Douglas C-54 Skymaster
Dozens of variants of the C-54 were employed in a wide variety of non-combat roles such as air-sea rescue, scientific and military research, and missile tracking and recovery.[1] 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.[6] On 3 July 1947, US Army Air Forces C-54G 45-519 crashed in the Atlantic 294 mi off Florida after a loss of control caused by turbulence from a storm, killing the six crew.[7] On 14 May 1948, an army transport plane flying through a rainstorm crashed in Northampton, Massachusetts, killing the three crew members aboard.[11] On 19 September 1950, a U.S. Navy C-54 en route to Korea crashed into the sea approximately one minute after takeoff from Kwajalein Atoll, Marshall Islands.[13] On 29 April 1952, an Air France Douglas C-54A (registration F-BELI) operating a scheduled service from Frankfurt Rhein-Main Airport to Berlin Tempelhof Airport came under sustained attack from two Soviet MiG-15 fighters while passing through one of the Allied air corridors over East Germany.[14] On 23 July 1954, a Douglas C-54 Skymaster civilian airliner, registration VR-HEU, operated by Cathay Pacific Airways, en route from Bangkok to Hong Kong, was shot and heavily damaged by Chinese PLAAF Lavochkin La-11 fighters off the coast of Hainan Island.The crash occurred at roughly 8:30am during a high wind snowstorm with limited visibility approximately 35 miles northwest of Las Vegas.The airplane was en route to a classified destination referred to as "Watertown" (now known as the Area 51 test site in Nevada) from Burbank, California.Eight United States airmen died when their plane exploded in the rugged Riff Mountains of North Africa.[21] Data from McDonnell Douglas aircraft since 1920 : Volume I[22]General characteristics Performance A C-54, registration C-FIQM (Buffalo 5-721 (tail 57)), was used as a substitute Lancaster bomber due to its similar top speed and maximum payload, for a recreation of Operation Chastise with its bouncing bomb.
C-54 (disambiguation)Military transport aircraftManufacturerDouglas Aircraft CompanyUnited States Army Air ForcesUnited States NavyUnited States Air ForceDouglas DC-4World War IIKorean WarDouglas C-47 Skytrainair-sea rescueBerlin AirliftWest BerlinPresident of the United StatesFranklin D. RooseveltClover FieldSanta Monica, CaliforniaTri-Service aircraft designation systemCook County, IllinoisChicagoO'Hare International AirportTempelhof airportDouglas MacArthurWinston ChurchillCasablanca ConferenceRoyal Air ForceFrench Air Forcearmed forcesHarry S. TrumanNational Security Act of 1947National Museum of the United States Air ForceDayton, OhioDouglas C-124 Globemaster IINAS Patuxent RiverPan American AirwaysEuropeSan FranciscoAucklandList of Douglas C-54 Skymaster variantsAviodromeList of Douglas C-54 Skymaster operatorsList of accidents and incidents involving the Douglas DC-4Wright FieldStudebaker T-24 WeaselNorthampton, Massachusetts1950 Douglas C-54D disappearancedisappeared during a flightAnchorage-Elmendorf Air Force BaseAlaskaGreat Falls Air Force BaseMontanaKimpo Air BasePortuguese Military AeronauticsLajes Air BaseAzoresLisbon AirportAtlanticAir FranceFrankfurt Rhein-Main AirportBerlin Tempelhof AirportMiG-15fightersEast Germanyemergency landing1954 Cathay Pacific Douglas DC-4 shootdownregistration VR-HEUCathay Pacific AirwaysBangkokHong KongLavochkin La-11Hainan IslandGrumman HU-16 Albatross1700th Air Transport GroupKelly FieldWheelus FieldTripoliCasablancaNorth AfricaPacificHonolulu International AirportHawaiiLos Angeles International AirportCaliforniaAirfoilNACA 23016NACA 23012Pratt & Whitney R-2000-9 Twin WaspPower/massBuffaloLancaster bomberOperation Chastisebouncing bombBombing Hitler's DamsIce Pilots NWTAviation Traders CarvairCanadair North StarDouglas DC-6Douglas DC-7Avro YorkBoeing 307 StratolinerLockheed ConstellationLockheed L-049 ConstellationList of aircraftList of aircraft of World War IIList of civil aircraftList of military aircraft of the United StatesList of United States Navy aircraft designations (pre-1962)Wayback MachineAviation Safety NetworkDouglasF3D SkyknightF4D SkyrayF5D SkylancerXF6D MissileerA-26 InvaderA-1 SkyraiderA-3 SkywarriorA-4 SkyhawkA-4AR FightinghawkA-4SU Super SkyhawkAC-47 "Spooky"TBD DevastatorSBD DauntlessXBTD DestroyerXTB2D Skypirate