C-97G "Stratofreighter"

The Minnesota Air National Guard’s 133rd FIW converted from fighters to transport aircraft in 1960. At that time, its mission went global. The first missions were to carry military troops and cargo related to the Berlin and Cuba crises. Later that decade, the Minnesota Air Guard hauled high priority supplies to US troops in Vietnam and re-supplied the U-2 mission out of Taiwan. Throughout those 10 years, they flew many humanitarian flights, carrying food, medical supplies and blankets to victims of natural disasters and foreign government unrest. This aircraft is a G model and was a KC-97. After retirement to military storage, it was moved to the airport in McMinnville, Oregon where it was converted to a restaurant. When it was no longer needed as a hamburger joint, it went to Hill AFB Museum in Utah. After one year, Hawkins and Powers Aviation, Inc. moved it into storage at Greybull, WY where it sat until its final flight, November 3rd, 2000, to the Minneapolis/St. Paul International Airport an the Minnesota Air Guard Museum. The C-97 was built by Boeing Aircraft as a modification of the B-29 Superfortress. The C-97A model rolled off the production line in the late 1940s and the G models in the early 1950s. Dimensions Fuselage Length: 110ft. 4in. Wing Span: 141ft. 3in. Height: 38ft. 3in.