The Fairchild C-119 Flying Boxcar was the leading, and most numerous, military cargo and paratroop transport of the United States Armed Services throughout the 1950s Cold War era. The Korean War saw the Boxcar earn its keep in the vital role of aerial resupply to U.S. forces, and it returned to front line duties during the Vietnam War as an armed aerial gunship.

This reference manual records the full service histories, both military and civil, of all 1,185 C-119 Flying Boxcars built. Cross-referenced production lists and tables are supported by multiple comprehensive appendices recording combat losses, accidents and surviving craft.