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Russian dictator Joseph Stalin chose the night of June 23, 1948 to make good his threat to cut overland supply lines to West Berlin. He wanted
to vent his frustration at refusal by the western allied powers to accept
East Berlin as the capital of a communist puppet regime and at
introduction of the Deutsche Mark in West Berlin. For nearly one
year to come, the needs of West Berlin would be supplied by
airlift on a scale never seen before.
The U.S. played a central role in the airlift. Operation Vittles, a round-the-clock airborne shuttle from U.S. airbases outside Frankfurt at Rhein Main and nearby Wiesbaden, Germany, supplied food, fuel, and occasionally candy to the
beleaguered city and its children. Memories of the recent
World War gave way to a new, human partnership as the months wore on and it became apparent the inconceivable would work. This photographic retrospective is dedicated to those who were there and those who served.
Photographs and original captions made available through the
National Archives Records And Administration, The United States
Air Force, The United States Army, The Stars and Stripes, Herald Union,
(Ret) SMSGT William Sheehan, Mr. Grant Everly, Eva Kaiser.
Produced By
Michael A. Coleman
Site is over 140 pages.
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