This collectable model represents the C-119 Flying Boxcar, a mainstay cargo hauler of the early days of the U.S. Air Force. The C-119 served in a variety of roles, including the AC-119 gunship. Painstakingly built from Philippine mahogany by skilled craftsmen using a wealth of detail, this 1/72-scale model C-119 makes a great gift for any veteran, aviation enthusiast or history buff. The C-119 grew out of the military’s experience with the C-82 Packet, produced between 1945 and 1948. By moving the cockpit flush with the front of the fuselage, widening and strengthening the airframe and adding more powerful engines, the C-119 showed significant improvements over the earlier version.

The C-119 could carry up to 63 troops, or 35 stretchers when configured as an air ambulance. As a cargo lifter, it could carry a 10,000-pound payload.

Service deliveries of the C-119 began in 1948, and the Flying Boxcar saw extensive use in the Korean War. It served as a troop carrier and cargo craft, and versions of the C-119 also flew aerial recoveries of film capsules from early spy satellites.

As the C-119 was being phased out of cargo and troop operations in the 1960s, the airframe were good candidates for conversion into gunships, a concept pioneered by the AC-47 Spooky.

As the AC-119 Shadow or AC-119 Stinger, fitted with 4 7.62mm miniguns or 2 20mm Vulcan cannons, the planes could bring devastating firepower to bear.