The Berlin Airlift

When the Soviet Union blocked railroad and street access to West Berlin in 1948, the USA, Britain, and France subsequently began to airlift food and other provisions to the Western-held sectors of Berlin up until the end of September 1949. The combined tonnage lifted by the RAF, USAAF, and British civil aircraft was 2,325,808 ton. British aircraft used more than 35 million gallons of aviation fuel, flew more than 30 million miles and spent 200,000 hours in the air. This is a detailed account of this highly unusual and momentous effort, accompanied by many previously unpublished pictures and new personal accounts from pilots and Berlin citizens.