Douglas C-54 Skymaster
Born from a civilian design just before America's entry into World War II, the Douglas C-54 Skymaster quickly became the aerial backbone of the Allied effort. This versatile four-engine transport not only hauled critical cargo and troops but also carried presidents and prime ministers through the skies. Its incredible journey continued through the Cold War, becoming a symbol of hope during the Berlin Airlift and serving in diverse roles long after its military retirement, etching its place in aviation history. The C-54 Skymaster was initially a civilian airliner design swiftly repurposed into a crucial military transport during World War II. It played an indispensable role in major global events, including the Berlin Airlift, and even served as the first dedicated aircraft for the President of the United States. Beyond its military career, the robust C-54 found new life in commercial aviation, firefighting, and even secret missions, demonstrating remarkable adaptability and longevity.
AI Summary
Born from a civilian design just before America's entry into World War II, the Douglas C-54 Skymaster quickly became the aerial backbone of the Allied effort. This versatile four-engine transport not only hauled critical cargo and troops but also carried presidents and prime ministers through the skies. Its incredible journey continued through the Cold War, becoming a symbol of hope during the Berlin Airlift and serving in diverse roles long after its military retirement, etching its place in aviation history.
- The C-54 Skymaster was initially a civilian airliner design swiftly repurposed into a crucial military transport during World War II.
- It played an indispensable role in major global events, including the Berlin Airlift, and even served as the first dedicated aircraft for the President of the United States.
- Beyond its military career, the robust C-54 found new life in commercial aviation, firefighting, and even secret missions, demonstrating remarkable adaptability and longevity.
From Civilian Dream to Wartime Workhorse
In the early 1940s, as the shadow of World War II loomed, American aircraft manufacturers were poised to revolutionize air travel with larger, more capable airliners. The Douglas DC-4 was one such marvel, a four-engine aircraft designed for luxurious transcontinental flights. But history had a different, more urgent purpose in mind for this nascent giant.
The Call to Service
By June 1941, with the United States' entry into the war becoming inevitable, the War Department swiftly took over all existing DC-4 production orders. These civilian aircraft were immediately militarized and redesignated as the C-54 Skymaster for the United States Army Air Forces. The very first military C-54 took to the skies from Clover Field in Santa Monica, California, on February 14, 1942, marking the birth of a legend.
Tailoring for War
The initial civilian design required immediate modifications to meet military demands. The first C-54s had four auxiliary fuel tanks installed directly within the main cabin, significantly extending their range but reducing passenger capacity to a mere 26. This compromise highlighted the military's priority: long-range capability over passenger comfort.
As the war progressed, further adaptations were introduced. The C-54A variant, delivered in February 1943, featured a strengthened floor, a crucial improvement for heavy cargo. It also boasted a large cargo door equipped with a hoist and winch, transforming it into a true military freighter capable of handling diverse loads.
The C-54B, introduced in March 1944, brought even more efficiency. Its outer wings were redesigned to incorporate integral fuel tanks, allowing two of the internal cabin tanks to be removed. This freed up valuable cabin space, enabling the aircraft to carry up to 49 passengers or 16 stretcher-bound casualties for critical medical evacuation missions.
Perhaps the most unique adaptation was the C-54C, a specialized hybrid for presidential use. It combined the C-54A's robust fuselage, complete with its four cabin fuel tanks, with the C-54B's wing-integrated tanks. This configuration maximized its range, ensuring unparalleled global reach for the nation's leader. Subsequent variants, like the C-54D and E, saw further engine upgrades and fuel tank reconfigurations, steadily improving its versatility.
Aircraft transferred to the United States Navy received a different designation: the Douglas R5D. However, this distinction eventually faded. In 1962, with the introduction of the Tri-Service aircraft designation system, all R5Ds were standardized and re-designated C-54, unifying the naming convention across military branches.
A Legacy of Global Service
The C-54 Skymaster wasted no time proving its worth, entering service with the USAAF in 1942. It rapidly became one of the most indispensable long-range transports for the U.S. armed forces throughout World War II. With manufacturing hubs in Santa Monica, California, and Orchard Place, Illinois—later the site of O'Hare International Airport—over a thousand Skymasters rolled off the production lines, a testament to its critical demand.
This aircraft wasn't just a workhorse for cargo and troops; it was also the chosen transport for the highest echelons of Allied leadership. Franklin D. Roosevelt, Douglas MacArthur, and Winston Churchill all flew aboard C-54s, transforming it into a flying command post. It even carried American delegates to critical wartime meetings, like the Casablanca Conference, demonstrating its vital role in diplomacy.
One C-54, famously known as 'Sacred Cow,' holds a special place in history. It was aboard this presidential VC-54C that President Harry S. Truman signed the National Security Act of 1947, which officially created the U.S. Air Force. After World War II, the Skymaster's legend continued during the Berlin Airlift in 1948, where over 300 C-54s and R5Ds tirelessly ferried coal and food into a blockaded West Berlin, becoming a symbol of humanitarian aid and Cold War resolve.
The Skymaster continued its vital military service during the Korean War, forming the backbone of the airlift effort. Although eventually succeeded by newer, larger aircraft like the Douglas C-124 Globemaster II, the C-54 remained in active U.S. Air Force service until 1972, with the U.S. Navy retiring its last active C-54Q in April 1974. Its impressive tenure spanned over three decades of military operations.
As hundreds of C-54s became surplus after World War II, many found a vibrant second life in the civilian sector. Douglas Aircraft itself converted many for airline operations, and by 1946, carriers like Pan American Airways were flying them on transatlantic and trans-Pacific routes. Later, these robust airframes were adapted for specialized roles, including aerial firefighting, fitted with tanks and spraying equipment to combat wildfires for decades.
Key Operational Variants
C-54: Initial production, adapted from DC-4, 24 built. C-54A: Strengthened airframe, increased fuel capacity, passenger/cargo provisions. Navy equivalent R5D-1, 252 built. C-54B: Increased fuel capacity in wings, improving cabin space. One notably used by Winston Churchill, 220 built. C-54D: Similar to C-54B but with more powerful R-2000-11 engines, 380 built. C-54E: Further revised fuel tanks, designed for rapid conversion between passenger and cargo configurations, 125 built. C-54G: Equipped with a different R-2000 engine version. Of 400 ordered, 162 were completed before WWII ended, leading to cancellations.
Incidents and Mysteries
Even a workhorse like the Skymaster was not immune to the inherent risks of aviation, sometimes under extraordinary circumstances. On July 9, 1943, a USAAF C-54A tragically collided mid-air with a C-40A chase plane during an experimental parachute drop of a Studebaker T-24 Weasel at Wright Field, Ohio. The unfortunate experiment resulted in multiple fatalities, underscoring the dangers of pioneering new techniques.
Some C-54 incidents remain shrouded in mystery. On January 26, 1950, a USAF C-54D disappeared without a trace during a flight from Anchorage, Alaska, to Great Falls, Montana. Carrying eight crew and 36 passengers—including service personnel and civilians—no wreckage or occupants have ever been found, leaving families and investigators with enduring questions.
During the intense Cold War, C-54s sometimes found themselves in the crosshairs of geopolitical tensions. On April 29, 1952, an Air France C-54A, flying a scheduled service through an Allied air corridor over East Germany, came under sustained attack from two Soviet MiG-15 fighters. Despite being severely damaged and losing two engines, the pilot heroically managed an emergency landing at Tempelhof Airport, with all 17 occupants surviving the harrowing ordeal.
Just two years later, on July 23, 1954, a civilian Cathay Pacific C-54 Skymaster was shot down by Chinese PLAAF Lavochkin La-11 fighters off the coast of Hainan Island. While ten people onboard perished, nine were miraculously rescued by a USAF Grumman HU-16 Albatross air-sea rescue plane, a testament to international cooperation during a tense period.
One of the most intriguing C-54 crashes occurred on November 17, 1955. USAF Flight 9068 crashed into Mount Charleston, Nevada, during a snowstorm. Onboard were 14 passengers and crew, including personnel from the U.S. Air Force, CIA, and government contractors involved in the top-secret U-2 spy plane project. The destination? A classified site known as 'Watertown,' now famously known as Area 51. The crash investigation remained classified until 1998, adding another layer to the Skymaster's clandestine history.
Another inexplicable disappearance occurred on March 28, 1964. A C-54A vanished over the Pacific Ocean, approximately 700 miles west of San Francisco, during an executive passenger flight. The pilot reported a fire in an engine and the possibility of ditching. Extensive searches yielded no trace of the aircraft or its nine occupants, adding to the grim tally of aviation's unsolved mysteries.
Preserving a Legend
Today, numerous Douglas C-54 Skymasters are preserved in museums and private collections around the world, testaments to their enduring legacy. These aircraft offer a tangible link to a pivotal era of aviation, warfare, and global connectivity, allowing visitors to glimpse the incredible machines that shaped the 20th century.
Notable Preserved Aircraft
United States: • 42-107451, the Presidential VC-54C 'Sacred Cow,' on display at the National Museum of the United States Air Force in Dayton, Ohio. • 56505, an R5D-3, at the Travis Air Force Base Aviation Museum in Fairfield, California. • 42-72488, a C-54D, at the Pima Air & Space Museum in Tucson, Arizona. • 44-9030, a C-54M, at the Air Mobility Command Museum in Dover, Delaware. Germany: • 44-9063, a C-54G, on static display at Frankfurt Airport in Frankfurt. • 45-0557, a C-54G, with the Deutsches Technik Museum at Tempelhof Airport in Berlin. Saudi Arabia: • 450, a C-54A, at the Royal Saudi Air Force Museum in Riyadh. South Korea: • 0-72740, a C-54D, at the Jeju Aerospace Museum in Jeju. Turkey: • 10683, a C-54D, at the Istanbul Aviation Museum in Istanbul.
Technical Specifications (C-54G-DO)
General Characteristics
Crew: 4 Capacity: 50 troops or 32,500 lb (14,700 kg) cargo Length: 93 ft 10 in (28.60 m) Wingspan: 117 ft 6 in (35.81 m) Height: 27 ft 6 in (8.38 m) Wing area: 1,460 sq ft (136 m^2) Airfoil: root: NACA 23016; tip: NACA 23012 Empty weight: 38,930 lb (17,658 kg) Gross weight: 62,000 lb (28,123 kg) Max takeoff weight: 73,000 lb (33,112 kg) Fuel capacity: 2,868 US gal (10,860 L) normal; 3,592 US gal (13,600 L) auxiliary Powerplant: 4 × Pratt & Whitney R-2000-9 Twin Wasp 14-cylinder air-cooled radial piston engines Propellers: 3-bladed constant-speed fully-feathering
Performance
Maximum speed: 275 mph (443 km/h, 239 kn) at 20,000 ft (6,100 m) Cruise speed: 190 mph (310 km/h, 170 kn) at 10,000 ft (3,000 m) Range: 4,000 mi (6,400 km, 3,500 nmi) with 4,000 lb (1,800 kg) payload Service ceiling: 22,300 ft (6,800 m) Time to altitude: 10,000 ft (3,000 m) in 14 minutes 36 seconds Wing loading: 42.5 lb/sq ft (208 kg/m^2) Power/mass: 0.0935 hp/lb (0.1537 kW/kg)
Skymaster on Screen
The Douglas C-54 Skymaster's distinctive profile and historical significance have earned it appearances in various media. Notably, a C-54 (registration C-FIQM) was famously used as a stand-in for an Avro Lancaster bomber in documentaries like 'Dambusters: Building the Bouncing Bomb,' recreating the legendary Operation Chastise due to its similar speed and payload. Its role in the Berlin Airlift was also prominently featured in the 1950 drama 'The Big Lift,' immortalizing its humanitarian efforts for a global audience.
Article
Douglas C-54 Skymaster
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. Like the Douglas C-47 Skytrain derived from the DC-3, the C-54 Skymaster was derived from a civilian airliner, the Douglas DC-4. Besides transport of cargo, the C-54 also carried presidents, prime ministers, and military staff. 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. During the Berlin Airlift it hauled coal and food supplies to West Berlin. After the Korean War it continued to be used for military and civilian uses by more than 30 countries. It was one of the first aircraft to carry the president of the United States, the first being Franklin D. Roosevelt during World War II.
Design and development
Douglas C-54 Skymaster
A USAAF Douglas C-54 (s/n 41-37271), circa 1943
With the looming entry of the United States into World War II, in June 1941 the War Department took over the provision orders for the airlines for the Douglas DC-4 and allocated them to the United States Army Air Forces with the designation C-54 Skymaster. The first, a C-54, flew from Clover Field in Santa Monica, California on 14 February 1942.
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. The following batch of aircraft, designated C-54A, were built with a stronger floor and a cargo door with a hoist and winch. The first C-54A was delivered in February 1943. The C-54B, introduced in March 1944, had integral fuel tanks in the outer wings, allowing two of the cabin tanks to be removed. This change allowed 49 seats (or 16 stretchers) to be fitted. The C-54C, a hybrid for Presidential use, had a C-54A fuselage with four cabin fuel tanks and C-54B wings with built in tanks to achieve maximum range.
The most common variant was the C-54D, which entered service in August 1944. Based on the C-54B, it was fitted with more powerful R-2000-11 engines. With the C-54E, the last two cabin fuel tanks were moved to the wings which allowed more freight or 44 passenger seats.
Aircraft transferred to the United States Navy were designated Douglas R5D. With the introduction of the Tri-Service aircraft designation system in 1962, all R5Ds were re-designated C-54.
Operational history
Douglas C-54 Skymaster
C-54s began service with the USAAF in 1942, carrying up to 26 passengers, later versions carrying up to 50 passengers. The C-54 was one of the most commonly used long-range transports by the U.S. armed forces in World War II. Of the C-54s produced, 515 were manufactured in Santa Monica, California and 655 were manufactured at Orchard Place/Douglas Field, in unincorporated Cook County, Illinois, near Chicago (later the site of O'Hare International Airport).
A C-54 landing at Tempelhof airport during the Berlin Airlift
During World War II, the C-54 was used by Franklin D. Roosevelt, Douglas MacArthur, and Winston Churchill. The American delegates to the Casablanca Conference used the Skymaster. The C-54 was also used by the Royal Air Force, the French Air Force, and the armed forces of at least 12 other nations.
President Harry S. Truman signed the National Security Act of 1947, which created the U.S. Air Force, on board Sacred Cow, the Presidential VC-54C which is preserved at the National Museum of the United States Air Force near Dayton, Ohio. More than 300 C-54s and R5Ds formed the backbone of the US contribution to the Berlin Airlift in 1948. They also served as the main airlift during the Korean War. After the Korean War, the C-54 was replaced by the Douglas C-124 Globemaster II, but continued to be used by the U.S. Air Force until 1972. The last active C-54 Skymaster in U.S. Navy service (C-54Q, BuNo 56501, of the Navy Test Pilot School, NAS Patuxent River) was retired on 2 April 1974.
In late 1945, several hundred C-54s were surplus to U.S. military requirements and these were converted for civil airline operation, many by Douglas Aircraft at its aircraft plants. The aircraft were sold to airlines around the world. By January 1946, Pan American Airways was operating their Skymasters on transatlantic scheduled services to Europe and beyond. Trans-Pacific schedules from San Francisco to Auckland began on 6 June 1946. After disposal by the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Navy, many C-54s were modified for use in civilian firefighting and air tanker roles. This included fitting tanks inside and under the fuselage and the fitting of dumping and spraying equipment on the wing trailing edges. C-54s continued in this role until the late 1990s.
Variants
Douglas C-54 Skymaster
Netherlands Government Air Transport C-54A on display at the Aviodrome
C-54: First production variant adapted from DC-4, 24 built. C-54A: First military version with strengthened airframe, increased fuel capacity, provision for passengers or cargo, Navy equivalent R5D-1, 252 built. C-54B: Increased fuel capacity in the wing, One was used by Winston Churchill, 220 built. C-54D: Same as C-54B but with R-2000-11 engines, 380 built. C-54E: Further revision to fuel tanks and provision for rapid conversion from passenger to cargo, 125 built. C-54G: Same as C-54E but with different version of the R-2000 engine. 400 ordered, of which 162 were completed and the remainder were cancelled at the end of WW2.
Accidents and incidents
Experimental "tank drop" (1943)
On 9 July 1943, USAAF C-54A 41-37271 crashed in a mid-air collision with a C-40A at Wright Field, Ohio. While para-dropping a Studebaker T-24 Weasel which was slung under the fuselage, the C-54 collided with the C-40A photographic chase plane. Three of the five crew of the C-54A and all five aboard the C-40A were killed.
1946 American Overseas Airlines Douglas DC-4 crash
On October 3, 1946, an American Overseas Airlines (AOA) Douglas C-54 aircraft named Flagship New England crashed soon after take-off from Stephenville, Newfoundland, killing all 39 people on board. It was, at the time, the deadliest aircraft crash on Newfoundland soil.
A USAF C-54 destroyed by North Korean fighters, 1950
Crashing in the sea (1947)
On 3 July 1947, US Army Air Forces C-54G 45-519 crashed in the Atlantic 294 miles off Florida after a loss of control caused by turbulence from a storm, killing the six crew.
Massachusetts crash (1948)
Monument dedicated to the victims of the 1948 crash
On 14 May 1948, an army transport plane flying through a rainstorm crashed in Northampton, Massachusetts, killing the three crew members aboard.
Disappearance (1950)
On 26 January 1950, a C-54D operated by the United States Air Force disappeared during a flight between Anchorage-Elmendorf Air Force Base (Alaska) and Great Falls Air Force Base (Montana) with a crew of eight and 36 passengers (34 service personnel and two civilians). Its last radio call was over Snag, Yukon. No trace of the aircraft or its occupants has ever been found.
Attack
On June 25, 1950, North Korea invaded South Korea. North Korean fighter aircraft attacked airfields at Kimpo and Seoul, the South Korean capital, destroying one USAF C-54 on the ground at Kimpo Air Base.
Crashed (1950)
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. The aircraft had 26 personnel aboard including eleven nurses. There were no survivors.
Crashing in the sea (1951)
On 31 January 1951, the C-54D with tail number 282 of the Portuguese Military Aeronautics, operated by the Search and Rescue Squadron of the Lajes Air Base, Azores, flying from the Lisbon Airport back to its base, crashed in the Atlantic, when approaching Lajes. All of the 14 people on board (two pilots, nine mechanics and three other military personnel) were killed.
Berlin corridor attack (1952)
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. Although the attack had severely damaged the aircraft, necessitating the shutdown of engines number three and four, the pilot in command of the aircraft managed to carry out a safe emergency landing at Tempelhof Airport. A subsequent inspection of the aircraft's damage revealed that it had been hit by 89 shots fired from the Soviet MiGs. There were no fatalities among the 17 occupants (six crew, 11 passengers) despite the severity of the attack. The Soviet military authorities defended this attack on an unarmed civilian aircraft by claiming the Air France plane was outside the air corridor at the time of attack.
Shoot-down by the PRC (1954)
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 pilot was able to ditch the aircraft, and whilst ten people on board were killed as a result of the attack, another nine were rescued by a USAF Grumman HU-16 Albatross Air-Sea Rescue plane.
Crashed in Nevada, United States (1955)
On 17 November 1955, United States Air Force C-54 Flight 9068 crashed into the south eastern flank of 11,916 foot Mount Charleston at approximately the 11,300 foot elevation. 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. There were 14 passengers and air crew on board from the U.S. Air Force, the CIA, and several government contractors who were working on the top secret U-2 spy plane project. There were no survivors and the crash investigation remained classified until 1998.
Explosion in North Africa (1955)
On 11 December 1955, the C-54 of the United States Air Force's 1700th Air Transport Group, based at Kelly Field, San Antonio, Tex. The transport crashed in the Gomor district near the border, between French and Spanish Morocco. Flying from Wheelus Field in Tripoli to Casablanca, it was believed en route to the United States. Eight United States airmen died when their plane exploded in the rugged Riff Mountains of North Africa.
Disappearance (1964)
On 28 March 1964, a C-54A disappeared over the Pacific (about 1120 km west of San Francisco—last reported position: 29°20′N 135°00′W / 29.33°N 135.00°W) on an executive passenger flight from Honolulu International Airport, Hawaii to Los Angeles International Airport, California. The pilot reported a fire in No. 2 engine, which might make it necessary to ditch. Nothing more was heard from the aircraft, nor was any trace of it found despite an extensive search. Three crew and six passengers died in the accident.
Aircraft on display
Douglas C-54 Skymaster
C-54D at the Jeju Aerospace Museum
VC-54C at the National Museum of the United States Air Force
R5D-3 near the Travis Air Force Base Aviation Museum
Germany
• 44-9063 – C-54G on static display at Frankfurt Airport in Frankfurt, Hesse. • 45-0557 – C-54G on static display at Tempelhof Airport with the Deutsches Technik Museum in Berlin.
Netherlands
• 42-107469 – C-54A on static display at the Aviodrome in Lelystad.
Saudi Arabia
• 450 – C-54A on static display at the Royal Saudi Air Force Museum in Riyadh.
South Korea
• 0-50582 – C-54E on static display at the KAI Aerospace Museum in Sacheon. • 0-72740 – C-54D on static display at the Jeju Aerospace Museum in Jeju.
Turkey
• 10683 – C-54D on static display at the Istanbul Aviation Museum in Istanbul.
United States
• 50874 – R5D-3 on static display at the Aerospace Museum of California in McClellan, California. • 56505 – R5D-3 on static display at the Travis Air Force Base Aviation Museum in Fairfield, California. • 56506 – C-54Q on static display at the Western Sky Aviation Warbird Museum in St. George, Utah. • 56511 – VC-54S on static display at the South Dakota Air and Space Museum in Box Elder, South Dakota. • 56514 – R5D-3 on static display at the March Field Air Museum in Riverside, California. • 90407 – R5D-4 on static display at Castle Air Museum in Atwater, California. • 90411 – C-54T on static display at Historic Wendover Airfield in Wendover, Utah. • 42-72488 – C-54D on static display at the Pima Air & Space Museum in Tucson, Arizona. • 42-72724 – C-54D on static display at the Strategic Air Command & Aerospace Museum in Ashland, Nebraska. • 42-107451 – VC-54C on static display at the National Museum of the United States Air Force in Dayton, Ohio. • 44-9030 – C-54M on static display at the Air Mobility Command Museum in Dover, Delaware. • 45-0502 – C-45G on static display at the Hill Aerospace Museum in Roy, Utah. • 45-0579 – C-54G on static display at the Museum of Aviation in Warner Robins, Georgia.
Venezuela
• 7-AT-1 – C-54A on static display at the Aeronautics Museum of Maracay in Maracay, Aragua.
Specifications (C-54G-DO)
Douglas C-54 Skymaster
Three-view line drawing of the Douglas R5D-2 Skymaster
Cockpit of a restored C-54 Skymaster, N500EJ, Spirit of Freedom of the Berlin Airlift Historical Foundation
Data from McDonnell Douglas aircraft since 1920 : Volume I
• Crew: four • Capacity: 50 troops / 32,500 lb (14,700 kg) cargo • Length: 93 ft 10 in (28.60 m) • Wingspan: 117 ft 6 in (35.81 m) • Height: 27 ft 6 in (8.38 m) • Wing area: 1,460 sq ft (136 m2) • Airfoil: root: NACA 23016; tip: NACA 23012 • Empty weight: 38,930 lb (17,658 kg) • Gross weight: 62,000 lb (28,123 kg) • Max takeoff weight: 73,000 lb (33,112 kg) • Fuel capacity: 2,868 US gal (2,388 imp gal; 10,860 L) normal fuel load; 3,592 US gal (2,991 imp gal; 13,600 L) with auxiliary fuel • Powerplant: 4 × Pratt & Whitney R-2000-9 Twin Wasp 14-cylinder air-cooled radial piston engines: • Propellers: 3-bladed constant-speed fully-feathering propellers
• Maximum speed: 275 mph (443 km/h, 239 kn) at 20,000 ft (6,100 m) • Cruise speed: 190 mph (310 km/h, 170 kn) at 10,000 ft (3,000 m) • Range: 4,000 mi (6,400 km, 3,500 nmi) with 4,000 lb (1,800 kg) payload • Service ceiling: 22,300 ft (6,800 m) • Time to altitude: 10,000 ft (3,000 m) in 14 minutes 36 seconds • Wing loading: 42.5 lb/sq ft (208 kg/m2) • Power/mass: 0.0935 hp/lb (0.1537 kW/kg)
Notable appearances in media
Douglas C-54 Skymaster
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. It was filmed in the UK documentary Dambusters: Building the Bouncing Bomb, Canadian documentary Dambusters Fly Again, Nova season 39 episode "Bombing Hitler's Dams", and Ice Pilots NWT season 3 episode 2 "Dambusters". The 1950 drama, "The Big Lift" features C-54s flying the Berlin Airlift.