USAAF - United States Army Air Forces
Scale 1-100 model
Douglas DC-3 / C-47A Skytrain
Registration: 42-93087 - United States - Air Force (MSN 12960)
 
Deflected transparent display stand - White box - Propellers - Wheels
 
Aircraft type: Douglas C-47 Skytrain - DC-3 Dakota
Aircraft name: Clarence
Camel Caravan to Berlin
 
USAAF Douglas C-47A Skytrain
86th Fighter Wing
Neubiberg Air Base
Berlin Airlift 1948-1949
 
86th Transport Squadron - “Camel Caravan to Berlin” - 1948
(525th Fighter Transport Squadron)
 
70th Anniversary Edition (2018)
 
The Douglas DC-3 (DC – Douglas Commercial) is considered by many as the aircraft that revolutionized commercial air travel in the 20th Century. The maiden flight of the DC-3 took place on December 17, 1935, the 32nd anniversary of the Wright Brother’s historic flight at Kitty Hawk. Now airlines were able to be profitable without depending on U.S. Mail subsidies and passengers could now fly transcontinental with just one re-fueling stop. There are many DC-3s still flying 75 years after their maiden flights.
 
During the Berlin Airlift that lasted from June 24, 1948 until May 12, 1949 the 86th Fighter Group had chosen a camel as its mascot and flew one in from Libya that they named Clarence. In October 1948 a C-47A with Clarence aboard and designated “Camel Caravan To Berlin” left Neubiberg AB laden with thousands of pounds of candy, games and toys as a good will gesture for the children of Berlin that were caught in the Soviet imposed blockade of the city.
 
Picture Camel:
Wiesbaden, Germany, October 21, 1948: Clarence the Camel stands in a C-47 aircraft amid some 5,000 pounds of food, candy, books, games and toys on the way to Berlin for distribution to children of the blockaded city during the Berlin Airlift. Clarence — mascot of the pilots of the 86th Fighter Group at Neubiberg Air Force Base — was flown in from Tripoli, Libya, for a tour of the U.S. zone of Germany after the ""camel caravan"" stop in Berlin.
 
During the Berlin Airlift, the United States Air Force 86th Tactical Fighter Wing at Neubiberg air base in West Germany operated a C- 47 Skytrain support aircraft. On 22nd October 1948, as a gift for the children of Berlin, the C-47 was used to fly 7,000lb (3175kg) of Candy, along with a baby Camel called 'Clarence' into Tempelhof airport in the US sector of Berlin. The camel was the mascot of the 525th Fighter Squadron based at Neubiberg and had been bought by a member of the squadron in Tripoli for $50 and shipped to Germany in the bomb bay of a B-26 Invader bomber. When Berlin was besieged the base personnel decided to present both it and the candy to the children as a gesture of goodwill for Christmas.
 
Douglas C-47 Skytrain:
Designed to meet an American Airlines requirement for an enlarged version of the DC-2, the DC-3 was first flown on December 17th, 1935. Capable of carrying 24 passengers at a cruising speed of 180 mph, the DC-3's speed and long range revolutionized commercial air travel in the 1930s and 40s, when it carried 90 percent of the world's air travelers. Early DC-3s used Wright R-1820 Cyclone engines, but Pratt & Whitney R-1830 Twin Wasp Radials were fitted to later versions; these engines had better single engine performance and allowed the DC-3 to fly at higher altitudes.
 
Brand: PPC
Colors: Black - Blue - Camel - Grey - Red - Silver - Transparent - White
Material: Synthetic
Condition: New
Dimensions (cm): Box: 5 x 8 x 28,5
Weight (g): 160