Short Sunderland
Shorts brothers of Belfast had produced a classic line of pre-war aircraft that culminated in the C-class flying boats for the Imperial Airways 'Empire' routes. The Sunderland was the military development. It was tough, reliable and could turn its hand to almost any maritime task from convoy patrol to Air-Sea rescue. The reason the Sunderland was used on the airlift was due to SALT.
To keep people healthy salt is required, however it is very corrosive even to aluminum aircraft. Conventional aircraft have control runs that pass under the cargo floor where they can be affected by spills. Because the Sunderland was designed to operate on the open seas it had been given special anti corrosion treatment and their flight controls were routed above the cargo areas. Two squadrons operated on the Airlift, 201 and 230 with the 235 OCU from Finkenwerder, on the Elbe, west of Hamburg. They flew 5th July to the 15th December 1948 when ice forming on the Havel See, in Berlin, near RAF Gatow, brought operations to an end.
For North American readers
During the war the Sunderland was known as 'The flying porcupine' on account of its armament and was much feared by U-boat crews..
Over 50 U-boats and the Italian equivalents failed to return after a 'Sunderland' encounter. It was a Royal Australian Air force Sunderland of 461 Squadron that sank the U571, despite what Hollywood would have you believe! Don't even get me started on the one about the capture of an Enigma machine from a U-boat.......!