Since it was a basic transport and needed no modification for military use, deliveries to the Army Air Forces began in June. The Ferrying Command also had its eye on Douglas Aircraft Company’s new DC-4, which the military designated as the C-54, although the command hedged its bets by also ordering the twin-engine Curtiss C-46 Commando. The converted Liberators were assigned to the recently established Air Corps Ferrying Command to establish a route system over which multiengine aircraft could be delivered to the combat zones. The newly established need for long-range transports became so great that when the Army received its first Consolidated B-24 Liberators 11 were converted into transports even though the type had been developed to fill a requirement for a long-range bomber to replace the Boeing B-17.
- 97 seven were built at Santa Monica and 155 at Chicago.
- It was, at the time, the deadliest aircraft crash on Newfoundland soil.
- Douglas aircraft received military orders for aircraft (from France, Britain, and the US Armed Forces).
- General Henry “Hap” Arnold, chief of the Army Air Forces, decided that the cost of airlifting fuel and other supplies for B-29s from India to China was prohibitive and ordered the bomber force transferred to the Marianas, which had recently fallen into Allied hands.
- To meet military requirements, the first civil production aircraft had four additional auxiliary fuel tanks in the main cabin, which reduced the number of passenger seats to 26.
Attack
While the British force would soon be withdrawn the same way they had come in—by air—Merrill’s men were ordered to continue eastward to capture the Japanese-held airfield at Myitkyina. In early 1944 the Allies commenced an operation that would change the fortunes of war in the China-Burma-India Theater and that would greatly improve the efficiency of the airlift to China and allow the introduction of the C-54 to the China ferry. Initial C-54 operations were in support of the war in Europe, as the first airplanes went to work ferrying personnel and dispatches from Miami to Natal.
The Douglas C-54 Skymaster is a four-engined transport aircraft used by the United States Army Air Forces in World War II and the Korean War. It transported everything from troops and supplies to VIPs, including presidents and prime ministers. The transformation added more fuel capacity, cargo doors, and strengthened floors to support heavy loads. This is the story of an aircraft that played a pivotal role in shaping the course of history, from the turbulence of World War II to the demanding period that followed, and beyond. Hailing from a time when the world was entrenched in the throes of global conflict, this legendary aircraft swiftly rose to prominence and carved its niche in aviation history.
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When the Secret Service expressed doubts about the safety of the C-87, the USAAF turned to the Douglas Aircraft Company to build a military transport specifically to accommodate the special needs of the president.” “In 1943, President Franklin D. Roosevelt became the first US president to fly in an airplane while in office when the Navy-owned, but civilian-operated Boeing 314 Clipper flying boat, Dixie Clipper, transported the president to the Casablanca Conference. When the C-54C was introduced it became “the first aircraft purpose-built to fly the President of the United States”, which was heavily modified in line.
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The C-54E saw another change in the fuel arrangement. On the C-54B two of the auxiliary fuel maniacasino tanks were removed, and were replaced by tanks built into the outer wing panels. The C-54 was used on the long range routes that linked the continental United States with the various theatres of war, while the shorter ranged C-47s did much of the work in-theatre.
It went from prototype to production in a record span of time, making its maiden flight in 1942 and entering service in 1943. The need for a larger, more efficient transport plane during World War II spurred its creation. From humble beginnings to wartime hero and finally to a distinguished veteran, the story of the Douglas C-54 Skymaster is a compelling tale of innovation and resilience. The C-54J was to have been a dedicated staff transport based on the C-54G. It was similar to the C-54G, but was powered by four 1,725hp Merlin 620 engines. 162 were built at Santa Monica, of which 13 went to the Navy as the R5D-5.
According to Wendover Airfield, five Douglas C-54 Skymasters provided essential air logistics support to the operations of the atomic mission. The campaign for Okinawa, which took place in parallel to the Battle of Okinawa, 16,599 casualties were evacuated through aircraft by Army Air Forces, the Navy, and – approximately 60% of them flown out by VRE-1. In addition, the Sacred Cow also had a “battery-powered elevator was installed at the rear of the aircraft which allowed President Roosevelt to board the aircraft easily while in his wheelchair”. One of its unofficial nicknames was “Sacred Cow”, which was “a reference to the high security surrounding the aircraft and its special status”. The civilian aircraft Douglas DC-4 was first converted into the C-4, an aircraft type whose only 24 units were produced.
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Howard Hughes had designed a pressurized four-engine transport called the Constellation, but the military version had seen only limited use before the war ended. By 1945, there was an abundance of military pilots, and the military’s aircraft needs were being met with new deliveries, which allowed the airlines to return to their commercial role. Even though the C-54 had not become the prime transport in the airlift to China, it had become a familiar around the rest of the world. Previously, ATC transports had been forced to go northward out of their bases in India’s Assam Valley before turning eastward for their off-load points in China to avoid the threat of Japanese interception. Throughout their Burma operations, Merrill’s men were supplied entirely by air by transports assigned to Tenth Air Force Troop Carrier Command.
So, it was decided that all essentials would be airlifted to Berlin. The crisis commenced on June 24, 1948, and it was assessed that essential supplies would need to be airlifted to the city. After the end of the second world war, USSR imposed a blockade on the city of Berlin, making the city virtually impossible for the allies to access via road transportation.
It had a relatively clean and streamlined design, which contributed to its efficiency and range. Join historians and history buff’s alike with our Unlimited Digital Access pass to every military history article ever published (over 3,000 articles) in Sovereign’s military history magazines. Two days later the combined force of FEAF troop carriers and ATC C-54s began landing the 11th Airborne Division, along with General Douglas MacArthur and his headquarters, as the victorious Allies occupied Japan. Air evacuation of casualties became a C-54 mission, particularly in the Pacific where five Skymasters configured for patient transport were placed into operation in mid-1944. In fact, during the first weeks of the Korean War, C-54 operations into the Pusan Peninsula had to be suspended because of extensive damage to the runways. Roosevelt used the airplane only one time, flying to the Soviet Union in February 1945 for the Yalta Conference.
During the first years of ATC operations, there were no standardized procedures and each pilot operated by his own set of rules. The C-54 also featured a steerable nosewheel, a feature that allowed pilots far more control of their airplanes while taxiing and in the early stages of the takeoff roll before the rudder became effective. By 1943 substantial numbers of C-54s were starting to come into the ATC inventory, and the new four-engine transports soon became favored by the pilots and crew members who flew them. Designated as the C-54A, the new version did not become available for military testing until February 1943. Thus, they were initially assigned primarily to transport high-priority passengers and dispatches.
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As the war began winding down, the C-54s that had originally been contracted by the airlines were released from the military and placed in commercial service. Perhaps the most famous Skymaster was a specially built C-54C that was ordered as a presidential support aircraft for President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Since the new bases in the Marianas were on islands, the massive numbers of transport forces that had deployed to India with them were not needed, so Arnold transferred them to Tunner’s command. General Henry “Hap” Arnold, chief of the Army Air Forces, decided that the cost of airlifting fuel and other supplies for B-29s from India to China was prohibitive and ordered the bomber force transferred to the Marianas, which had recently fallen into Allied hands.
- So, it was decided that all essentials would be airlifted to Berlin.
- Previously, ATC transports had been forced to go northward out of their bases in India’s Assam Valley before turning eastward for their off-load points in China to avoid the threat of Japanese interception.
- The C-54 was the result of a prewar civilian design that the Douglas Aircraft Company developed as a successor to its highly successful DC-3.
- In addition, the Sacred Cow also had a “battery-powered elevator was installed at the rear of the aircraft which allowed President Roosevelt to board the aircraft easily while in his wheelchair”.
- The engines were later changed to four 1,450 hp Pratt & Whitney Twin Wasp (R-2000) 2SD1-G fourteen-cylinder radials (after talk with the aforementioned airlines).
- The first had been judged to be too complex by the airlines, and in 1939 American, Eastern and United Air Lines got together with Douglas to draw up the specifications for a simpler machine.
The total fuel capacity went up to 3,740 US gallons. When all four auxiliary fuel tanks were used the C-54A could carry 3,620 US gallons of fuel. 97 seven were built at Santa Monica and 155 at Chicago. In 1948 another C-54D flew from Fairbank to Oslo via the North Pole in 22 hours. At the end of the war all of the remaining Skymasters were returned to the United States. One notable exception saw the Presidential VC-54C, accompanied by 33 other four-engined transports, take President Roosevelt to the Yalta Conference.
The XC-54F was the prototype for a planned series of paratrooper transports, which would have had two jump doors. 125 C-54Es were built, twenty of which went to the US Navy as the R5D-4. A total of 380 C-54Ds were built, all at Chicago.