Standard Pattern of Operations

Standardized takeoff operations ensured that aircraft arrived at three-minute intervals in Berlin and were able to complete three round trips per day. To do so, planners implemented a system where the larger C-54s launched first from Rhein-Main, followed by C-47s from other bases. In flight, a uniform callsign system identified the aircraft. Eastbound C-47s were called, “Easy,” and westbound C-47s were, “Willy,” The C-54s used the same format, but added the word, “Big” to it. For instance, an eastbound C-54 could be identified as, “Big Easy,” followed by its order of takeoff and the last three numbers of its serial number.