The name Globemaster has been used for three USAF transport aircraft. Bob Archer looks back at the lesser-known first Globemaster, which had a short air force career and a colourful civilian afterlife.
Airlift in the 21st century is an everyday feature of military life, performed by transport aircraft such as the Boeing C-17 Globemaster III, routinely crossing the Atlantic Ocean non-stop. Seventy-five years ago, US intercontinental airlift was carried out by aircraft such as the Douglas C-54 Skymaster and to a lesser degree the C-47 Skytrain, both requiring multiple refuelling stops en route.
In World War Two the US was faced with several combat zones each requiring a massive resupply effort. In Europe and North Africa there were widespread battlefronts, while across the Pacific Ocean a totally different form of warfare unfolded, involving island-hopping. Much of the wartime cargo departing from the United States was carried by ship, which apart from being a lengthy delivery process, was also vulnerable to the prowling menace of enemy submarines. The need for a long-range airlifter to speed urgent supplies to these combat theatres soon became apparent.
The requirement was for a combination of intercon…
