 In the mid-1950s, the Joint Chiefs of Staff were pressuring the Air Force to provide more wartime airlift.At the same time, about 150 Fairchild C-119 Flying Boxcars became available from the active force.Consequently, in November 1956 the Air Force directed Continental Air Command to convert three reserve fighter bomber wings, including the 89th, to the troop carrier mission by September 1957.