To meet a US Army requirement of 1941 for a specialised military freighter, Fairchild began work on the design of its Fairchiid F-78. Following approval of the design and a mock-up in 1942, a contract for a single prototype was awarded and the designation XC-82 allocated. First flown on 10 September 1944, the XC-82 was a cantilever high-wing monoplane of all-metal construction, the roomy fuselage incorporating a flight deck for a crew of five and a large-capacity cabin/cargo hold with clamshell doors at the rear to provide easy access for wheeled ortracked vehicles. The rear doors could be removed completely for the deployment of heavy loads by parachute-extraction techniques, and could accommodate 78 persons for emergency evacuation, 42 fully-equipped paratroopers or 34 stretches. The fuselage was supported on the ground by robust retractable tricycle landing gear and power provided by two 1566kW Pratt & Whitney R-2800-34 Double Wasp 18-cylinder radial engines in wing-mounted nacelles. Extending aft from these nacelles were tail-booms carrying twin fins and rudders and united at the rear by the tailplane mounting a single elevator.

The US Army Air Force placed an initial contract for 100 C-82A aircraft, these being named Packet. The first were delivered for evaluation in 1945 and a contract for 100 more followed. Because of wartime demands a second production line was laid down by North American Aviation at Dallas, Texas, but from a contract for 792 C-82N only three were completed before the general rash of contract cancellations that followed VJ Day. Fairchiid eventually built a total of 220 with deliveries ending in 1948. Although too late to operate during World War II, the Packet provided valuable service to the USAF's Tactical Air Command and Military Air Transport Service before it was retired in 1954.

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A three-view drawing (800 x 533)