C-9A/C

The museum's C-9 was the first delivered to Military Airlift Command in 1968. In the mid-1960s, a need arose to replace the propeller-driven C-118 and C-131 medical evacuation aircraft that had been used since the Korean War, and the U.S. Air Force chose a version of the commercial DC-9. Designated the C-9A Nightingale and built by McDonnell Douglas, it was a medium- to long-range swept-wing, twin-engine jet transport that could carry 30 to 40 stretcher patients, 40 ambulatory patients, or a combination of the two. On a typical mission, a C-9 could fly from Scott AFB in Illinois, Ramstein AB in Germany, or Yokota AB in Japan to civilian or military airstrips, pick up patients, and transport them to hospitals more than 1,000 miles away. Twenty C-9s served as medical evacuation aircraft, while three C-9Cs served as VIP transports. The last C-9s were retired in 2005 after a 37-year career.

Dover, Delaware · United States