During the Cold War, the Soviet Union blocked supply routes to West Berlin. The Western Allies responded with the Berlin Airlift, delivering over two million tons of supplies by air for 15 months. The blockade ended in 1949 with an agreement on open transportation lines.
The Berlin Airlift was an ingenious solution to a very serious supply problem during the Cold War. After World War II, Germany was divided into several administrative districts by the French, British, Americans and Russians. The western half of the nation was administered by the Allies and the eastern half by the Russians. The city of Berlin was located in East Germany. However, Berlin was of such strategic importance that even the city itself was divided into sectors.
The Western Allies and Russia had different ideas on how to rebuild Germany. These differences have often led to tensions between them. In early 1948, the Russians decided to attempt to smother the Western nations out of Berlin by cutting off their access to supplies. They started by closing the roads around Berlin and then refused to allow supply trains through East Germany to reach Berlin. West Berlin’s civilian and military occupants were faced with a severe supply shortfall.
Several solutions to the problem have been proposed, including forced entry into Berlin. However, there were fears that this could spark a war with Russia, and the idea of the Berlin Airlift was born. The Berlin Airlift was proposed by British Commander Sir Brian Robertson. Known as Operation Plainfare to the British and Operation Vittles to the Americans, the Berlin Airlift was a massive cooperative effort between several nations. During the period of the blockade, the Berlin Airlift airlifted over two million tons of food and supplies.
At first, the Berlin Airlift did not look like a success. None of the cooperating nations had enough aircraft to meet West Berlin’s supply needs. They were also short on manpower. Flying to Berlin was very dangerous, as the available flight routes were limited. Once the pilots reached Berlin, they landed at one of three airports: Gatow, Tegel or Tempelhof. Western nations thought the blockade would only last a few weeks, but ultimately West Berlin was served for 15 months by the Berlin Airlift.
West Berlin required 1,534 tons of supplies per day so that citizens could cook, eat and heat their homes. At the height of the Berlin Airlift, British and American pilots landed planes in Berlin every three minutes, 2 hours a day. While the first few weeks of the Berlin Airlift were difficult, pilots and commanders got used to the pace and were able to make reliable deliveries to the people of West Berlin. Additional aircraft were added to ease the load, and numerous pilots volunteered to help.
The Berlin Airlift ended in 1949 when an agreement on open transportation lines was reached between the four occupying nations. The Russian blockade had failed in the face of enormous cooperation and creativity from Western powers, but it served as a warning for other events yet to come. A memorial at Tempelhof Airport commemorates the 54 Allied airmen who lost their lives during the Berlin Airlift.
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