Revell – 05652 – C-54D 75th Anniversary Berliner Luftbrücke Airlift

Description:

Unassembled plastic model kit in 1/72 scale of a U.S. Douglas C-54 Skymaster transport aircraft introduced in 1942 and widely used during WWII and Korean War, remaining in service till the 70s.

The Berlin Blockade, spanning from 24 June 1948 to 12 May 1949, marked one of the initial major international crises of the Cold War. In the context of the multinational occupation of post–World War II Germany, the Soviet Union impeded Western Allies’ access to Berlin’s sectors under their control by blocking railway, road, and canal routes. The Soviets proposed lifting the blockade if the Western Allies withdrew the newly introduced Deutsche Mark from West Berlin.

Responding to the challenge, the Western Allies orchestrated the Berlin Airlift (German: Berliner Luftbrücke) from 26 June 1948 to 30 September 1949. This monumental effort aimed to transport essential supplies to the people of West Berlin, confronting the logistical complexities of the city’s size and population. Over 250,000 flights by American and British air forces delivered necessities like fuel and food, surpassing the original daily target of 3,475 tons to often reach a peak of 12,941 tons by the spring of 1949. Notably, Operation Little Vittles ran concurrently, wherein candy-dropping aircraft, affectionately called “raisin bombers,” fostered goodwill among German children.

Is not the first time that Revell commemorates the anniversary of the Berlin Airlift using their C-54D Skymaster kit tooled in 2015 (see also Revell – 03910 – C-54D Berlin Airlift “70th Anniversary”), in this case, the brand choose the “gift set” format including paints, brush and glue in the box, as well as extra cargo boxes made of wood, which to our eyes, add very little value, though the kit itself is an excellent kit.