This book is a classic in the annals of air power history. William Tunner was a master of airlift operations at a time when the airplane itself was transitioning from the pre-modern into the modern era. His work encompassed airlift operations form the era of the Douglas C-47 and C-54, both of which launched major technological revolutions that dramatically affected subsequent aviation, through the gestation stage of the modern jet airlifter. Today, the C-17 Globemaster III airlifters that respond to America's needs for prompt and decisive airlift to the crisis points around the globe fly in the wake of the airman of the Military Air Transport Service and its predecessors that met the challenges of the Second World War and defeated Soviet intransigence during the Berlin blockade of 1948-1949. That history offers both lessons and confidence to decision-makers and, in particular, to the men and women of the United States Air Force today as they project power, influence, and presence around the globe.