March Field Air Museum to Present Spotlight on C-124 Globemaster II Transport for Aviation Roundtable on November 15
Riverside, Ca. – Highly respected (retired) March Field Pilot Jack Warneke will be a guest presenter at the next Inland Empire Aviation Roundtable hosted by the March Field Air Museum on Wednesday evening, November 15, 2017, beginning at 7 p.m. The subject of the upcoming Roundtable discussion is the American heavy-lift C-124 Globemaster II cargo aircraft developed by Douglas Aircraft between 1947-49. Nicknamed as the “Old Shaky,” the design of the historic aircraft was based on a prototype from the World War II-designed Douglas C-74 Globemaster along with lessons learned during the Berlin Airlift. Free and open to the public, the Inland Empire Aviation Roundtable is proudly sponsored by the March Field Air Museum.
The C-124 Globemaster II aircraft was powered by four 3,800 h.p. piston engines that featured two large clamshell doors and a hydraulically actuated ramp in the nose, as well as a cargo elevator under the aft fuselage. The workhorse aircraft was capable of carrying an impressive 68,500 pounds of cargo, and its cargo bay featured two overhead hoists, each capable of lifting 8,000 pounds. As a cargo hauler, it could carry tanks, guns, trucks and other heavy equipment, while in its passenger-carrying role it could carry 200 fully equipped troops on its double decks. In fact, it was the only aircraft of its time capable of transporting heavy equipment such as tanks and bulldozers without disassembly.
Guest presenter Jack Warneke graduated from the University of Arizona with a B.S. degree in Agriculture Engineering in 1954, and a M.S. degree in Plant Science in 1958. He was employed at the UCR Citrus Experiment Station in Riverside for 33 years. At the same time, he was active in the Air Force Reserve both at March AFB in the 1960s and at Norton AFB in the 1970s. At March Field, he piloted the C-119 Flying Boxcar and later the C-124 Globemaster. When the C-124 was retired in 1971, the reserve unit was transferred to Norton AFB to fly C-141s. Mr. Warneke’s multi-media presentation will cover the history of the C-124 while highlighting the cargo plane’s operations at adjacent March Air Force Base and some of his compelling personal experiences.
The March Field Air Museum is located alongside Interstate Highway 215 at Van Buren Boulevard, just south of downtown Riverside and adjacent to March Air Reserve Base. For more information about the Roundtable or the Museum in general, please call 951-902-5949 or visit www.marchfield.org.
About March Field’s Centennial
March Field (today’s March Air Reserve Base, located immediately adjacent to the museum) is the West Coast’s oldest continuously operating military airfield. Established in 1918 as the U.S. was embroiled in World War I, it began life as part of the U.S. Army Signal Corps. Following several sleepy years in the 1920s, March Field was expanded in the 1930s as the world again prepared for war. As March Field passed the quarter-century mark, it was busily training U.S. Army Air Forces personnel for deployment to all Combat Theaters during WWII. Following the war—as the Cold War began—and then continuing for nearly 50 years, March Air Force Base became the U.S. Air Force Strategic Air Command 15th Air Force headquarters and home to a massive nuclear deterrent force.
In 1993, as March Field celebrated its 75th anniversary, it was selected for realignment and subsequently re-designated March Air Reserve Base. Today March Field is home to the Air Force Reserve Command’s 4th Air Force Headquarters and 452nd Air Mobility Wing, the largest air mobility wing of the 4th Air Force. In addition to multiple units of the Air Force Reserve Command, March ARB is also home to units from the U.S. Air Force, Army Reserve, Navy Reserve, Marine Corps Reserve, California Air National Guard, California Army National Guard and the Department of Homeland Security. As it begins its second century as a military airfield, March Air Reserve Base is expanding to encompass new missions in protection of our great nation.
About March Field Air Museum
The March Field Air Museum is a nonprofit educational institution dedicated to promoting an understanding of humanity’s reach for the skies and March Field’s pivotal role in the development of flight. Accredited by the American Alliance of Museums and rated the #1 Attraction in Riverside by TripAdvisor, the museum is open Tuesday through Sunday and located alongside Interstate Highway 215 at Van Buren Boulevard, just south of downtown Riverside and adjacent to March Air Reserve Base. More than 70 aircraft are on display, ranging from the world’s fastest manned air-breathing aircraft (the SR-71 Blackbird) and a modern-day MQ-1 Predator (remotely piloted aircraft), to early examples of military aircraft, to some of America’s most iconic military planes including World War II bombers. For more information about the museum, visit www.marchfield.org or call (951) 902-5949.
