BERLIN AIRLIFT: The World's Largest Ever Supply Operation

Following World War II, Stalin's Iron Curtain quickly descended, leaving only West Berlin as a democratic island within Communist eastern Europe. In 1948 Stalin blockaded all the land routes which brought in supplies. The Allied powers, now under new management as Roosevelt had died and Attlee had succeeded Churchill, decided at all costs to keep West Berlin supplied with necessities. The American General Clay was all for going overland with tanks, but it was clear that the Russians could halt any expedition by blowing up bridges and making the land route impassable. The solution was the Berlin airlift which lasted almost a year before Stalin admitted defeat. This photographic record of the airlift is accompanied by a detailed commentary on the progress of the operation. Starting with photos of the end of the war, with Russian soldiers raising their flag on the Reichstag and Americans in Grosser Stern, the situation changes quickly with a photo of static railway wagons at the border post of Helmstedt-Marienborn. By 28 June the tiny fighter station of Wunstorf became a major headquarters as eight Dakota squadrons arrived with full personnel. In November the Handley Page four-engine troop carrier, the largest built for the RAF, was brought into service, and meanwhile the propaganda war was being fought with posters such as the spectacular art deco design of "Coal to Berlin". A picture of an old woman scavenging for scraps of fuel indicates the hardship experienced by the Berliners. Finally, back in Helmstedt-Marienborn on 12 May 1949, the Russians are seen preparing to open the crossing. 184pp, softback, photos on most pages.