Aircraft of the Berlin Airlift : C-74 Globemaster

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 The largest cargo aircraft to fly the Berlin Airlift was the USAF C-74. Yet while this impressive cargo carrier made some spectacular attention-grabbing flights, it was not routinely employed on the humanitarian effort to keep Berlin free.

 

In early 1942, just after the US military laid claim to all DC-4s in production, Douglas Aircraft Corporation started work on the design of a larger more capable cargo plane to meet the exploding transport needs of the army. Top of the list of requirements was the ability to transport light tanks, howitzers and bulldozers. A prototype was finished by 1945, but the end of the war caused the military to reduce their order from 50 to 14. Of these, only 11 saw service, and one lost a wing during a test flight, causing Douglas to undertake major modifications that resulted in a new aircraft, the C-124, which proved to be more successful. The C-124, however, did not take flight until 1950, making the C-74 the largest aircraft available to the Western Allies during the Berlin Airlift.

The C-74 had a passenger capacity of 125 fully equipped troops, 115 stretchers with patients, or 25 tons of cargo. It had crew of five consisting of two pilots, a flight engineer, navigator and radio operator. Its flying characteristics were comparable to the C-54 with a cruising speed of 212 mph (slightly slower than the DC-4) but a maximum speed of 328, or almost fifty miles an hour faster. Its operational ceiling was markedly lower than the C-54 at 21,300 feet and the range of 3,400 miles was almost identical to the C-54's 3,300 mile range.

Despite its dramatically greater cargo capacity (11 tons more than the C-54) it was not the ideal aircraft for the Berlin Airlift. Since there were only eleven of them, they could not carry the full burden of the US contribution to the Airlift alone, and their deployment would have undermined Tunner's drive for standardization of equipment, parts, and procedures. An even greater problem was that the substantially greater weight of the C-74 made it impossible to land on anything except concrete, but for roughly the first half of the Airlift, Gatow was the only airfield in Berlin with a concrete runway. 

Nevertheless, in mid-August 1948 a lone Globemaster arrived in Germany and on August 14 flew into Gatow with 20 tons of flour in what was largely a publicity stunt to show off US capabilities. During the next six weeks, this C-74 made a total of 24 sorties into Berlin-Gatow, contributing 617 tons to the Airlift. On Air Force Day, September 18, the USAF made a special effort and maximized tonnage by taking a homogeneous cargo, namely coal. The C-74 Globemaster contributed 6 round trips to Berlin a the 24 hour period delivering 125 tons of coal to Berlin. 

However, at the end of September, at the same time the C-47s were withdrawn, the C-74 was likewise taken off the Airlift. Tunner wanted a homogeneous fleet of C-54s. The Globemaster was instead assigned to the task of flying bulky and heavy objects too large for the C-54s across the Atlantic. Particularly, valuable was the C-74s ability to fly replacement engines for the C-54s and construction equipment used to build Tegel airfield and a power plant in the Western Sectors of Berlin. In this way the C-74 Globemaster made a substantial, if indirect, contribution to the Berlin Airlift. 

The Berlin Airlift is the subject of Bridge to Tomorrow, a trilogy of novels starting with Cold Peace and followed by Cold War and Cold Victory.


Standing up to dictators isn’t easy — but sometimes it’s necessary.

Berlin 1948. The economy is broken, the currency worthless, and the Russian bear is hungry. Next on the menu is Berlin. Here war heroes and war’s victims are struggling to come to terms with a world where unemployment is widespread and the wartime Allies are at each other’s throats. When a Russian fighter brings down a British passenger plane, and the world teeters on the brink of World War Three. The defenders of freedom must work together to save Berlin from Soviet tyranny. The first battle of the Cold War is about to begin.

Based on historical events, award-winning novelist Helena P. Schrader brings to life the backstory of the West's bloodless victory against Russian aggression via the Berlin Airlift in Cold Peace, the first book in the Bridge to Tomorrow Series.

Cold Peace is the winner of WINNER of an Independent Press Award 2025 in the category: Political Thriller, Runner-Up for BOOK OF THE YEAR 2023 from the Historical Fiction Company,  GOLD (1st Place) in the category Historical Fiction from the Feathered Quill Book Awards 2024, GOLD (1st Place) in the category Wartime Fiction from the Historical Fiction Company Book Awards 2023, SILVER (2nd Place) in the category Political Thriller from Readers' Favorites Book Awards 2023, a MAINCREST MEDIA Award and a BRAG Medallion. 

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Stopping Russian Aggression with milk, coal and candy bars….

Berlin is under siege. More than two million civilians must be supplied by air or surrender to Stalin’s oppression.

USAF Captain J.B. Baronowsky and RAF Flight Lieutenant Kit Moran once risked their lives to drop high explosives on Berlin. They are about to deliver milk, flour and children’s shoes instead. Meanwhile, two women pilots are flying an air ambulance that carries malnourished and abandoned children to freedom in the West. Until General Winter deploys on the side of Russia….

Based on historical events, award-winning novelist Helena P. Schrader delivers an insightful, exciting and moving tale about how former enemies became friends in the face of Russian aggression — and how close the Berlin Airlift came to failing. 

WINNER OF BRONZE for 20th Century Historical Fiction from the Global Book Awards 2024 

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You know you’re winning when the enemy turns to dirty tricks ….

With the Airlift gaining momentum, the Russians turn to more devious tactics to thwart the forces of democracy. Key players — or their loved ones — are targeted in unscrupulous attacks. Simultaneously, the policy of “collective guilt” has been replaced by “collective amnesty,” enabling former Nazis to worm their way back into positions of power. Yet throughout this dangerous dance with the henchmen of dictators, women are steadily rebuilding Berlin and Germany.

Award-winning novelist Helena P. Schrader takes the reader away from the limelight and into the shadow side of the Berlin Airlift to explore the social, psychological and long-term impact of this seminal event.

Based on historical events, Cold Victory reminds readers that standing up to tyrants isn’t easy — but sometimes it is necessary.

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