The Berlin Airlift kinda gets lost in history sometimes, but it was one of the most monumental undertakings of all time. I forget the total length of time in was carried out, but every thing that the people of West Berlin ate, drank, and heated their homes or cooked with was flown in, in that seemingly endless parade of C-54 and C-47 cargo lifters. I have been fortunate to have known a couple of these pilots and the stories they told were amazing. The Russians were so set on trying to prevent the US from busting their blockade, that they provided the most narrow of flight paths that was the only route into and out of Berlin with strict altitude limitations. They didn't think that it would be physically possible for the US to successfully pull off the supply chain. They told me that airplanes on the route into Berlin were literally wing tip to wing tip with empty planes coming out, and the pilots had to be right on the top of their game to avoid any collisions. I don't think I have ever heard of any kind of incidents during the duration of the airlift. The flights were so closely scheduled that you could see planes in front of you going both ways that looked like stepping stones. Coal for heating and cooking was loaded by hand into the empty cargo departments and was unloaded by hand when on the ground in Berlin. The crews doing the unloading were so adept at the job, that there was no real need to even shut down their engines, but they usually did shut down the port engines just to eliminate the prop blast from blowing away even the smallest bits of coal dust. They knew it was imperative to get the airplane unloaded quickly and completely so it could return to it's base to be reloaded again. When they returned to base, the cargo departments were absolutely void of any evidence that there was ever any coal there! That's how desperate and needy the Berlin Families were for what was being flown in. I would wager a good bet that the handkerchiefs that were used as parachutes are still kept by some as a treasured reminder to many German families of how things were at that time. A very uplifting video, and I appreciate you posting it for us to enjoy at this time of year.
MERRY CHRISTMAS!!
Dan McEntee
Topic: This is the spirit of Christmas (Read 449 times)