McDonnell Douglas C-9

The McDonnell Douglas C-9 is a military version of the McDonnell Douglas DC-9 airliner. It was produced as the C-9A Nightingale for the United States Air Force, and the C-9B Skytrain II for the U.S. Naval Reserve and Marine Corps. The final active-duty flight of the C-9A Nightingale was in September 2005. The Boeing C-40 Clipper is replacing the Navy Reserve's aging C-9B fleet.

Design and development
In 1966, the US Air Force identified a need for an aeromedical transport aircraft. The following year the Air Force ordered C-9A Nightingale aircraft. Deliveries began in 1968. The C-9As were used for medical evacuation (MedEvac), passenger transportation, and special missions from 1968 to 2005. The first C-9A aircraft was named for Florence Nightingale.



After selecting a modified DC-9 for passenger and cargo transport, the U.S. Navy ordered its first five C-9Bs in April 1972. The C-9B aircraft have provided cargo and passenger transportation as well as forward deployed air logistics support for the Navy and Marine Corps. A C-9B was also chosen by NASA for reduced gravity research, replacing the aging KC-135 Vomit Comet.

Many of the Navy's C-9Bs have a higher maximum gross take-off weight (114,000 lb or 52,000 kg) and are fitted with auxiliary fuel tanks installed in the lower cargo hold to augment the aircraft's range to nearly 2,600 nautical miles (4,200 km) for overseas missions along with tail mounted infra-red (IR) scramblers to counter heat seeking missile threats in hostile environments.



The C-9 fleet was located throughout the continental U.S., Europe, and Asia.

Variants

 * C-9A Nightingale - 23 aeromedical evacuation aircraft for the United States Air Force received from 1968.


 * C-9B Skytrain II - 24 convertible passenger/transport versions for the United States Navy and Marine Corps delivered from 1973 to 1976. An additional five C-9s were converted from passenger configured DC-9s.


 * VC-9C - 3 executive transport aircraft for the United States Air Force. The three aircraft were delivered to the US Air Force in late 1976.


 * C-9K - 2 aircraft for the Kuwait Air Force.

Operators



 * Kuwait Air Force
 * Kuwait Air Force

United States Air Force

C-9A
 * 86th Airlift Wing - Ramstein Air Base, Germany 1993-2003
 * 75th Airlift Squadron
 * 2d Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron 1993-94
 * 86th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron 1994-2003


 * 374th Tactical Airlift Wing - Clark Air Base, The Philippines 1974-89
 * 20th Operations Squadron 1974-75
 * 20th Aeromedical Airlift Squadron 1975-89
 * 9th Aeromedical Evacuation Group 1974-75
 * 9th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron 1975-89


 * 374th Tactical Airlift Wing/Airlift Wing - Yokota Air Base, Japan 1989-2004
 * 20th Aeromedical Airlift Squadron/Airlift Squadron 1989-93
 * 30th Airlift Squadron 1993-2004
 * 9th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron 1993-94
 * 374th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron 1994-2004


 * 375th Aeromedical Airlift Wing/Airlift Wing - Scott AFB, Illinois 1968-2003
 * 11th Aeromedical Airlift Squadron/Airlift Squadron
 * 57th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron 1973-94
 * 375th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron 1994-2003


 * 405th Fighter Wing - Clark Air Base, The Philippines 1972-74
 * 20th Operations Squadron
 * 9th Aeromedical Evacuation Group
 * 10th Aeromedical Evacuation Group


 * 435 Tactical Airlift Wing/Airlift Wing - Rhein-Main Air Base, Germany 1975-93
 * 55th Aeromedical Airlift Squadron/Airlift Squadron
 * 2d Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron


 * 932d Aeromedical Airlift Group/Aeromedical Airlift Wing/Airlift Wing - Scott AFB, Illinois 1969-2005
 * 73d Aeromedical Airlift Squadron/Airlift Squadron
 * 73d Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron 1972-94
 * 932d Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron 1994-2005

C-9C
 * 89th Military Airlift Wing/Airlift Wing - Andrews AFB, Maryland 1975-2005
 * 1st Military Airlift Squadron/Airlift Squadron 1977-88
 * 98th Military Airlift Squadron 1975-77
 * 99th Military Airlift Squadron/Airlift Squadron 1988-2005


 * 932d Airlift Wing - Scott AFB, Illinois 2005-2011
 * 73d Airlift Squadron

United States Navy (C-9B)


 * Fleet Logistics Support Squadron (VR) 46 - NAS Atlanta, Georgia 1985-2009
 * NAS/JRB Fort Worth, Texas 2009-12


 * Fleet Logistics Support Squadron (VR) 52 - NAS Willow Grove, Pennsylvania 1972-2011
 * McGuire AFB, New Jersey 2011-12


 * Fleet Logistics Support Squadron (VR) 56 - NAS Norfolk, Virginia 1976-99
 * NAS Oceana, Virginia 1999-2011


 * Fleet Logistics Support Squadron (VR) 57 - NAS North Island, California 1977-2005
 * Fleet Logistics Support Squadron (VR) 58 - NAS Jacksonville, Florida 1978-2002
 * Fleet Logistics Support Squadron (VR) 59 - NAS Dallas, Texas 1982-1998
 * NAS/JRB Fort Worth, Texas 1998-2000


 * Fleet Logistics Support Squadron (VR) 61 - NAS Whidbey Island, Washington 1982-

United States Marine Corps (C-9B)
 * 2d Marine Air Wing - MCAS Cherry Point, North Carolina 1975-
 * Station Operations and Engineering Squadron 1975-97
 * Marine Transport Squadron (VMR) 1  1997-

'''National Aeronautics and Space Administration(NASA)
 * Johnson Space Center 2003-