C-82 DESCRIPTION
| Manufacturer: | Fairchild | The Fairchild Engine and Airplane Corp., Aircraft
Division, Hagerstown, Maryland, USA. |
| Military Designation: | C-82 | A designation system devised by the USAAC in 1924 identifies
this aircraft as being the 82nd Cargo design to be allocated government funds since that year. |
| Official Name: | Packet | The official name given by the
USAAF after the 18th & 19th Century British Packet sailing ships which carried mail to the far reaches of the British Empire, they were particularly well known for their speed and efficiency. |
| Fairchild Model: | 78 | The 78th aircraft design undertaken by Fairchild. |
| Fairchild Factory Designation: | FA | The two letter code assigned by the USAAF which
identifies the aircraft as having been built at Hagerstown, Maryland by Fairchild. It is used as part of the designation stamped on the aircraft's ID plate. |
| Licensee Manufacturer: | North American | North American Aviation Inc., Dallas, Texas, USA. |
| Licensee Model: | NA-135 | Known as a "charge number" by North American, it
appears to be a kind of model number assigned to each new aircraft or aircraft upgrade undertaken by North American. |
| Licensee Factory Designation: | NT | The two letter code assigned by the USAAF which
identifies the aircraft as having been built at Dallas, Texas by North American. It is used as part of the designation stamped on the aircraft's ID plate. |
| Buzz Number Designation: | CQ | Buzz numbers came into common use after World War II
to deter aircrews from bad flying practices that were accepted during the war. They consisted of a two letter code followed by the last three digits of the serial number, both stamped on the fuselage sides and wings. The C-82s code was: C - Cargo / Q - Fairchild. |
| Unofficial Name: | Flying Boxcar | Although Packet was the official name, it
wasn't really a catchy one and the nickname of Flying Boxcar soon came into common use because the cargo hold almost in equal capacity to that of a standard railroad boxcar - 2916 cubic feet. This name was later adopted by the USAF for the C-119 series. |
| AIRCRAFT DESCRIPTION | |
| Design layout The C-82 is a twin-engined, twin-boom, land monoplane cargo aircraft with a high mounted main wing, tricycle undercarriage and all metal construction. The flight-deck is located above and forward of the cargo hold and is accessible via an internal ladder. The nose section houses the nose gear and lavatory. Aircraft access is via a port side entry / exit door below the flight-deck, cargo is loaded through two rear clamshell doors which close to form the rear of the main fuselage. Each clamshell door also has a paratroop exit door. Some aircraft have paratainer doors on the cargo deck for dropping of stores while in-flight. Three emergency exits are located on the flight-deck roof and two on the roof at the rear of the aircraft forward of the clamshell doors. |
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| Click here for cutaway drawing | |
| Structure FUSELAGE: All-metal semi-monocoque structure which is assembled from seven main parts - main section, two side, upper front, upper rear sections, nose section and rear (cargo door) section. A tension-field structure of aluminium metal construction consists of Alclad vertical frames, longitudinal stringers and longitudinal transverse beams with an Alclad skin. Seven longitudinal beams of plywood form the support of the cargo-deck floor, itself plywood covered. Fuselage spacing frames are 35 inches. 14 portholes run the length of the fuselage with an extra one on the rear paratroop exit doors. WINGS: The fuselage is attached to the wing center section by four large bolts. All-metal wings are constructed in three main sections - the cantilevered center section which carry the engine nacelles and two outer wings with detachable tips. The outer wings consist of three main sections - leading edge, inter-spar section and trailing edge. Wings are of a two-spar structure with inter-spar torsion box (in three sections), they are cantilevered with an inverted gull design that allows shorter main gear struts. Construction is built up I-section front and rear spars of extruded T-section top and bottom booms with plate-webs and rolled vertical stiffeners. Ribs of pressed light alloy and built up web-beams. Spanwise stringers and stressed Alclad skin. Under-surface of wings are rein- forced by corrugated sheets beneath the outer skin. BOOMS / TAIL SECTION: Booms are all-metal construction of cylindrical shape tapered to an aft oval-section at the tail end. Forward sections connect to the rear engine nacelles on main wing center-section. They are of semi- monocoque construction with pressed light-alloy channel-section frames, top-hat section longitudinal stringers and light-alloy skin. Rear section of booms are bolted to forward section at leading-edge of tailplane. The booms are joined at the rear by the horizontal stabilizer which has the elevator attached. Twin vertical stabilizers and the horizontal stabilizer are of all-metal construction each with two spars, pressed chordwise ribs and stressed metal skin. Both booms, vertical and ventral fins, rudders and outboard stabilizers are designed as left-right inter- changeable to simplify field repairs. |
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| Accommodation Crew accommodation consists of the following: |
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One Pilot - left side of flight-deck. |
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.JPG) C-82 Packet Co-pilot's side of the flight-deck. Photo: USAF official. |
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| Flight Controls All primary control surfaces are fabric covered with trim tabs and are direct cable controlled. There are two aileron sections on the outboard trailing edge of each outer wing of pressed channel-spar and tail-rib construction with metal leading edges and fabric covered surfaces. Inboard ailerons droop when flaps are lowered. One large elevator on rear stabilizer and two rudders on rear vertical stabilizers are one piece metal-frames and single-spar construction. Each have metal leading edges with fabric surfaces. Flaps are an electrically driven NACA two-segment slotted design with two on each wing, one inboard and outboard of each boom, all are metal-covered. Maximum flap depression is 40 degrees. |
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| Engines & Propellers Engines are two Pratt & Whitney R-2800 Double Wasp radials each rated at 2,100hp at sea level with a single- stage, two-speed turbo-supercharger. Engines are air cooled with cowl flaps on the nacelles. Air induction is via an air scoop on top of the nacelles. Engines are electrically started. See under: C-82 specifications for further engine details. Propellers are three-bladed Hamilton Standard 33E60 propellers 15 feet 2 inches (4.63 meters) in diameter, they are of the constant speed, full-feathering, hydromatic type. Ground clearance is 2 feet 10 inches (64 cm). |
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| Landing Gear The landing gear consists of two single-tyre main wheels each mounted on two oleo shock-absorber struts which retract into the booms behind the engines. The nose gear is a single-tyre arrangement on a half-fork oleo shock- absorber strut which retracts into the nose section and is non-steerable with taxiing achieved through braking and engine power. Main tyres are Hayes Industries 56-inch diameter smooth contour type and nose tyre is a Goodyear 44-inch smooth contour type. The landing gear system is electrically operated. |
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| Fuel & Oil System Four collapsible bladder-type fuel cells are installed on the C-82, two in each wing - one outboard and inboard of each boom. The inboard tanks are each made up of four inter-connecting cells and the outboard tanks are each made up of six interconnecting cells. A cross-feed system is installed so any tank can feed any engine port or starboard. The total average fuel capacity for the C-82A variant is 2641 US gallons. Fuel grade is 100/130 octane (Fuel Spec. No. MIL-F-5572). A 55 gallon oil tank is behind the firewall of each engine, oil cooling is via an elliptical air intake on the inboard leading edge of each wing. 1100 oil grade (Oil Spec. No. MIL-O-6082). |
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| Click here for fuel and oil flow charts | |
| Electrical System All systems on the C-82 except the brakes are electrically operated. The system is a 24-volt DC installation which is grounded through the aircraft structure. It is made up of a single 24-volt / 34-amp/hour AN3150, Type G-1 storage battery; a 1000VA, 400 cycle, 3-phase inverter; two engine-driven generators; two reverse current relays and two voltage regulators. There is also provision for an external power supply. |
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| Hydraulic (Braking) System The braking system is hydraulically operated with two 1000psi cross-connected accumulators, one in each boom. Hydraulic reservoir and associated equipment is housed in the nose section. |
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| Click here for hydraulic brakes chart | |
| Oxygen System A conventional low-pressure demand oxygen system was provided for the five crew members and a separate continuous flow oxygen system was provided for up to 43 passengers / troops in the main cabin. Four Type J-1 cylinders were under the cargo deck for the continuous system and eight Type G-1 steel cylinders located in the rear main cabin ceiling for the demand crew system. |
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| Heating / Ventilation &
Anti-Icing Systems Anti-icing and interior heating was provided by four exhaust gas heat exchangers. Heat was directed along a ducting in the wing leading edges and also around the windshield areas for de-icing of these surfaces. |
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| Communications & Navigation
Equipment The following radio and navigation gear was carried by C-82 aircraft: |
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Interphone |
AN/AIC-2 AN/AIC-3 AN/ARN-5 AN/ARC-3 SCR-274N AN/APN-2 (s/n: 44-22959 thru 45-57737) AN/APN-12 (s/n: 45-57738 / 45-57832) AN/APN-9 AN/ARN-5A AN/ARN-7 AN/ARN-11 AN/ARC-8 RC-103 RC-193 SCR-695B AN/APS-10 (s/n: 45-57783 / 45-57832) |
| Much of this equipment was removed when aircraft went into civil service. | |
| Onboard Equipment The following equipment was carried onboard C-82 aircraft: |
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42 folding canvas seats along fuselage cabin sides. |
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.jpg)
Publicity shot promoting the C-82 Packets
capabilities.
Aircraft are from left to right s/n: 44-23024,
45-57793 and 45-57738.
Photo: USAF official.
.jpg)
Another publicity shot promoting the paratroop
capabilities of the C-82
with s/n: 44-23049 in the background.
Photo: USAF official.
| MISSION DESCRIPTION |
| Cargo Carrier The cargo deck is 38 feet in length, 8 feet in width and 8 feet high. Cargo is loaded via two truck-bed height clamshell rear doors at the rear of the fuselage. The C-82 can lift a variety of freight for military operations including the following equipment: |
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75mm M3A1 Howitzer |
| When equipped with special loading ramps, the following equipment: |
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T-9E1 light tank |
| Outsized cargoes can see the deletion of the clamshell doors with
cargo protruding
from the rear if need be. Freight can also be dropped directly out via this method for delivery to the battlefield. Aircraft s/n: 44-22959 thru 45-57737 were equipped with floor "paratainer" doors allowing the clean delivery of stores via ten cylindrical containers dropped from a rack through the aircraft floor. |
.jpg) XC-82 (s/n: 43-13202) undergoing loading tests. Photo: USAF official. |
| Troop / Paratroop Carrier One of the main tasks of the C-82. Up to 42 troops or paratroops could be transported occupying folding seats along the fuselage sides. Paratroops could exit the aircraft via two paratroop doors built into the rear clamshell doors or with the doors removed jump directly out. |
.jpg) C-82 troop carrier line-up. Photo: USAF official. |
| Air Ambulance The following combinations of patients could be carried in the air ambulance role: |
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40 seated patients & 2 attendants |
| Glider Tow One 15,000 pound glider or two gliders not more than 15,000 pounds can be towed. Aircraft s/n: 44-23034 and subsequent can tow a 30,000 pound glider. The twin-glider configuration was found to be too much strain on the tail booms so the practice was later abandoned. The glider attachment point was then relocated to the main fuselage on the C-82A, these modifications being done by Fairchild in Hagerstown. |
 The attachment points for twin-glider towing were located at the tips of the boom sections as seen on C-82A s/n: 48-581. Photo: Jim Moffett. |
 Closer view of the glider attachment point. Photo: Jim Moffett. |
.JPG)
Paratroops prepare to jump from the rear doors of
a C-82.
Photo: USAF official.
A C-82A takes-off with a Waco CG-15A glider in tow
testing the rigid tow-bar
system as opposed to the usual method employing rope. These were a series
of tests carried out at Wright-Patterson AFB in November, 1951.
Photo: USAF official.
| KEY DATES | |
| First proposals: | 1941 |
| Contract for XC-82 prototype: | August 6, 1942 |
| First XC-82 official flight: | September 10, 1944 |
| Contract for C-82A production: | September 28, 1944 |
| Contract for C-82N production: | December 19, 1944 |
| C-82A production begins: | January, 1945 |
| Contract for second C-82A batch: | May 28, 1945 |
| First C-82A official flight: | May 30, 1945 |
| Contract for third C-82A batch: | March 30, 1948 |
| Last C-82A delivered: | September, 1948 |
| Overall production period: | 1944 - 1948 |
| Overall military service period: | 1945 - 1954 |
| Last official military flight: | 1957 |
| Overall civil service period: | 1955 - 1980's. |
.JPG)
Stunning photo depicting the maiden flight of the
XC-82
out of Hagerstown on September 10, 1944.
Photo: Fairchild official.
| C-82 ATTRITION | ||||
| Accidents | Scrapped | Survivors | Total | |
| XC-82 | - | 001 | - | 001 |
| C-82A | 40 | 170 | 10 | 220 |
| C-82N | - | 003 | - | 003 |
| Total | 40 | 174 | 10 | 224 |