@ Hill AFB, UT
May 2025
The “Globemaster II” (also known as “Old Shakey”) was America’s largest and last piston-powered propeller driven transport, being the primary heavy-lift transport for USAF Military Air Transport Service (MATS) during the 1950s and early 1960s, until the Lockheed C-141 Starlifter entered service. Flight crews and passengers of the C-124 gave it the nickname Old Shakey thanks to the creaks, groans, and shaking experienced during flight. First flown in 1949, the C-124 served in MATS, later Military Airlift Command (MAC), units of the Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard until the fleet was retired in 1974. This C-124 arrived at Hill AFB in 1965 and served with the 1501st Air Transport Wing. In 1992, the Hill Aerospace Museum acquired this aircraft for static display.