Editing Douglas C-54 Skymaster (section)

==Operational history==
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]]).<ref>[http://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_offices/ato/atct/ord/history/ "History of O'Hare Int'l Airport."] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110225165805/http://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_offices/ato/atct/ord/history/ |date=25 February 2011 }} ''FAA''. Retrieved: 1 May 2015.</ref>

[[File:C-54 landing at Tempelhof 1948.jpg|thumb|A C-54 landing at [[Tempelhof International Airport|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.<ref>Lavery 2007 {{page needed|date=May 2015}}</ref> 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 [[C-124 Globemaster II|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.<ref>[http://www.history.navy.mil/avh-1910/PART10.PDF "The Seventies 1970–1980."] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130513224531/http://www.history.navy.mil/avh-1910/PART10.PDF |date=2013-05-13 }} ''history.navy.mil''.  Retrieved: 15 May 2012.</ref>

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.<ref>Berry 1967, p. 7.</ref> 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.