At the time, there was only one U.S. Air Forces in Europe (USAFE) tactical air unit available in Europe, the 86th Composite Group at Neubiberg Air Base near Munich, flying P-47Ds. TAC was called upon to send additional units and aircraft to Europe to reinforce the 86 FG. The 36th Fighter Group, flying Lockheed F-80B "Shooting Stars," was transferred from Howard AFB in the Panama Canal Zone to Fürstenfeldbruck Air Base near Munich. In addition to tactical fighter aircraft, TAC also deployed available C-47 Skytrain transports to Europe, transferring them to USAFE, which was in control of the airlift. As the airlift continued, TAC also transferred available C-54 Skymaster transports to Europe, where they were assigned to the troop carrier groups that had been sent to Germany for the airlift.