Roden 333 Douglas C-133A Cargomaster 1:144

At the beginning of 1952, the Air Force announced plans to purchase a new type of aircraft for the MATS under the Logistic Carrier Support System SS402L program. According to the specifications, the aircraft had to be able to lift into the air cargoes weighing more than 45 tons and of super-large clearance.

Aircraft manufacturer Douglas, which had produced transport aircraft for the military for a long time, proposed two designs, the C-132 and the C-133. The C-132 project was rejected over a number of technical issues, and the C-133 immediately received an order for an initial series of 12 aircraft, forgoing the building of any separate prototype for testing. Construction of the first aircraft began at the end of 1953, and on April 23, 1956 the first test flight of the new giant took place. After resolving a few problems, the C-133 series, which was officially named Cargomaster, began to be massproduced, and in August 1957 the 39th Transport Brigade at the Dover Airbase in Delaware received the first series aircraft, followed by the 84th Brigade for the next machine of this type, based at McCord.

The C-133 was operated intensively from 1958 onwards. The world was already on the threshold of a large-scale confrontation, especially in Europe, where the US and the USSR vied for influence over the entire region. The C-133 was the only type that could carry almost 100 percent of the US' military equipment, including most of the main types of armored vehicles, and therefore its role in moving troops to Europe was particularly important at this time.