Fairchild C-82 Packet

The Fairchild C-82 Packet is a twin-engine, twin-boom cargo aircraft designed and built by Fairchild Aircraft for the United States Army Air Forces. Its prototype first flew on 10 September 1944, and deliveries from the Hagerstown, Maryland factory ran from 1945 until September 1948, a total of 223 aircraft. It was meant to carry cargo, troops, paratroopers and casualties and to tow gliders, and its rear loading ramp and raised tail let trucks and trailers back straight up to the hold. In service it proved underpowered, with poor cockpit visibility and an inability to hold level flight on one engine under load, and the Air Force retired it in 1954. Its lasting importance is as the forerunner of the C-119 Flying Boxcar and the C-123 Provider, and a few served on as freighters with civil operators in Brazil, Chile, Mexico and the United States.