This long-range heavy transport gained its greatest fame in World War II, the Berlin Airlift, and the Korean War. Originally developed for the airlines, the first batch of what would have been DC-4s was commandeered off the assembly line by the Army Air Forces in 1942 and redesignated C-54. Production orders followed, and to meet the demand, Douglas started a second assembly line in Chicago, Ill., which would eventually produce nearly 60 percent of all C-54s built. C-54s were first delivered on March 20, 1942, and saw service in every theater and became the primary airlifter across the Atlantic and Pacific. In the three years prior to V-J Day, C-54 crews made 79,642 crossings of the North Atlantic and only three aircraft were lost. The Navy received 201 C-54s, which were designated R5D. The first Presidential aircraft was the lone VC-54C, which was modified with a special hydraulic lift for Franklin D. Roosevelt's wheelchair. Nicknamed "Sacred Cow," it was used to take FDR to the Yalta Conference. President Harry S. Truman signed the National Security Act of 1947, creating an independent Air Force, on board this aircraft on July 12, 1947. It is now on display at the US Air Force Museum. Winston Churchill and Gen. Douglas MacArthur both used C-54s as their personal aircraft. On September 2, 1945, a C-54 crew made a record run of 31 hours, 25 minutes between Tokyo and Washington, D. C., to deliver films of the Japanese surrender ceremony on USS Missouri. At the height of the Berlin Airlift, 319 of the roughly 400 C- 54s in service were hauling supplies to the city. On September 30, 1949, a C-54 crew made the last flight of the Berlin Airlift when it lifted off from Rhein-Main AB, West Germany. Less than six months later, on June 25, 1950, the first Air Force aircraft destroyed in the Korean War was a C-54 that was strafed on the ground at Kimpo AB, South Korea, by a pair of North Korean Yak fighters. C-54s were used for many other missions and saw limited Air Force service until 1972.

Contractors:	Douglas Aircraft Co.
Locations Built:	Santa Monica, Calif., and Chicago, Ill.
Number Built: (USAF)	1,163 (955)
First Flight:	March 26, 1942
First Flight Model:	C-54
First Flight Location:	Clover Field, Calif.
First Flight Pilot:	John F. Martin and crew
Models/Variants:	C-54, C-54A, B, D, E, G, M.
Powerplant:	Four Pratt & Whitney R-2000-11 Twin Wasp 14-cylinder radials of 1,350 hp each
Wingspan:	117 ft 8 in.
Length:	93 ft 10 in.
Height:	27 ft 6 in.
Weight:	73,000 lb gross
Armament:	None
Accommodation:	Four (pilot, copilot, navigator, and flight engineer/loadmaster) and 50 troops or 32,500 lb of cargo
Cost:	Unconfirmed
Max. Speed:	275 mph
Range:	3,900 mi.
Ceiling:	22,300 ft.