The Anglo-American airlift to supply Berlin when it was deprived of surface transportation in June 1948 was a dramatic undertaking. The closing of the roads, railroads, and canals into the city by Russians was a siege which, if successful, would have compelled the surrender of the German capital to Communists to prevent the starvation of the populace. The airlift broke the siege, something that had never before been accomplished by airpower. When the airlift started, no one believed that a city of over 2,000,000 people could be sustained exclusively by airborne supplies. It broke new ground in the logistics of airpower and was the first clear indication to the world that the Anglo-Americans would make a staunch stand against the spread of communism in Europe.


    Access

    Access via TIB

    Check availability in my library


    Export, share and cite



    Berlin Airlift

    Online Contents | 1998


    The Berlin airlift

    Whitney, John P. | SAE Technical Papers | 1949


    Recollections of the Berlin Airlift

    Moser Jr, Robert W. | Online Contents | 1999


    LESSONS LEARNED FROM THE BERLIN AIRLIFT

    MILTON, T. R. | SAE Technical Papers | 1949


    The Human Side of the Berlin Airlift

    W. P. Davison | NTIS | 1957