No. 47 Squadron RAF Army support role. The Squadron moved to RAF Disforth in September 1948, where it became the first RAF Squadron to receive the Handley Page Hastings four-engined transport. The conversion process was rushed as the aircraft were needed to support the Berlin Airlift, with the Squadron moving to Schleswigland, near Kiel in West Germany on 1 November 1948. The aircraft was mainly used to carry coal, carrying out 3,000 trips to Berlin and carrying 22,000 tons of supplies. When the blockade ended the Squadron returned to the United Kingdom, moving to RAF Topcliffe on 22 August 1949, operating in support of
Operation Avak landed at the new Ruhama Airfield at 18:00 on August 23, and carried essential supplies for maintaining the field and assisting later aircraft. It raised a lot of dust (, "Avak"), coining a name for the operation and the landing strip (hence named Avak 1). During the following days, the airfield was fitted with an electric generator and the runway lit with electric lights. On the first day, 29 tons of supplies were brought to the Negev. While only 14–15 tons were planned to be transported per day, the air force proved capable of increasing the capacity to 75 by