The end of the Berlin Airlift on September 30, 1949 marked a stunning, early victory in the Cold War. The crisis grew out of a plan by the United States, Britain, and France a year earlier to create a stable currency for western Germany. The Soviets reacted angrily, wanting to control the country's post-war economy. They cut off power, rail, road and water access to West Berlin, which lay deep inside the Soviet zone. President Harry S Truman rejected his generals' advice to launch a military confrontation and instead worked with the air forces of allied nations to launch the largest humanitarian airborne operation in history. The Americans called the bold plan "Operation Vittles,” while the British dubbed it “Plainfare.” Over 15 months, more than 200,000 planes delivered about 2.3 million tons of supplies to the beleaguered city, which convinced the Soviets to end their blockade.
The Berlin Airlift 70 Years On
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Children sift through a slag heap outside a West Berlin factory for pieces of coal on August 27, 1948. The fuel flown in during the airlift was critical to keep factories and utilities operating.
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A German worker carries away the millionth sack of coal delivered to West Berlin on September 20, 1948. The tag on the sack reads "From Fassberg with Compliments," crediting the British zone airfield used as a base for what became known as "Flying Coal Carts."
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Children await candy bars dropped from a C-54 Skymaster on its approach to Tempelhof. Lt. Gail Halvorsen, known as the "Candy Bomber," dropped sweets with handkerchief parachutes to youngsters on his trips to Berlin.
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A vital link in the maintenance of RAF planes was "Operation Plumber," the name for the major servicing unit of the transport command at Honington in Great Britain. There, a fleet of six C-47s was kept busy flying aircraft parts from Germany for replacement. Here, a giant wheel for a York aircraft is trundled out.