The Journey of Flight.pdf - Valkyrie Cadet

The The The The The Berlin Berlin Berlin Berlin Berlin Airlif Airlif Airlifttttt Airlif Airlif
The peace treaty ending World War II divided Berlin into four sectors, each controlled by one of
the Allied Nations (United States, Britain, France and the Soviet Union). Additionally, Germany was
divided into two parts – West Germany, controlled by Britain, France and the United States; and East
Germany, controlled by the Soviet Union.
In June 1948, the Soviet Union decided to test the will of the other three Allied Nations by initiating
the Berlin blockade. The blockade prevented any surface transportation into or out of Berlin.
Berlin was located in East Germany. This meant that all supplies for the sectors of Berlin controlled
by Britain, France, and the United States had to travel through East Germany, which was controlled by
the Soviet Union.
The Soviet Union decided to block the supplies going into Berlin so that the Allies would leave
Berlin. Russia wanted to take over all of Berlin, and unless the blockade could be broken, the strategy
would work. The answer to the
blockade was the Berlin Airlift. Air
power would be used to fly over the
roadblocks and into the city of Berlin.
This was a massive undertaking.
It was estimated that Berlin required
4,500 tons of supplies a day just to survive.
Not only were there not be
enough aircraft, but also the effort had
to overcome the poor weather and
other problems. At the start, there were
only 105 C-47 aircraft for the effort.
Each C-47 was capable of carrying
three and one-half tons of cargo. There
The The “Cold “Cold W WWar
W ar ar” ar ” Heats Heats Up
Up
The C-54 was the most widely used transport during the Berlin Airlift.
were also 54 C-54 aircraft that were able to carry 10 tons of cargo.
Within five months, the effort had grown to 319 C-54 aircraft (the C-47s had been phased out) and
150 British planes of various sizes. During the winter, the problem got worse. The airlift now had to
include heating fuel (mostly coal) as well as other cold weather supplies. Amazingly, the Berliners
made it through the winter with the supplies.
By April 1949, life was a little better as the airlift had grown to the point that 12,940 tons were
delivered by 1,398 flights in one day. This record-setting effort was nearly three times what was estimated
for Berlin’s daily survival. The Berlin Airlift had clearly come a long way.
In May 1949, almost 1 year after they began, the Russians conceded that they could not isolate
Berlin. They lifted the blockade. With great effort, the United States and herAllies had supplied a city
for almost an entire year. In all, 1,750,000 tons of supplies were carried in the world’s greatest
demonstration of carrying cargo by air. Air Power, once again, had won a big victory.
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