The Berlin Airlift

2008 marked the 60th anniversary of the Berlin Airlift. When the Soviet Union tried to cut off and starve West Berlin, the United States and Great Britain countered with an airborne lifeline. A constant stream of cargo planes flew a virtual conveyor belt of supplies into the beleaguered city as determined air crews and tireless Americans in uniform delivered all the products and equipment vital to keep a city alive.

At the end of World War II, the former Allies of Great Britain, France, the United States and the Soviet Union divided Germany into four occupied zones. Berlin lay in the Soviet zone, but the other three countries controlled West Berlin. A long narrow corridor connected the city with the Western zones, but on June 12, 1948, Joseph Stalin decided to force out the democratic powers by shutting down the autobahn access and halting all river and rail traffic into the city.

The Western powers acted quickly. General Lucius D. Clay, the Commander of the Office of Military Government, United States and the Military Governor of Germany, defied Stalin’s blockade by flying cargo into the city. An armada of C–47s and C–54s took off from the Allied zones of Germany and headed into Berlin.

In the American zone, planes flew from airports in Rhein-Main and Wiesbaden bound for Tempelhof Air Drome in Berlin. Planes landed every three minutes, 24 hours a day, delivering coal, gasoline, milk, potatoes, flour and dried foods. To save time, crews stayed in their planes after landing. German girls brought meals to the cockpits and weathermen came onboard to brief pilots on conditions while the planes were unloaded. Turnaround time for planes averaged 30 minutes.

An Army engineer levels off a new runway at Tempelhof Air Base in Berlin as a C–54 Skymaster comes in for a landing.

The sky train to Berlin was no pleasure ride for the crews. They flew through fog, freezing rain, snow, turbulence and heavy clouds. At times Russian Yak fighters flew dangerously close. Out of 276,926 flights, there were 24 crashes and 48 deaths. To keep casualties down, the Western Allies pressed more airfields into service and built a new one in Berlin—in only three months. The Americans and British were not alone in their endeavor as Berliners helped build new landing strips and unload planes.

American pilots became heroes to the German people. One pilot, LT Gail S. Halvorsen, began dropping handkerchief parachutes of candy to the children of Berlin during his landings. His small act became a sensation. Americans began sending Halvorsen thousands of hand-knitted handkerchiefs, and candy companies sent him crates of sweets. Soon, all the pilots parachuted treats to the kids, earning them the title “Candy Bombers.”