Berlin Airlift surviving aircraft

Thanks for responses – a little list so far. I am sure there must be more out there!

BERLIN AIRLIFT SURVIVORS

Avro York C.1 MW232 (511 Sqn) / G-ANTK (Dan-Air) Imperial War Museum, Duxford (on display)

Douglas C-47 KG768 / SAAF 6841 (28 Sqn) Wonderboom Airport, Pretoria South Africa (stored)

Douglas C-47 KN645 RAF Museum, Cosford (on display) *

Douglas C-54E / R5D-4 44-9144 / Bu 40414 (US Navy VR-3) / N500EJ Berlin Airlift Historic Foundation (airworthy) **

HP Hastings C.1 / T.5 TG503 Allied Museum, Berlin (on display)

HP Hastings C.1 TG511 (47 Sqn) RAF Museum, Cosford (on display)

HP Hastings C.1 TG517 (47 Sqn) Newark Air Museum (on display)

* included since it was there at the time, even if not actually involved with the Airlift itself
** included since it flew transatlantic flights between the USA and Germany in support of VR-6 and VR-8

This Dakota still survives in South Africa – a rare bird, being the ONLY SAAF aircraft to have taken part in the Airlift.

Douglas C-47A-30-DK Dakota construction number 13867/25312 was built as 43-48051 and taken on charge by the RAF as KG768 on 22 July 1944. It was taken on charge by the SAAF on 11 August 1944, becoming 6841.
Serving with 28 Squadron SAAF, it was flown to Germany and assigned to Maj Gen W.H. Evered Poole (head of South Africa’s Military Mission in Berlin at the time) as his personal aircraft.
It and its crew were placed at the disposal of the Combined Airlift Task Force when not required by Gen Poole. The logbook of the Captain of the aircraft at the time shows a number of flights between Lubeck, Gatow and other airfields – probably carrying Berliner citizens or Displaced Persons, almost certainly NOT coal!
It returned to South Africa with the second SAAF contingent in September1949
Dakota 6841 subsequently went to the Royal Rhodesian Air Force as RRAF703 in January 1964, was sold as VP-YZB and returned to the Rhodesian Air Force as R7303. It continued to serve with the Air Force of Zimbabwe until being withdrawn from service in February 1998 and placed in open air storage at Air Force Base Manyame. It was moved by road to Wonderboom Airport outside Pretoria in July/August 2017, where it remains in storage.

“Isn’t there a surviving airlift C54 or DC4 at North Weald?”

This one survives – with attempts now being made to get it back in the air.
https://www.savetheskymaster.org/
It saw service in three wars – and they plan to use it to commemorate the Airlift – but I’m not sure if it was actually involved itself.

It perhaps goes without saying that Hastings TG503, very fittingly on display in Berlin, is also an Airlift veteran,

Duxford’s York is a Berlin veteran from its RAF service. I would imagine pretty much every one of the preserved Hastings participated in the airlift?

Looking at the airframe history PDFs from the RAFM, Hastings TG511 probably did take part, all it says is: “08 Sep 48: To No 47 Squadron, coded ‘V’. Total flying hours still only 20.10. Hastings of this unit operated throughout the Berlin airlift (Operation Plainfare) which began in June 1948 up to the end of the operation in October 1949.”.

The York at the RAFM was employed by BOAC as G-AGNV flying African routes in 1948-9, and didn’t take part.

Dakota KN645 at the RAFM didn’t take part either, although it was in Germany as the VIP transport for the Military Governors of the British sector – I believe it still has the VIP interior…

I would imagine several C-47s are out there (some flying, some in museums, others abandoned)…their history unknown or uncared about. It might be worth someone asking museums to check their examples log books, or someone checking USAF and RAF historical records.

Likewise, most C-54s that were in USAF service (as opposed some that were still owned by the USAF but leased to civil firms, and of course excluding those given away or sold immediately post-war) at the time likely have an Airlift connection.

Did either of the preserved Avro Yorks, (Cosford or Duxford) take part in the Airlift?

Hastings TG517 at Newark served with 47 Squadron as a C.1 during ‘Operation Plainfare’ – the museum archive has TG517 Log Book entries to that effect.

When the aircraft arrived at Newark in 1977, I was one of the younger volunteers and I was often tasked with accessing the aircraft through the lower (under floor) access door in the rear fuselage. It was a regular occurrence that, much to my late mother’s annoyance, I got coal dust marks on my clothing. This was believed to have come from the dust still in the airframe inner structure from its coal carrying duties during the Airlift.

Isn’t there a surviving airlift C54 or DC4 at North Weald, one that wasn’t scrapped, or am I getting muddled?

I was told by a volunteer at Newark, that their Hastings was a veteran of the Berlin air lift; a fact I found all the more bizarre languishing outside as has been all these years.

This has the markings but not sure if its history includes the airlift? https://www.rafmuseum.org.uk/documents/collections/85-AF-75-Douglas-Dakota-IVKN645.pdf