Convair C-131 Samaritan

The Convair C-131 Samaritan was the military transport version of the Convair CV-240 family, produced by Convair from 1954 to 1956 for United States forces. The first model, the C-131A, derived from the CV-240 and was delivered to the United States Air Force in 1954, where the type served for medical evacuation and VIP transport. Navy and Marine Corps R4Y aircraft similar to the CV-340 and CV-440 were later redesignated C-131F and C-131G, and the Coast Guard flew the type until 1983. The related T-29 trained navigators. A C-131 became the first reduced-gravity aircraft used to train astronauts for Project Mercury in 1959, and the type was one of the last radial-engined aircraft in United States service.