In June 1948, the Soviet Union completely blocked West Berlin’s communication with other parts of the city by water and land. For almost eleven months, the United States and Great Britain supplied the city with a population of more than two million civilians. This humanitarian operation was called the “air bridge”.
"Small" blockade of Berlin
The formation of Germany, which began to prepare after the London meeting of the six powers, the Soviet Union regarded as an open violation of the terms of the Potsdam agreement. In response to the conference, the Soviet military command in Germany issued an order to temporarily close the borders along the Soviet demarcation line. Then the Western states were forced to organize the supply of their garrisons in Berlin by air. Subsequently, this episode was called the "small" blockade. Then no one knew what difficulties they would face in the future.
Border Closing Prerequisites
In the spring of 1948, the USSR put forward a requirement to inspect all trains that go to Berlin from the western zones of occupation. Subsequently, road communication with West Berlin was discontinued, and after some time, river and rail links ceased. The reason was first called repair work, then - allegedly encountered technical problems.
Soviet historians argued that the reason for the vigorous response was the monetary reform carried out in the western sectors of Germany. To prevent the influx of Reichsmarks, monetary reform was also initiated in the Soviet zone. In response, the Western states introduced the German mark. So, the reason that led to the blockade of Berlin was the uncoordinated actions of former associates.
The blockade of West Berlin
On the night of June 23-24, 1948, power was cut off to the western regions of the German capital. In the early morning, road, rail and water traffic between the western and eastern parts of Berlin stopped. At that time, almost 2.2 million people lived in the western sectors of the city, which were completely dependent on external supplies of food and other material goods.
The governments of the Western states were not ready for a sudden blockade of the city by the USSR and even considered the possibility of surrendering Berlin to the authorities of the Soviet Union and withdrawing their troops from the occupation zone.
The head of the military administration of the US occupation zone, Lucius D. Clay, advocated the continued stay of the Allied forces in the city. He proposed to break through the blockade with tanks, but US President Harry Truman did not support this solution to the problem, believing that such an approach could only provoke aggression and become the beginning of a new armed confrontation in Europe.
Air passage
Air traffic was determined by a special agreement providing for the exclusive use of Western countries by an air corridor 32 km wide. The decision to organize an air supply route was made by the US Air Force commander. At that time, this post was occupied by Curtie Lemey, who had previously planned and carried out massive bombing of Japanese cities.
William H. Tanner was also involved in the operation, who at one time was involved in organizing the Hamp air corridor to supply Chai Kai-shek troops in the Himalayas. He also led the organization of the air bridge in Berlin.
During negotiations with Great Britain, it became clear that the country had already begun to supply its troops by air. The Allied government reacted positively to the further deployment of appropriate measures. After the "small" blockade, the British made calculations in the event of another border closure. The training showed that it is possible to supply not only their own troops, but also the civilian population.
Based on this information, Lucius D. Clay decided to launch supplies via an air bridge in order to provide food to the population of Berlin, who ended up in the USSR blockade zone.
Airway launch
The first flight took place in the evening of June 23. A transport plane loaded with potatoes was piloted by the American pilot Jack O. Bennet. The decree on the creation of the Berlin Air Bridge was officially issued on June 25, and on the 26th at the local airport the first US plane landed, which marked the beginning of the humanitarian operation "Proviant". Two days later, the British operation started.
Work optimization
It soon became clear that the existing system, including runways and aircraft, maintenance, route planning and unloading, was not able to cope with the necessary increase in traffic. It was originally planned that the volume of daily deliveries should be 750 tons, but a month after the start of the humanitarian operation, more than 2,000 tons of goods were delivered to Berlin daily. In addition to food, it was necessary to transport coal, medicines, gasoline and other goods necessary for life support.
New air bridges in Germany made it possible to increase the volume of cargo. Airplanes arrived in Berlin from Hamburg or Frankfurt, and returned to Hanover. In the air corridor, the aircraft occupied five "floors". Each pilot could make only one landing attempt. In case of failure, the plane with all the cargo went back. According to this system, planes in the western part of Berlin landed every three minutes, and only 30 minutes were on the ground (instead of the initial 75).
In ensuring the operation of the air bridge in Germany, not only Americans participated, but also pilots from New Zealand, Australia, Canada and South Africa. France did not participate in the humanitarian operation because internal forces were engaged in armed confrontation in Indochina. But the country agreed to build an airport in its sector, which was completed in a record 90 days. To do this, the French had to blow up the mast of the radio station, which was in the possession of the USSR administration, which led to complications in relations.
Air bridge closure
The blockade of Berlin ended on May 12, 1949. The city’s food supply via land and waterways was finally restored, and again automobile, rail, and air-cushion transportation of the river bridge became possible.
During the blockade, 2.34 million tons of cargo were transported to the western part of the city (1.78 million tons - by US forces). Only the most essential consumer goods were delivered. Historians acknowledge that the supply of the population at that time was even worse than during the war. Due to a lack of medicines, poor nutrition, and insufficient fuel supply, mortality and infectious diseases rose sharply.
The monument on the square near the Tempelhof Airport, erected in 1951, recalls the events of those years. Later, similar monuments were erected at the military airfield in Celle and at Frankfurt Airport.