On August 18, 1960, a Fairchild C-119J Flying Boxcar achieved a historic milestone by performing the first midair recovery of a space capsule returning from orbit. Operated by the United States Air Force, the C-119J, fitted with a specialized retrieval system extending from its open clamshell rear doors, successfully captured the film capsule from the Corona spy program’s Discoverer 14 satellite. The 456th Troop Carrier Wing, under the Strategic Air Command (SAC), was assigned to midair retrieval operations, targeting balloons, drones, satellites, and capsules. The 6593rd Test Squadron, based at Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii, executed these missions. On this historic day, C-119J 51-8037, flying at 8,000 feet, snagged the Discoverer 14 capsule 360 miles southwest of Honolulu, marking a pioneering moment in space and aviation history.
The C-119 Flying Boxcar, designed by Fairchild Aircraft and first flown on November 17, 1947, earned its nickname from its boxy, train-car-like fuselage. Used extensively in the Korean War for cargo and paratrooper transport, and later as AC-119G Shadow and AC-119K Stinger gunships in the Vietnam War, the C-119 was a versatile workhorse. Powered by two 3,500-horsepower Pratt & Whitney R-4360-20W radial engines, it had a crew of five, a maximum speed of 281 miles per hour, a range of 1,540 nautical miles, and a service ceiling of 23,900 feet. It could carry 67 troops, 35 stretchers, or 27,500 pounds of cargo.
The C-119J involved in this groundbreaking recovery, serial 51-8037, survives today and is displayed at the National Museum of the United States Air Force in Dayton, Ohio, preserving its legacy as a key artifact of Cold War innovation.
