1947 – 1957
Coming of age…
The C-54 Skymaster, first of the four-engine airfreighters, airlifted 20,000 pounds of cargo, flew 210 miles per hour, and had a range of 2,000 miles. In 1946, Tigers bid for and won a contract to supply the American Occupation forces in Japan. Thus began the largest, longest airlift ever flown by a private contractor. Through 1947, forty-two C-54s flew an eight-flight-per-day schedule between the United States, Hawaii and Tokyo, Japan. The Tigers flew the supply contract for almost a year, proving for all time that the airline was capable of providing a major airfreight operation over a sustained period of time. Upon completion of this airlift, the C-54 continued on as the backbone of the Tigers’ domestic and international commercial operations.