Fairchild XC-120 Packplane

The Fairchild XC-120 Packplane was an American experimental modular transport that first flew in 1950. Developed from the company C-119 Flying Boxcar, it was unusual in carrying its load in removable cargo pods fixed below the fuselage in place of an internal hold. The prototype began as a C-119B fuselage with the lower section cut away, the body raised by several feet, and twinned nosewheels added, so that all four landing gear units could be raised or lowered to let pods be loaded in advance. Production machines were to be called the C-128, but only one XC-120 was built, tested at Eglin Air Force Base in 1951, abandoned in 1952 and scrapped.