The museum's C-133 was the last of the 50 C-133s to be manufactured

The C-133 was designed around one major mission—hauling the first generation intercontinental ballistic missiles. The largest of these was the Atlas missile. The aircraft's aft loading ramp, clamshell doors, and large circular fuselage made loading much easier than earlier generations of cargo planes.

The C-133 is still the largest turboprop aircraft ever built for the U.S. Air Force. A Dover AFB C-133 broke the world's heavy-lift record by 40,000 pounds when it lifted 117,900 pounds to 10,000 feet in 1958.

In addition to missiles, 16 loaded jeeps or three fire trucks could be loaded into its cavernous cargo compartment. The Cargomaster could also haul 96 percent of the vehicles in the U.S. Army's inventory.

The 463L pallet system still used on current U.S. Air Force aircraft was first tested and used operationally on the C-133.

Only 50 Cargomasters were built. Dover and Travis served as home bases until the last C-133 was retired in 1971.

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