The Douglas C-124 Globemaster II, nicknamed 'Old Shaky', was an American heavy-lift cargo aircraft built by the Douglas Aircraft Company in Long Beach, California. The C-124 was the primary heavy-lift transport for the United States Air Force Military Air Transport Service (MATS), during the 1950s and early 1960s, until the Lockheed C-141 'Starlifter' entered service. It served in MATS, and later in the Military Airlift Command (MAC) and in the Air Force Reserve and in Air National Guard units until 1974. The C-124 was developed from the C-74, the first Globemaster (14 units built), which saw limited use during the Berlin Airlift. The C-74 landed in Gatow, in the British sector of Berlin, because it was too heavy to use either Tempelhof or Tegel runways. I was fortunate enough to have seen the C-74 one time, when I went with my parents to Gatow, in the southwestern part of Berlin, and saw and listened to the aircraft run up and take off. I first saw the C-124 in February 1964 at Elmendorf AFB, Alaska. The temperature that morning was -5 F (~ -20 C). As it was taxiing along the flight line each engine left a trail of light-blue smoke, It was riding the brakes to maintain ramp speed and the brakes sounded like squealing pigs. A crew member looked out of the top of the cockpit wearing a head set to let the pilot know that he cleared all the obstacles (the pilot could not see the wing tips of his aircraft) Fast forward two years. My unit, the 64th FIS (Fighter Interceptor Squadron, 57th Fighter Group, Air Defense Command (ADC), got orders to deploy to South East Asia. All pilots had to qualify on air-to-air refueling, their diet had been monitored by a flight surgeon because they had to fly at one point up to 9 hrs -on a single-seat, single-engine aircraft, the F-102. We developed a plan for en-route support, I went to Hickam AFB, Hawaii. After our aircraft took off from Paine Field, Washington for Hawaii we got loaded on a C-141, facing to the rear and crammed in like sardines, and also took off. After 7 days en-route-support at Hickam AFB, HI our F-102 aircraft took off for a non-stop flight to Anderson AFB, Guam, followed by the KC-135 tankers to make the non-stop 4,000 mile flight. Soon after all of our aircraft took off we got on a C-124 and left for Midway Island, located about 1,200 miles northwest of Hickam, where the aircraft broke down. We had two days of spare time on the island and there was absolutely nothing to do except watching gooney birds learn to fly. The young birds, Laysan Albatrosses, are actually as big or slightly bigger than the adults with a wingspan over over 6 feet, ran down the beach toward the water to get lift, and most of them made it, some very low over the water, and some of them crashed into the water. During this time, Midway is surrounded by Tiger Sharks, hoping for a meal. Once the birds are in the air, they are very graceful. Landing is a comedy in reverse, landing speeds are often misjudged and the birds gear (feet) collapses and the skid to a stop. After two days we flew from Midway Island to Wake Island, and broke down again. There the excitement as watching Blue-footed and Brown-footed boobies. Two day later we flew to Anderson AFB, Guam. Before we even landed the word was out 'No picture taking'. The base was crammed with black-painted B-52s. After a meal we took off again and flew another 1,300 miles to Clark AFB, Philippines. The trip, time in the air, from Hickam to Midway, Midway to Wake, Wake to Guam, Guam to Clark took 24 hours and 20 minutes, cruising at about 12,000-ft.. Yes, the Pacific is a big ocean. I had one other experience flying on a C-124 and that was getting back from DaNang, Vietnam, to Clark, PI. When the TDY time was up, it was up to the individual to get back to the home base, in other words catch a ride, and on this occasion, getting back after the first 65 day in DaNang I caught a ride on a C-124 to Mactan AB, Cebu, Philippines and from there on a C-130 to Clark. Specifications C-124C Globemaster II Crew 6; Aircraft Commander, Pilot, Navigator, Flight Engineer, 2 Loadmasters Length: 130-ft 5 in (39.76 m) Wingspan: 174-ft 1.1/2 in (53,-9 m) Height: 48-ft 31/3 in (14.72 m) Wing area: 2,506 sq ft (232.9 sq m) Empty weight: 101,165 lb (45,984 kg) Loaded weight: 185, 000 lb (84,090 kg) Max. takeoff weight: 194,500 lb (88, 220 kg) Powerplants: 4 x Pratt & Whitney R-4360-63 A 'Wasp Major' radial engines, 3,800 hp each Performance Maximum speed: 304 mph (264 kn, 489 km.h at 20, 800 ft (6,340 m) Cruise speed: 230 mph (200 kn, 370 km/h) Range: 6,820 mi (5,930 nmi, 10,975 km) Service ceiling: 21, 800 ft (6,645 m) Rate of climb: 760 ft/min (3.9 m/s) This picture was taken at the Pima Air Museum on 29 October 2016, Sig... .