USAF C-54 flies in to Berlin's Templehof airport
In 1948, Joseph Stalin ordered the closing of access by land to West Berlin, which was part of a 4 power occupation zone.
The Lancastrian - conversion of the RAF Lancaster bomber from WW2
The response from the Allied powers - Britain and America was to fly in supplies by air to keep Berlin alive and functional.
The early days saw Lancaster bombers converted to civilian use called Lancastrians, along with C47 Dakota transports, start the process of supplying Berlin. Former German service personnel and civilian labour unloaded each aircraft in around ten minutes.
It is somewhat ironic that many of the volunteer civilian pilots who flew in the Berlin airlift had been RAF pilots some of whom had been bombing Berlin three years earlier.
C-54 Skymaster being refulled from a GMC 353 6x6 tanker
The USAF then brought in the C54 to increase the capacity for each trip. Throughout the transport campaign, Russian aircraft harassed the allied flights but stopped short of a formal attack, which would likely have led to another war starting.
A number of aircraft crashed on the hazardous flights
The flights were not without incident and aircraft were lost to accidents.
A memorial stands to the people who helped save Berlin
The medal for Humane action given for airlift particpants
The pilot who started the candy drops
The young people often gathered under the flight paths of the aircraft and one of the pilots decided to make up small parachutes which had chocolate bars or sweets as their payload, on one flight they let them go as they made their descent into Templehof airport and a legend was born.
This single bit of public relations which was from an unauthorised act of goodwill, was in public relations terms gold. Once the media had hold of the story, it was all over the world.
Stalin had lost the authority to continue and the gates were opened to admit land access to West Berlin.
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