Air Force Museum Welcomes C-21A

A C-21A aircraft arrived on Wednesday at the National Museum of the US Air Force at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, its new home. The now-retired aircraft will go on display in the museum’s Southeast Asia war gallery starting this fall, states the museum’s release. “The C-21 gives us the opportunity to better interpret the diversity of the Air Force’s airlift mission,” said Jack Hudson, museum director. “The popular airlift image is heavy-lift, large cargo aircraft, like the C-5 or C-17, but the C-21 represents the other end of the mission spectrum,” he said. This aircraft, tail number 84-0064, was one of the first C-21s to enter the Air Force’s inventory in the mid-1980s, according to the Aug. 28 release. The North Dakota Air National Guard’s 119th Wing in Fargo operated it most recently. The aircraft served in Iraq and Afghanistan. Col. Kent Olson, 119th WG commander, piloted the C-21 on its flight to the museum. (Dayton report by Sarah Swan)