This Day In Military History

June 24, 1948: Soviets blockade West Berlin

One of the most dramatic standoffs in the history of the Cold War begins.

On June 24, Soviet forces blocked the roads and railroad lines into West Berlin. American officials were furious, and some in the administration of President Harry S. Truman argued that the time for diplomacy with the Soviets was over. For a few tense days, the world waited to see whether the United States and Soviet Union would come to blows. In West Berlin, panic began to set in as its population worried about shortages of food, water, and medical aid. The United States response came just two days after the Soviets began their blockade. A massive airlift of supplies into West Berlin was undertaken in what was to become one of the greatest logistical efforts in history.

At the height of the Berlin Airlift, two groups of aircraft flew in four-hour blocks around the clock. While one group of aircraft was loaded and serviced, the other group was in the air. On the 264-mile route, 32 aircraft were in the air simultaneously. In the photo, activity supports a plane taking off and landing every 90 seconds in Berlin.

In April 16, 1949, CALTF mounts a maximum effort known as the "Easter Parade": 1,398 sorties (one landing in Berlin every minute), 12,940 short tons delivered.

Then as now, American servicemen connected with local children. Between the years of 1948 and 1949 Berlin Airlift pilot Lt. Gail Halvorsen was so struck with the friendliness and excitement of the Berlin children that he wanted to do something special for them and to spread a little cheer to their beleaguered times in Berlin during the blockade.
Lt. Halvorsen decided to start his own operation and named it "Operation Little Vittles" He practically bought out all the candy available where he was based and out of strips of cloth created miniature parachutes and attached the candy to them. At the beginning, Lt. Halvorsons buddies gave up their rations of candy and gum and also their handkerchiefs to help the cause.

The American Confectioners Association asked Lt. Halvorsen how much candy and gum he could use. They sent tons of candy and gum to Westover AFB for processing. 22 schools in Chicopee Massachusetts converted an old fire station into a Little Vittles headquarters. They made parachutes, tied on candy or gum and sent the finished product to Lt. Halvorsen at Rhine Main AFB. When the supplies came on line at Rhine Main all of Lt. Halversons squadron and others helped drop the candy and gum. They then air dropped the candy over the city of Berlin (including East Berlin until the Russians told them to stop ) to the eagerly waiting children. By January of 1949 Lt. Halvorsen (aka Uncle Wiggly Wings...so now we know the origin of the Chief Wiggles handle) had air dropped more than 250,000 parachutes loaded with candy on the city of Berlin bringing a little joy to the nearly 100,000 children of Berlin during the Russian blockade.

[Note: On 19 June 2001 a new generation aircraft 25,000 pound aircraft loader was delivered and accepted at Dover AFB and christened the "Halvorsen Loader", currently, 50 Halvorsen loaders are in use in Iraq.]

For the Soviets, the escapade quickly became a diplomatic embarrassment. Russia looked like an international bully that was trying to starve men, women, and children into submission. And the successful American airlift merely served to accentuate the technological superiority of the United States over the Soviet Union. The blockade turned out to be a terrible diplomatic move by the Soviets, while the United States emerged from the confrontation with renewed purpose and confidence.

On May 12, 1949, the Soviets officially ended the blockade.

Germany and Japan were indeed lucky in their conquerers, just as Iraq and and Afghanistan are today. Lefty naysayers and sceptics might ask themselves what the world would look like today had the French and Soviets been the predominant occupying force in 1945.

Posted by feste at June 24, 2004 01:40 AM | TrackBack