Convair C-131 Samaritan

The design began life in a production requirement by American Airlines for a pressurized airliner to replace the Douglas DC-3. Convair's original design had two engines and 40 seats, and thus it was designated the CV-240. The first CV-240 flew on March 16, 1947, and production aircraft were first delivered to American on February 28, 1948. Seventy-five were delivered to American, with another fifty going to Western Airlines, Continental Airlines, Pan American Airways, KLM, Sabena, Swissair and Trans Australia Airlines. ==Operational history==

. The CV-240/340/440 series was used by the United States Air Force (USAF) for medical evacuation and VIP transport and was designated as C-131 Samaritan. The first model Samaritan, the C-131A, was derived from the CV-240 model, and was delivered to the USAF in 1954. The initial trainer model, designated the T-29, was also based on the Convair CV-240 and was used to instruct USAF navigators for all USAF aircraft and United States Navy (USN) Naval Flight Officers (NFOs) selected to fly land-based aircraft. The first deliveries to the USAF were made in 1950 followed by large production quantities until early 1955. The USAF and the USN operated T-29s in separate units at separate locations until 1976. In 1974, the USAF T-29s with the 323d Flying Training Wing (323 FTW) at Mather AFB, California began to be replaced by the Boeing 737-derived T-43. In 1975, the Navy retired all of its T-29s assigned to Training Squadron Twenty-Nine (VT-29) at NAS Corpus Christi, Texas, deactivated VT-29, and merged their advanced navigator training program for land-based NFOs with the Air Force's program at Mather AFB. A planned bomber training version of the T-29 (designated T-32) was never built. From 1952, the USN and United States Marine Corps (USMC) took delivery of 36 R4Y-1 transport aircraft similar to the commercial CV-340 and USAF C-131D, configured with 44 passenger seats and powered by a pair of Pratt & Whitney R-2800-52W engines. A single otherwise similar aircraft was acquired with a 24-seat VIP interior and designated R4Y-1Z. In 1957, the USN took delivery of two additional aircraft similar to the commercial CV-440 and designated R4Y-2. With the 1962 redesignation of USN/USMC aircraft, the three types were redesignated as the C-131F, VC-131F, and C-131G respectively. A number of R4Y-1 (C-131F) aircraft were converted to R4Y-1Z (VC-131F) or R4Y-2 (C-131G) standards after delivery, and several C-131F and C-131G aircraft were ultimately sold as military surplus and converted to civil use. A Samaritan was the first aircraft used as a flying gunship testbed in mid-1963, in a program known as "Project Tailchaser". A C-131B (AF Ser. No. 53-7820) was given a gunsight for the side window, but instead of guns it had cameras in the cargo area. Eventually the C-131 was ferried to Eglin AFB in Florida and a General Electric SUU-11A/A 7.62 mm Gatling-style Minigun was installed. Live ammunition was used and both over-water and overland tests were successful. ==Accidents and incidents==

On 17 December 1960, a USAF C-131D Samaritan crashed at Munich after one engine lost power on takeoff from Munich-Riem Airport. Flying in heavy fog and unable to gain altitude, the aircraft struck the steeple of St. Paul's Church and crashed onto a tram, killing all 20 people on the aircraft and 32 on the tram. ==Variants==

s on top of the fuselage ;C-131A :Transport for USAF based on CV-240, capable of carrying 39 passengers on rearward facing seats, or 20 stretchers and 7 seats; 26 built. ;HC-131A :Surplus C-131As transferred to the USCG, 22 transferred. ;MC-131A :C-131A used for medivac duties with 27 stretchers. ;VC-131A :C-131A used as a staff transport. ;C-131B :A hybrid CV-240/340 with seats for 48 passengers, 36 built. ;JC-131B :C-131B converted for missile tracking, six conversions. ;NC-131B :One C-131B used for permanent testing. ;VC-131B :C-131B when used as a staff transport. ;YC-131C :Two CV-340s modified with Alison 501D-13 turboprop engines. ;C-131D :Military version of the Model 340 with seats for 44 passengers, 33 built. ;VC-131D :C-131D when used as a staff transport. ;C-131E :Electronic countermeasures (ECM) training version for Strategic Air Command (SAC), later designated TC-131E, 15 built and one conversion from C-131D, two transferred to United States Navy as R4Y-2. ;TC-131E :C-131E redesignated. ;C-131F :R4Y-1 redesignated. ;RC-131F :Conversions for photo-mapping and survey, six conversions. ;VC-131F :R4Y-1Z redesignated. ;C-131G :R4Y-2 redesignated. ;EC-131G :One C-131G modified as an electronics trainer. ;RC-131G :One C-131G modified for airways checking duties. ;VC-131G :C-131G when used as a staff transport. ;C-131H :Conversions to CV-580 turboprop standard. ;NC-131H :One conversion with an extended nose incorporating a separate cockpit as a Total In-Flight Simulator. This aircraft was transferred to the National Museum of the United States Air Force at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio on November 7, 2008 ;R4Y-1 :USN/USMC version of CV-340 with 44 passenger seats, redesignated C-131F in 1962, 36 built. ;R4Y-1Z :USN/USMC 24-seat VIP staff transport, redesignated VC-131F in 1962, one built and conversions from R4Y-1. ;R4Y-2Q :Proposed ECM version of the R4Y-2, five canceled. ;R4Y-2S :Proposed anti-submarine warfare version of R4Y-2, 14 canceled. ;XT-29 :Prototype military trainer version of the Model 240 for the United States Air Force, two built. ;T-29A :Initial production version for navigator training, unpressurized cabin for 14 students, 46 built. ;VT-29A :T-29As converted for staff transport. ;T-29B :Pressurized version with room for 10 navigator and four radio operator students, 105 built. ;NT-29B :One T-29B used for permanent testing. ;VT-29B :T-29B converted for staff transport with seating for 29 or 32 passengers. ;T-29C :T-29B with Pratt & Whitney R-2800-29W engines, 119 built. ;AT-29C :T-29C modified for airways checking duties, redesignated ET-29C in 1962. ;ET-29C :AT-29C redesignated. ;VT-29C :T-29C converted to staff transport. ;T-29D :Bombardier training version of the T-29C with room for six students, 93 built. ;ET-29D :Airways checking conversion of the T-29D. ;VT-29D :Staff transport conversion of the T-29D. ;XT-29E :Proposed turboprop version of T-29B, none built. ;YT-32 :Proposed bomber training version with transparent nose, none built. ==Operators==

; • Paraguayan Air Force operated one former USAF Convair C-131D ; • United States Air Force operated T-29 and C-131 aircraft. • United States Navy operated R4Y/C-131 and T-29 aircraft. • United States Coast Guard operated R4Y/C-131 aircraft. • NASA ==Surviving aircraft==

. ;HC-131A • 52-5794 – On display at the Pueblo Weisbrod Aircraft Museum in Pueblo, Colorado. ;C-131A • 55-4757 – On display at the Minnesota Air National Guard Museum in Minneapolis, Minnesota. ;C-131B • 53-7811 – Last registered to Tatonduk Outfitters Limited in Fairbanks, Alaska. This aircraft was previously on display at the Kelly Field Heritage Museum, Lackland AFB, Texas. • 53-7819 – Airworthy with Airborne Resources Inc in Midlothian, Texas. • 53-7821 – On display at the Air Force Armament Museum, Eglin AFB, Florida. ;C-131D • 54-2806 – On display at the Jimmy Doolittle Air & Space Museum, Travis AFB, California. • 54-2808 – On display at the March Field Air Museum, March ARB (former March AFB), Riverside, California. • 54-2810 – Stored at Burlington Air National Guard Base in Burlington, Vermont. • 54-2822 – On display at the Aerospace Museum of California, former McClellan AFB, California. • 55-0292 – On display at the South Dakota Air and Space Museum, Ellsworth AFB, South Dakota. • 55-0293 – On display at the Selfridge Military Air Museum, Selfridge Air National Guard Base, Michigan. • 55-0294 – On display at The Leonardo in Salt Lake City, Utah. • 55-0295 – On display at the Air Mobility Command Museum, Dover AFB, Delaware. • 55-0300 – On display at the Hill Aerospace Museum, Hill AFB, Utah. • 55-0301 – Cockpit only with unknown owner in Kenosha, Wisconsin. This airframe was previously on display at the National Museum of the United States Air Force, but was scrapped before 2009. ;C-131F • 140996 – Airworthy with Gulf & Caribbean Cargo of Waterford, Michigan. • 141008 – Airworthy with Conquest Air Inc of Miami Lakes, Florida. • 141013 – On display at the Yanks Air Museum in Chino, California. • 141015 – On display at the National Museum of Naval Aviation, NAS Pensacola, Florida. • 141017 – On display at the Pima Air & Space Museum in Tucson, Arizona. • 141025 – In storage at the Pima Air & Space Museum in Tucson, Arizona. ;NC-131H • 53-7793 – On display at the National Museum of the United States Air Force in Dayton, Ohio. ;T-29A • 49-1934 – On display at Sheppard AFB, Texas. • 50-0190 – On display at the Strategic Air and Space Museum in Ashland, Nebraska. ;T-29B • 51-7906 – On display at the Pima Air & Space Museum in Tucson, Arizona. ;T-29C • • 52-1175 – On display at the Linear Air Park at Dyess Air Force Base in Abilene, Texas. ==Specifications (C-131B)==