FReeper Canteen ~ Berlin Airlift: Part 1 ~ December 3, 2012

Serving The Best Troops and Veterans In The World !! | StarCMC

[Kathy in Alaska]

Our Troops Rock!  Thank you for all you do!

For the freedom you enjoyed yesterday... Thank the Veterans who served in The United States Armed Forces.

Looking forward to tomorrow's freedom? Support The United States Armed Forces Today!

~ Hall of Heroes ~

The Berlin Airlift
Part 1:  The Beginning
All info and photos from this website.

           

For the next four weeks, on Mondays, the Hall of the Heroes threads will be about the Berlin Airlift and its heroes.  I hope the story inspires you like it does me!  Thank you to ConorMacNessa for the thread topic tip!

The Berlin Airlift

PRELUDE TO CONFLICT
At the end of WWII, a defeated Germany was divided amongst the victors, the United States, the Soviet Union, Great Britain, and France. The Soviet Union took control of the Eastern half of Germany, the Western half was divided amongst the US, Great Britain, and France. Like the rest of the country, the capital city of Berlin, sitting dead in the middle of the Soviet-controlled Eastern half, was also divided into four parts, one half being Soviet controlled, and the rest divided amongst the others. A four-power provisional government, called the Allied Control Council, was installed in Berlin.  This union of governments was to control and rebuild the city of Berlin.

 

By 1948, it became apparent that the Western Powers (Great Britain, France, and US) plan to rebuild Germany differed from the Soviet Union's plan. Currency, German Unification, Soviet War reparations, and mere ideology were among the many differences the two sides had. There would be no compromise. As a result, Stalin wanted them out of Berlin.  In early 1948, tensions between the once former Allies climaxed.  On April 9, 1948, Stalin ordered all American Military personnel maintaining communications equipment out of the Eastern Zone (Soviet controlled Berlin).  Trains were halted on June 1and June10.  On June 21, the Soviets halted a US Military Supply Train and refused it passage to Berlin.  On the 22nd, they placed armed guards aboard, attached a Soviet engine and hauled it back to Western Germany.  In a final move to spurn the Americans, British, and French out, on June 24, 1948, all land and water access to West Berlin was cut off by the Soviets.  There were to be no more supplies from the West.  What was going to happen?  Where were the necessary supplies going to come from for the Occupation Forces?  For that matter, where were the supplies for the 2,008,943 Berliners going to come from?  It was a grave situation.

General Lucius Clay                          Sir Brian Robertson                             General Curt LeMay                       Brig. General Joseph Smith

The Allies were certainly not going to stand for this. Diplomacy failed, Ground invasions were planned, and World War 3 was on the brink of existence.  US Military Commander Lucius Clay had developed a plan by which an armed convoy through Soviet Controlled Germany would break the blockade.  This action would certainly create a war.

A Douglas C-47, the military version of the DC-3.  It is capable of hauling 3.5 tons of cargo.

 

MEAGER BEGINNINGS 
 

However, British Commander Sir Brian Robertson offered an alternative: supply the city by air.  A daunting task.  Supplying the Occupation forces of 2,2679 was easy, but the entire population?  The only aircraft the Americans had available for the task were 5 year old Douglas C-47 Skytrains, which would only hold 3.5 tons each.  After some consultation, the decision was made: it was worth a try.  Earlier in April, US Forces airlifted in supplies to replace the ones being delayed by the Soviets.  This was what became known as the "Little Lift".  West Berlin had two airports, Tempelhof, which was Berlin's main airport and located in the American Sector, and Gatow, in the British Sector.  Supplies could be airlifted in by C-47 and there was nothing the Soviet Union could do about because, in 1945, someone had foresight.  On November 30, 1945, it was agreed, in writing, that there would be three 20-mile wide air corridors providing access to the city. These were unarguable. 

When the blockade began, the Soviets rejoiced, because they believed the Western powers had only one option, to leave Berlin.  But they underestimated the West airlift supplies.  Gen. Clay called upon General Curtis E. LeMay, commander of USAFE and asked him if he could haul supplies to Berlin.  LeMay responded, "We can haul anything".  Two days later Gen. LeMay called upon Brig. Gen. Joseph Smith, Commander of the Wiesbaden Military Post, and appointed him Task Force Commander of an airlift operation estimated to last a few weeks.  The only US aircraft initially available were 102 C-47's and 2 C-54 Skymasters.  On June 26, the first C-47's landed at Tempelhof Airfield, foreshadowing the great operation that was to come.  Smith dubbed the mission "Operation Vittles", because he said "We're haulin' grub."  The British called their part "Operation Plane Fare". 

It was determined that the city's daily food ration would be 646 tons of flour and wheat; 125 tons of cereal; 64 tons of fat; 109 tons of meat and fish; 180 tons of dehydrated potatoes; 180 tons of sugar; 11 tons of coffee; 19 tons of powdered milk; 5 tons of whole milk for children; 3 tons of fresh yeast for baking; 144 tons of dehydrated vegetables; 38 tons of salt; and 10 tons of cheese.  In total, 1,534 tons were needed daily to keep the over 2 million people alive.  That's not including other necessities, like coal and fuel.  In fact, the largest quantity of anything required was coal.  It wasn't needed to heat homes as much as it was necessary for industry.  In addition, there was limited electricity, because the city's power plant was located in the Soviet sector, so that was cut off, too.  It was determined that in total supplies, 3,475 tons would be needed daily.  A C-47 can haul 3.5 tons.  In order to supply the people of Berliners, C-47's would have to make 1000 flights each day.  Impossible. 

Initially, Gen. Clay determined that, with the limited number of airplanes available to him, he could haul about 300 tons of supplies a day, the British effort, was estimated to be capable of 750 tons a day.  This leaves a 2,425-ton deficit daily.  Realizing that this kind of tonnage could not be achieved using C-47's, Gen. Clay and Gen. LeMay made requests for more C-54's, for they could carry over three times more cargo than C-47's.  On June 27, an additional 52 Skymasters were ordered to Berlin.
 

A Douglas C-54 Skymaster.  It was capable of hauling 10 tons, almost
3 times as much cargo as its predecessor, the C-47.

 This particular C-54 called "Spirit of Freedom" ^TM, is currently operated
by the Foundation as a flying museum about the Airlift.

 

On June 28, President Truman made a statement that abandoning Berlin was out of the question.  He then ordered US B-29 Superfortresses to be stationed at British airfields to show the Soviets that the Western powers were not taking this lightly.  We would not abandon these people!

By July 1, C-54's were slowly taking over airlift flights, and they were operating 24 hours a day.  Rhein-Main Air Base in Frankfort was made exclusive C-54 base, and Wiesbaden was a mix of C-54's and C-47's.  To accommodate these two different aircraft, General smith established a block system, giving the bigger, faster C-54's priority.  They were also given radio codes to identify each type and the direction it was going.  C-47's going East to Berlin were called "Easy", returning C-47's traveling West, were called "Willie".  C-54's had the names 'Big Easy' and "Big Willie".  Aircraft were also given a spacing of three minutes apart. 

The size of the operation had to be increased in order to sufficiently supply this city and keep these people going.  It needed to be commanded by someone who had expertise in air transport.  That man came in the form of Maj. General William H. Tunner.  He was revered as "The transportation expert to end all transportation experts" by LeMay.  Tunner had previously established the Ferrying Command in WWII, and successfully organized and commanded the "Hump" operation into China near the end of the war.  His reputation was not falsely earned.  Tunner hated to see airplanes parked on the ramp not being utilized. This was a waste to him.  He longed for efficiency and was about to set the standard for all that followed.

....Continued next week.....
 

Please remember the Canteen is here to honor, support and entertain our troops and their families.  This is a politics-free zone!  Thanks for helping us in our mission!

[Kathy in Alaska]

Good evening, spel....and they all should be admired for the tough job they did, day in, day out.

[Mears]

Great topic. I remember it well.

I even told some of my grand kids the story,along with my own poorly sketched maps,but they got the picture.

Memories.

.

[darkwing104]

Good evening Kathy!

[spel_grammer_an_punct_polise]

Yes, and 24/7.

[luvie]

Only the American armed forces would give back to the enemy they just destroyed!

God love them! Thanks for sharing this, Galz!

[moose07]

Thanks Kathy,

He then ordered US B-29 Superfortresses to be stationed at British airfields

Another job for Google...Never knew that and have never heard it mentioned before either.
43rd bomb group to RAF Burtonwood.

[svcw]

Those early days of aviation were incredible, actually not much different than the first space travel.
I love your posts.
Thanks for keeping up with them.

[DeaconBenjamin]

My wife and I just finished watching the Big Lift. Interesting to see all the USAF personnel in the movie, as well as Berlin as it appeared in 1950.

[Kathy in Alaska]

I like those kinds of weekends.....no time schedule.

I just got back from a McDonalds run....my Dad came in with a bunch of bills and asked, “Can you get dinner for us”? The place he wanted is closed on Sundays, but he decided on “that new thing from McDonalds”. It took a while and a few question before we decided he wanted the CBO...cheddar, bacon, onions. When I got home with their dinner my Mom said he’s been talking about it for days. Now he’s happy.

[Kathy in Alaska]

Aloha and good afternoon, Hawaii...((HUGS))

Still having to do the sock bit? It is zero here and dropping.

Calls to your mainlanders going well? Are they cold?

[Kathy in Alaska]

Aloha and good afternoon, Hawaii...((HUGS))

Still having to do the sock bit? It is zero here and dropping.

Calls to your mainlanders going well? Are they cold?

[Kathy in Alaska]

Good morning, moose....

Burtonwood Airfield in 1945

The facility was transferred to the United States Army Air Forces in June 1942 to become a servicing centre for the United States Eighth, Ninth, Twelfth and Fifteenth Air Forces aircraft. Burtonwood was also known as Base Air Depot 1 (BAD 1), although an RAF presence continued until October 1943.

Burtonwood was the largest airfield in Europe during the war with the most USAAF personnel and aircraft maintenance facilities. The roar of the engines in the test beds could be heard for miles around, especially at night. By the end of the war 18,000 servicemen were stationed at Burtonwood. According to some sources Burtonwood was placed strategically so that it was out of range of Luftwaffe bombers, but this is not true as several Nazi raids were made on the facility. During their leave periods, American servicemen from Burtonwood virtually took over the centre of nearby Warrington.

With the end of hostilities, control of Burtonwood was returned to the RAF in June 1946 and became an equipment depot operated by No 276 Maintenance Unit.

In November 1946 six B-29 Superfortress bombers from the USAAF Strategic Air Command 43d Bombardment Group were sent to Burtonwood, and from there to various bases in West Germany as a "training deployment". In May 1947 additional B-29s were sent to Burtonwood to keep up the presence of a training programme. These deployments were only a cover-up, as the true aim of these B-29s was to have a strategic air force permanently stationed in Europe. The American presence continued with an echelon of United States Air Force personnel using the facility as a maintenance base for C-54 Skymasters used during the Berlin Airlift.

[Kathy in Alaska]

Good evening, Mears.....thanks for sharing your memories with your grand kids.

The more kids that learn our history the better.

[luvie]

Whooooo's ready for Monday, Night Owls?
Not THIS birdie, that's for sure!
Hope all of you have a GREAT week! :)
((((hugs))))

[Kathy in Alaska]

Good evening, Luv....The Berlin Airlift, a story that needs to be told again and again and again. Thanks to StarCMC for putting it together for us to relearn and admire.

Hope you had a great day.

[Kathy in Alaska]

All aviation pilots seem to be fearless....they things they did/do to advance aviation and space travel. Astounding!!!

It is our pleasure to honor our troops and veterans.

[moose07]

Morning Kathy,
Thanks for the Extra data.
Used to play on an old B17 airfield when on vacation as a kid in the New Forest, so was well aware of B17s, Liberators ,Thunderbolts etc.
This came as a bit of a surprise as i've never heard it mentioned, thought B29s were only used in the pacific theatre.
Will post some pictures i've taken of a large USAF museum we've got over here ,sometime.

It's been -4/5 C here for the last few nights, but tonight is +5.

[Kathy in Alaska]

I must confess...I am NOT ready for Monday. I have to repair, somehow, the pocket thingy in my coat. It seems to have ripped out and every time I get near the pocket, my fingers enlarge the hole. *sigh*

[Kathy in Alaska]

Good evening, Deacon....

The Big Lift is a 1950 drama film shot on location in the city of Berlin, Germany, that tells the story of "Operation Vittles", the 1948–1949 Berlin Airlift, through the experiences of two U.S. Air Force sergeants (played by Montgomery Clift and Paul Douglas).

The film was directed and written by George Seaton, and was released April 26, 1950, less than one year after the Soviet blockade of Berlin was lifted and airlift operations ceased. Because the film was shot in Berlin in 1949, as well as using newsreel footage of the actual airlift, it provides a contemporary glimpse of the post-war state of the city as it struggles to recover from the devastation wrought by World War II.

Part 3 of StarCMC's series is "Operation Little Vittles". It will be posted on December 16th.

[Kathy in Alaska]

Glad you’ve warmed up a bit. Right now we are in a really cold spell. It is -18C right now at my house and still dropping. I’m tired of it being this cold. d:o)

Hope you stay warmer. Looking forward to your pictures.

The next 3 weeks will be more about the Berlin Airlift.