Berlin Blockade (apr 1, 1948 – may 12, 1949)

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The Berlin Blockade was a significant international crisis during the Cold War, where the Soviet Union blocked Western Allies' access to parts of Berlin under Western control. The Western Allies organized the Berlin Airlift from June 1948 to September 1949 to provide supplies to West Berlin. American and British air forces flew over Berlin more than 250,000 times, dropping necessities such as fuel and food. The peak daily delivery totaled 12,941 tons, with Operation Little Vittles generating goodwill among German children.

The USSR lifted the blockade on May 12, 1949, due to economic issues in East Berlin. However, the Americans and British continued to supply the city by air as they were concerned about the Soviets resuming the blockade. The Berlin Airlift officially ended on September 30, 1949, after fifteen months. The US Air Force and RAF delivered 2,334,374 tons, nearly two-thirds of which was coal, on 278,228 flights to Berlin. Canadian, Australian, New Zealand, and South African air crews also assisted the RAF during the blockade. The French conducted flights only to provide supplies for their military garrison.

American C-47 and C-54 transport airplanes flew over 92,000,000 miles, almost the distance from Earth to the Sun. British transports, including Handley Page Haltons and Short Sunderlands, also flew. At the height of the airlift, one plane reached West Berlin every thirty seconds.

The Berlin Blockade highlighted competing ideological and economic visions for postwar Europe, aligning West Berlin with the United States and Britain as major protecting powers and drawing West Germany into NATO orbit several years later in 1955.

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