The Air Force Can Deliver Anything, a History of the Berlin Airlift, 1948-1949
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"THE AIR FORCE CAN DELIVER ANYTHING" A History of the Berlin Airlift Daniel F. Harrington FOREWORD The Berlin Airlift continues to inspire young and old as one of the greatest events in aviation history, but it was more than just an impressive operational feat. It was an unmistakable demonstration of the resolve of the free nations of the West and the newly independent United States Air Force to ensure freedom's future for the people of Berlin and all of us. That the first wielding of the military instrument in the post-WWII period was a humanitarian effort of historical proportions affrrmed the moral authority of men and women of good will. On the sixtieth anniversary of the Airlift, United States Air Forces in Europe (USAFE) rededicates this superb study as a tribute to the men and women whose efforts kept a city, a country and a continent free. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Although only one name appears on the title page, many people made this study possible. I alone bear responsibility for its shortcomings; their efforts account for its merits. While I'll thank most of them in the conventional alphabetical order, I want to pay tribute to a special few first. They are the official historians who collected the documents, interviewed participants, and wrote the initial studies on which I've relied so heavily. My debts to them are immense, as a casual scanning of the footnotes will show, so it's fitting to list their names first: Ruth Boehner, Elizabeth S. Lay, Cecil L. Reynolds, William F. Sprague, Cornelius D. Sullivan, and Herbert Whiting. My debts to my contemporaries are equally great, especially to the other members of the USAFE history office. All of them gave unstintingly of their time to make this a better product. Bob Beggs and Ellery Wallwork read the drafts with the critical eyes of the top-notch professional historians they are. They made innumerable valuable suggestions and pinpointed many flaws. I'm also indebted to the USAFE Command Historian, Dr. Thomas S. Snyder, for giving me the opportunity to work on this study, for his critiques, and for all the support and encouragement he's given me. I especially appreciate the care he devoted to preparing the index. Our deputy command historian, Lois Walker, did an enormous amount of truly outstanding work turning a pile of paper into a real history. She designed the covers, scanned the illustrations and integrated them into the text, and put up with a stream of last-minute changes. Lois also caught errors and had many good ideas that improved the text, the appendices, and the other supporting material. She handled all aspects of getting the study published, from obtaining the funds to securing foreign disclosure review and working with graphics and the printer. I deeply appreciate her hard work, talent, patience, and professionalism. Many people outside the USAFE history office made valuable contributions. Sebastian Cox and his staff at the RAF Air Historical Branch were gracious hosts when I spent two weeks in London working through RAF records on Plainfare, and they have clarified many points for me since. Over the years George Cully has sent me a steady stream of citations and copies of Berlin material he came across in his own wide-ranging work in aviation history, including treasured copies of the booklet Dudley Barker wrote for the British Air Ministry in 1949 and the April 1949 special issue of Aviation Operations. Mike Dugre has responded patiently to a barrage of requests for ')ust one more" trip down the street to the Air Force Historical Research Agency to check one item or another. Ronald M. A. Hirst of Wiesbaden and Jim V Howard of the Agency staff helped immensely by providing accurate information on casualties. Betty Kennedy of the Air Mobility Command history office provided information on organizational issues and was a constant source of good ideas, advice, and suggestions. One of the greatest pleasures of working on this project was to share information, research leads, and ideas with Roger Miller of the Air Force Historical Support Office. Roger and I were graduate students together, and he's been working on a study of the airlift at the same time I've been writing this one. He helped me tremendously, sending me material I could not find in Germany, raising questions I had not thought of, and making me think more clearly about many issues. I'm sure I gained more from him than he gained from me. Last but not least, Al Moyers of the history office at the Air Force Communications Agency provided some of the photographs used here. There are others who deserve special thanks. I'm deeply grateful to John H. "Jake" Schuffert for permission to reprint a few of his classic cartoons from the Task Force Times and bring some life to these pages. I owe a large debt of gratitude to Lt Gen William J. Begert and the USAFE Command Section for their support in publishing this study. And last, those who are first in my thoughts and in my heart. I'm immensely grateful to my family, Sylvia, Beth, and Laura, for their love, support, and encouragement. D.F.H. Ramstein, Germany March 1998 I have made minimal changes for this new edition, correcting errors in the narrative and appendices. I have also updated the reading list. D.F.H. Langley AFB, VA January 2008 VI TABLE OF CONTENTS Foreword .......................................................................................................................... iii Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................... v Table of Contents ............................................................................................................ vii List of Illustrations ......................................................................................................... viii Glossary ........................................................................................................................... ix Introduction ....................................................................................................................... 1 Chapter 1: Origins of the Blockade ................................................................................. 3 Chapter 2: The Air Forces Respond............................................................................... 15 Chapter 3: "I Expect You to Produce" ........................................................................... 43 Chapter 4: General Tunner vs. General Winter ............................................................. 71 Chapter 5: Winged Victory ............................................................................................ 87 Epilogue: The Legacy of the Berlin Airlift .................................................................. 103 Appendix 1: Berlin Airlift Summary ........................................................................... 109 Appendix 2: Berlin Airlift Fatalities ............................................................................ 111 For Further Reading ...................................................................................................... 115 Index ............................................................................................................................. 117 vii LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Map, Germany during the Berlin Blockade ...................................................................... 2 Map, Occupied Berlin ....................................................................................................... 7 Photograph, Wiesbaden Air Base, 1946 ......................................................................... 19 Photograph, Rhein-Main Air Base, ca. 1948 .................................................................. 19 Photograph, C-47 s at Tempelhof.................................................................................... 21 Photograph, C-54s at Tempelhof .................................................................................... 23 Photograph, Yorks at Gatow ........................................................................................... 24 Photograph, Sunderland Flying Boat in Havelsee .......................................................... 24 Photograph, C-47s at Tempelhof .................................................................................... 26 Cartoon, Rhein-Mud ....................................................................................................... 27 Photograph, Berlin women sweeping coal ..................................................................... 29 Photograph, Unloading flour in Berlin ........................................................................... 34 Photograph, Unloading coal in Berlin ............................................................................ 35 Photograph, PSP runway repair at Tempelhof................................................................ 37 Photograph, Lieutenant Gail S. Halvorsen ..................................................................... 39 Cartoon, Unloading during landing roll .......................................................................... 45 Drawing, How the Airlift Works .................................................................................... 46 Cartoon, Aerial tramway to Berlin.................................................................................. 4 7 Cartoon, British and American cultural differences ....................................................... 51 Photograph, Triimmeifrauen at Tegel ............................................................................