The Berlin Air Lift: The Air Lift--Planes

Figure 1.--This Douglas magazine advertisement highlights the role of its C-54 (DC-4) in delivering food and supplies to the beleagered people of Berlin. The graphic highlights the very different role the USAF was playing in the Cold War.

Many aircraft typs participated in the Berlin Airlift. The British used several different types. Their transport was the Avro York, but they reconfiugured several World War II bombers for tranport use. The French also participated. We are not sure what they used, but know they used some German Ju-52s. The workhorse cargo plane for the United States during World War II was the two-engine Douglas C-47 (DC-3). It was a two engine transport with a carrying capacity of 3.5 tons. Some of the first cargoes were brought in by C-47s. They were quickly replaced by the larger abd faster C-54s (DC-4s) Skymasters. They could deliver 10 ton cargos. Photographs taken early in the Airlift show the C-47s. The USAF was in the process of replacing the two Engine World War II C-47s with the much larger four-engine C-54. It had a much greater cargo capacity. The C-54 became the most important plane used in the Airlift. As a result many photograophs of the Airlift show the C-54s. The large-capacity C-54 largely replaced the venerable C-47 during the Berlin Airlift. One of the major difficulties in the Airlift was finding the needed pilots. Most of the class airlift photiographs show C-54s landing in beligered Berlin. The USAF brought World War II pilots back to active duty. Many pilots flew with very little sleep, a factor in the accidents that occurred. Thus the large capacity C-54s were critical. Th C-54 was a godsend. Each pilot with C-54s could deliver twice the payload.