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N0KFQ > TODAY 26.06.13 17:08l 59 Lines 2653 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
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Subj: Today in History - Jun 26
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Sent: 130626/1355Z 853@KB0WSA.MO.USA.NA BPQK1.4.55
.
Jun 26, 1948:
U.S. begins Berlin Airlift
On this day in 1948, U.S. and British pilots begin delivering
food and supplies by airplane to Berlin after the city is
isolated by a Soviet Union blockade.
When World War II ended in 1945, defeated Germany was divided
into Soviet, American, British and French zones of occupation.
The city of Berlin, though located within the Soviet zone of
occupation, was also split into four sectors, with the Allies
taking the western part of the city and the Soviets the eastern.
In June 1948, Josef Stalin's government attempted to consolidate
control of the city by cutting off all land and sea routes to
West Berlin in order to pressure the Allies to evacuate. As a
result, beginning on June 24 the western section of Berlin and
its 2 million people were deprived of food, heating fuel and
other crucial supplies.
Though some in U.S. President Harry S. Truman's administration
called for a direct military response to this aggressive Soviet
move, Truman worried such a response would trigger another world
war. Instead, he authorized a massive airlift operation under the
control of General Lucius D. Clay, the American-appointed
military governor of Germany. The first planes took off from
England and western Germany on June 26, loaded with food,
clothing, water, medicine and fuel.
By July 15, an average of 2,500 tons of supplies was being flown
into the city every day. The massive scale of the airlift made it
a huge logistical challenge and at times a great risk. With
planes landing at Tempelhof Airport every four minutes, round the
clock, pilots were being asked to fly two or more round-trip
flights every day, in World War II planes that were sometimes in
need of repair.
The Soviets lifted the blockade in May 1949, having earned the
scorn of the international community for subjecting innocent men,
women and children to hardship and starvation. The
airlift--called die Luftbrucke or "the air bridge" in
German--continued until September 1949, for a total delivery of
more than 1.5 million tons of supplies and a total cost of over
$224 million. When it ended, the eastern section of Berlin was
absorbed into Soviet East Germany, while West Berlin remained a
separate territory with its own government and close ties to West
Germany. The Berlin Wall, built in 1961, formed a dividing line
between East and West Berlin. Its destruction in 1989 presaged
the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union and marked the end of an
era and the reemergence of Berlin as the capital of a new,
unified German nation.
73, K.O. n0kfq
N0KFQ @ KB0WSA.MO.USA.NA
E-mail: kohiggs@gmail.com
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