RAF C-54 Skymaster

[renfrew]

The RAF had a handful of C-54s in 1945 and I remember seeing a photo of Churchill emerging from one.
Apart from VIP flights what were they used for?
Thanks,
Ken.

[Conc]

The RAF operated a total of 11 C-54s between June 1944 and July 1946. The first was used by Winston Churchill and the aircraft were operated by 24, 246 and 232 squadrons.

[ORAC]

1 x C-54B(43-17126), 1944-1945, personal transport for Winston Churchill. Assigned RAF s/n: EW999.
22 x C-54D, 1945, aircraft in service with the RAF. Assigned RAF s/n: KL977 to KL986 and KL988 to KL999.

Apart from the US Armed Forces, only the RAF had Skymasters in squadron service and this only during the last year of the war. The first in British service was EW999. Delivered in the autumn of 1944 the aircraft was operated by the VIP Flight of No.246 Squadron. Twenty-two C-54Ds were delivered to the RAF beginning in February 1945 and served with Nos.232 and 246 Squadrons, No.1332 Heavy Conversion Unit, No. 1 Ferry Unit, and Air Command, South East Asia.

Being Lend-Lease aircraft, these aircraft were returned to the United States at the end of the war. No further Skymasters were operated by the RAF.

[renfrew]

Thanks for above.Very little seems to have been published about their RAF service.
Do you know what routes or destinations they served.For example did they get as far as Australia or Japan?
Thanks.Ken.

[Conc]

At least one was used regularly between Ceylon and Australia according to my information.

[ORAC]

246 Sqn operated some between April-July 1945 for a service out to the far east, but then handed them on to 232 Sqn who used them for a Ceylon-Australia service terminating at Sydney, beginning in August 1945. The Skymasters were returned to the UK in February and March 1946 for return the USA, being replaced on the route by Lancastrians.

[renfrew]

Thanks CONC and ORAC.
Very little seems to have been published about Transport Command operations at the end of the war.They seem to have been using anything and everything to get reinforcements to India.I remember something about Stirlings going to Madras.
Also mentioned were Dakotas operating from Sydney in support of the Pacific Fleet and another service from San Diego to Sydney with Liberators?

[southender]

Does anyone know whether the RAF Skymasters were given names.

I have a photograph of a Skymaster taken at Cairo West in 1946 on the back of which the photographer has written "Arthos the Skymaster BOAC".

As I've not been able to establish that BOAC ever operated Skymasters I'm assuming this is an RAF aircraft (all other photos in the collection are military and taken at the same airfield, which leads me to believe this).

Unfortunately, I do not have the technical expertise to post the photo here but from the angle it is taken (front right quarter) the aircraft appears to be silver all over and devoid of any markings apart from a small circular logo (?squadron badge) below the cockpit window.

I don't think it is a Skyways aircraft as I believe their Skymasters were painted in house colours.

Any ideas would be appreciated.

Cheers

Southender

[Moose47]

Hi Renfrew

The R.A.F. Transport Command's Australian route route was as follows:

Montreal- San Francisco
San Francisco - Honolulu
Honolulu, - Canton
Canton - Fiji
Fiji - Auckland
Auckland - Sydney

The total route length was 11, 520 miles.