C-54D Main Gear
The Berlin Airlift Historical Foundation operates this Douglas C-54D Skymaster, named “Spirit of Freedom”, to preserve the memory and legacy of the Berlin Airlift. Spirit of Freedom shares the story of the airlift in two ways.
First, Spirit of Freedom is a flying museum. Visitors can walk through the Spirit of Freedom and view exhibits and artifacts that explain the Soviet Union’s 1948-1949 blockade of West Berlin and how the residents of the city, the United States, the United Kingdom, and other countries responded. Soviet leadership expected the blockade to force West Berlin, the U.S., the U.K., and France to capitulate to Soviet demands, but after 10 months the success of the airlift in providing food, fuel, and hope to West Berlin helped convince the Soviet Union to end its blockade. During the airlift’s 15 months of operation, it made 277,569 flights into Berlin and carried more than 2.3 million tons of cargo.
Second, visitors see one of the main types of aircraft in the airlift. C-54s were essential to moving enough cargo to meet the needs of Berliners, and this aircraft was one of those C-54s. A C-54 could carry three times as much as a C-47 Skytrain while being able to be loaded and unloaded in the same amount of time—due to the level floor the C-54 provided with its tricycle landing gear.
I had previously seen the Spirit of Freedom in 2009. When I saw the plane again in 2024 I was surprised to learn that today’s Spirit of Freedom is not the same aircraft I had visited in 2009. The previous Spirit of Freedom was severely damaged by a tornado in 2020. The Foundation was able to acquire another C-54 that had flown in the airlift and worked for a couple years to make it airworthy.
Douglas Aircraft Company delivered this C-54D (serial number 22178) to the U.S. Army Air Corps in September 1945. During 1948 and 1949 it was assigned to three units based in Germany that participated in the airlift: the 61st Troop Carrier Squadron (TCS) based in Rhein Main, the 317th TCS in Celle, and the 313th TCS in Fassberg. After decades in the U.S. Air Force, this aircraft was flown for commercial operations including firefighting and cargo hauling before being acquired by the Berlin Airlift Historical Foundation.
Seen at the 2024 Thunder Over Michigan airshow. #ThunderOverMI #BAHFvittles
C-54D Main Gear
The Berlin Airlift Historical Foundation operates this Douglas C-54D Skymaster, named “Spirit of Freedom”, to preserve the memory and legacy of the Berlin Airlift. Spirit of Freedom shares the story of the airlift in two ways.
First, Spirit of Freedom is a flying museum. Visitors can walk through the Spirit of Freedom and view exhibits and artifacts that explain the Soviet Union’s 1948-1949 blockade of West Berlin and how the residents of the city, the United States, the United Kingdom, and other countries responded. Soviet leadership expected the blockade to force West Berlin, the U.S., the U.K., and France to capitulate to Soviet demands, but after 10 months the success of the airlift in providing food, fuel, and hope to West Berlin helped convince the Soviet Union to end its blockade. During the airlift’s 15 months of operation, it made 277,569 flights into Berlin and carried more than 2.3 million tons of cargo.
Second, visitors see one of the main types of aircraft in the airlift. C-54s were essential to moving enough cargo to meet the needs of Berliners, and this aircraft was one of those C-54s. A C-54 could carry three times as much as a C-47 Skytrain while being able to be loaded and unloaded in the same amount of time—due to the level floor the C-54 provided with its tricycle landing gear.
I had previously seen the Spirit of Freedom in 2009. When I saw the plane again in 2024 I was surprised to learn that today’s Spirit of Freedom is not the same aircraft I had visited in 2009. The previous Spirit of Freedom was severely damaged by a tornado in 2020. The Foundation was able to acquire another C-54 that had flown in the airlift and worked for a couple years to make it airworthy.
Douglas Aircraft Company delivered this C-54D (serial number 22178) to the U.S. Army Air Corps in September 1945. During 1948 and 1949 it was assigned to three units based in Germany that participated in the airlift: the 61st Troop Carrier Squadron (TCS) based in Rhein Main, the 317th TCS in Celle, and the 313th TCS in Fassberg. After decades in the U.S. Air Force, this aircraft was flown for commercial operations including firefighting and cargo hauling before being acquired by the Berlin Airlift Historical Foundation.
Seen at the 2024 Thunder Over Michigan airshow. #ThunderOverMI #BAHFvittles