engines and equipment should be designed for easy repair and cargo doors should be wide enough for a 2 1/2 ton Army truck.

Although General Tunner was looking into the future, the Air Force already had two planes which come close to filling his bill. One of them, the Douglas Globemaster II (C-124), made its first test flight last week. It can carry 50,000 Ibs., has clamshell doors in its nose big enough to drive a truck through. It falls short mainly in its range, 1,500 miles.

The other plane is Boeing's C-97-B, a sky-truck version of its Stratocruiser, now in quantity production in Seattle. The C-97-B will carry more cargo (53,000 Ibs.) higher (30,000 ft), faster (300 m.p.h.) and farther (3,750 mi.) than Tunner asked for, but its largest cargo door is a hair too small for the Army truck. Last week, Boeing engineers were busy designing a new door.

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