Herpa US Air Force Douglas C-54 Skymaster “Raisin Bomber” – 44-9063 1/200 573177

Length: 14.3 cm

Material: Diecast

Brand: Herpa

From June 24, 1948 to May 12, 1949, the Soviet Union blocked all land and sea access routes to the western sectors of Berlin. This was intended to force the Western Allies to withdraw from Berlin, which the USSR claimed for itself. The United States, the United Kingdom and France then supplied the West Berlin population with food and coal by air. In the first two months of "Operation Vittles", almost exclusively C-47s were available in large quantities in Europe. From autumn 1948, they were quickly replaced by the much more powerful four-engine C-54. By January 1949, no fewer than 240 Douglas "Skymasters" were in use around the clock. The last flight of the airlift took off from the Rhein-Main Air Base on September 30, 1949. To mark the end of the airlift 75 years ago, this "raisin bomber" appears on a scale of 1:200, as it is exhibited today on the grounds of the former Rhein-Main Air Base, today's Frankfurt Airport. The C-54, completed in March 1945 with the military serial number 44-9063, is part of the memorial that commemorates this largest humanitarian aid operation by air to date and its victims.