The Berlin Air Lift/ Luftbrücke Chronology: July 1948

Figure 1.--The Western sectors of Berlin were deep in the Soviet occupation zone. Tempelhof as Berlin's only large airport in the Western sectors became the city's lifeline after the Soviets cut rail and road links (June 1948). Tempelhof by July was operating at a feaver pitch as the Allies began regularizing high frequency arrivals and departures. All the activity drew the interest of the city's children because Tepelhof was right in the middle of the city. And then American pilots began dropping candy to the crowds of children who had come to watch all the activity. German children because of the War and the following economic collapse had been deprived of candy. Few even knew what chocolate was. Note the apartment buildings in the background. That was one of the obstacles faced by the pilots, especially when winter weater and low-visability set in.

The Soviets announced that they would no longer participate in the Kommandatura, the joint occupation authority responsible for Berlin (July 1). Bringing in food by air was one matter, but for Berlin to survive it needed coal to fire the city power plants and for home fuel during the winter. Coal because of the quantities involved id carried by rail. The Soviet blockade meant very substantial quantiities of a heavy commodity would have to be air lifted into the city. The United States Air Force (USAF) delivered the first coal shipments on C-54s (July 7) The first coal shipment were lsanded at Gatow airport in the British sector. It and Tempelhof were the only two airports in West Berlin. Gatow was, however, a small facility with very limited facilities. Berlin was not an easy place to fly into and the level of trafiic escalated the problems. Even before the winter weather set in, the high aparments near the runways at Tempelhof were a problem. The first fatal crash occurred early on. A USAF C-47 crashed near Wiesbaden, killing all three American airmen aboard (July 8). It was clear from the start of the airlift that the air port facilities in West Berlin swould have to be expanded. Construction began on a new runway at Tempelhof (July 12). Construction is finished on a concrete runway at Gatow, sinificantly increasung the cargo handling capacity (July 17). The Allied pilots would have a brief respite while their planes were being unloaded. They were soon enchanted by the Berlin children who came to see the planes landing. Gail Halvorsen while chatting with some of the children noted what a hit the chewing gum he passed out was. In fact, German children at the time were starved from candy which had become very rare during the War. As a result of the difficult conditions following the War, few kids got candy. Many German children did not even know what chocolate was. Halvorsen promised to drop them more from his aircraft on his flight the followingday. He made parachusters out of handkerchiefs. Other plots did the same. Berlin children found the airlift interesting before, when candy started coming out of the planes, it became a sensation. The Soviets labeled it an evil Ameican plot. That was a tough sell even fopr Soviet propagandists when some of the candy parachusters began wafting over to East Berlin. Halvorsen named the candy effort "Operation Little Vittles". The children called him the Chocolate Uncle and Candy Bomber. General Clay flew to Washington to meet with President Truman (July 20). Major General William Tunner is appointed operational commander of the American airlift (July 23). Much of the airlift developed duing July as a series of make shift arrangements as the Air Force did its best to get pilots to Germany. Turner arrived in Berlin (July 28). He sets out to reguklarize the operation. He explains the airlift is going to to operate in "rhythm, on a beat as constant as a jungle drum". An American C-47 crashed into an apartment near the Tempelhof runway (July 25). two people die. The Soviets notice that the quantities being delivered were steadily rising. They threaten to fly into the three Allied air corridors (July 27).

Kommandatura (July 1)

The Soviets announced that they would no longer participate in the Kommandatura, the joint occupation authority responsible for Berlin (July 1). This was essentially the end of the serious attemp by the victorious World War II Allies to administer occupied Germany in a coordinated way.

Truman's Decesion

American officials at the beginning of July were still unsure how to respond to the Soviet move. There were many opinions about how to respond. This included both civilian amnd military officials. Air Force Chief of Staff, General Hoyt Vandenberg opposed sending additional planes to expand the airlift. He felt the two Berlin airports could not handle the expanded trafic required abnd disrupt military traffic. He insisted that that another large airfield was needed in the city. He was also concerned that in event of hostilities that loss of large numbers of cargo plane would severely weaken the Air Force's cargo capability. The decesion was of course up to President Truman. For Truman the basic question was how to maintain the American presence in Berlin without risking war? [Shlaim, p. 262.] Truman decided on a massive airlift. His conclusion was, "the airlift involves less risks than armed convoys." He ordered the U.S. Air Force provide the fullest support possible to solve the problem of supplying Berlin. The National Security Council (NSC)then formally stated America's determination to remain in Berlin. It approved the immediate construction of a new airfield in Berlin and ordered about 75 C-54s to Europe to expand the airlift. The NSC also recommended that a diplomatic approach be made to Stalin personally to resolve the crisis. [NSC Minutes]

The Coal Problem

Bringing in food by air was one matter, but for Berlin to survive it needed coal to fire the city power plants and for home fuel during the winter. Coal because of the quantities involved id carried by rail. The Soviet blockade meant very substantial quantiities of a heavy commodity would have to be air lifted into the city. The United States Air Force (USAF) delivered the first coal shipments on C-54s (July 7) The first coal shipment were lsanded at Gatow airport in the British sector.

Expanding the Airports (July 12)

Tempelhof and Gatow were the only two airports in West Berlin. Gatow was, however, a small facility with very limited facilities. Berlin was not an easy place to fly into and the level of trafiic escalated the problems. Even before the winter weather set in, the high aparments near the runways at Tempelhof were a problem. The first fatal crash occurred early on. A USAF C-47 crashed near Wiesbaden, killing all three American airmen aboard (July 8). It was clear from the start of the airlift that the air port facilities in West Berlin swould have to be expanded. Construction began on a new runway at Tempelhof (July 12). Construction was finished on a concrete runway at Gatow, sinificantly increasung the cargo handling capacity (July 17).

Berlin Children

The Allied pilots had a brief respite while their planes were being unloaded. They would walk over to the fences and banter with the groups of children who had come to see the planes. There was an instant chemistry. The pilots were soon enchanted by the Berlin children and the children by the pilots. The pilots did not speak German. Some of the children tested out their English that they were learning in school.

The Candy Bomber

Gail Halvorsen while chatting with some of the children noted what a hit the chewing gum he passed out was. In fact, German children at the time were starved from candy which had become very rare during the War. As a result of the difficult conditions following the War, few kids got candy. Many German children did not even know what chocolate was. Halvorsen promised to drop them more from his aircraft on his flight the following day. He made parachusters out of handkerchiefs. Other plots loved the idea and started doing tghe same thing. Berlin children found the airlift in themselves interesting. When candy started coming out of the planes, it became a sensation. Even more children started coming to the airport. The Soviets labeled the candy an evil Ameican plot. That was a tough sell even for Soviet propagandists, especually when some of the candy parachusters began wafting over to East Berlin. East German children felt deprived. Halvorsen named the candy effort "Operation Little Vittles". The Bedrlin children started calling him the Chocolate Uncle and the Candy Bomber.

Organizing the Air Lift (July 28)

General Clay flew to Washington to meet with President Truman (July 20). Major General William Tunner was appointed operational commander of the American airlift (July 23). Much of the airlift developed duing July as a series of make shift arrangements as the Air Force did its best to get pilots to Germany. Turner arrived in Berlin (July 28). He set out to regularize the operation. He explained the airlift is going to to operate in "rhythm, on a beat as constant as a jungle drum". It was not going to be an easy matter. An American C-47 crashed into an apartment near the Tempelhof runway (July 25). Two people died.

Soviet Response

The Soviets assumed that West Berlin could not be supplied by air and America would have to pull out. They begin to notice that the quantities being delivered were steadily rising and rising to fairly substantial levels. This is not what they had expedcted. Soviet spokesmen threaten to fly into the three Allied air corridors (July 27).

Sources

National Security Council Minutes (July 22, 1948).

Shlaim, Avi. The United States and the Berlin Blockade, 1948-1949 (Berkeley, California, Unviersity of California Press, 1983)

Created: 9:17 PM 1/5/2011
Last updated: 9:17 PM 1/5/2011