BERLIN AIRLIFT 1948 IN COLOR AMERICAN AIRLINES 40284

Presented by American Airlines and written by Stanley Washburn, Jr. and shot by Agnew Fisher, AIRLIFT TO BERLIN presents the story of the Berlin Airlift of 1948. It was made before the resolution of the Berlin Blockade, and demonstrated the resolve of those involved in the Lift to see it succeed. Just prior to the Berlin Blockade, American Airlines had begun passenger service to Berlin, and so the airline was intimately involved in the lift and the evacuation of some civilians from the city. The film shows the movement of supplies from Rhein Mein into the besieged city by Douglas C-54 Skymasters. The British and Allies maintained their own corridor as part of the lift. Tempelhof Airport is seen at the 3:40 mark.
The film also shows unique vistas of the ruined city of Berlin, which at this time was still recovering from the devastation of the war, including the shell of the Reichstag at the 5:50 mark and the Brandenburg Gate at the 6:00 mark.
The Berlin Blockade (24 June 1948 - 12 May 1949) was one of the first major international crises of the Cold War. During the multinational occupation of post-World War II Germany, the Soviet Union blocked the Western Allies' railway, road, and canal access to the sectors of Berlin under Western control. The Soviets offered to drop the blockade if the Western Allies withdrew the newly introduced Deutsche mark from West Berlin.
In response, the Western Allies organized the Berlin airlift to carry supplies to the people of West Berlin, a difficult feat given the city's population. Aircrews from the United States Air Force, the British Royal Air Force, the Royal Canadian Air Force, the Royal Australian Air Force, the Royal New Zealand Air Force, and the South African Air Force:338 flew over 200,000 flights in one year, providing to the West Berliners up to 8,893 tons of necessities each day, such as fuel and food. The Soviets did not disrupt the airlift for fear this might lead to open conflict.
By the spring of 1949, the airlift was clearly succeeding, and by April it was delivering more cargo than had previously been transported into the city by rail. On 12 May 1949, the USSR lifted the blockade of West Berlin. The Berlin Blockade served to highlight the competing ideological and economic visions for postwar Europe.
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This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD and 2k. For more information visit www.PeriscopeFilm.com

[@bobjasinski7330]

After escaping both the Nazis and Russians during WW2, my orphaned Dad was hired by the U.S. Army to help unload the planes. He remembers unloading coal, food items and other necessities. He recalled it proudly and vividly. Unfortunately, he passed last year at almost 95 years of age. The airlift was one of many humanitarian efforts undertaken by the United States during and immediately after WW2. A wonderful memory for my Dad and everyone else involved. 👍

[@frankmontez6853]

Yeah he must've been happy just contributing to feeding and supplying to all those people . After such a horrendous war , any hard labor was verry welcome .

[@chetpomeroy1399]

Not only did you have to stay in the 20-mile-wide air corridor, but you had to fly at a specific altitude, which was agreed upon by the victorious Allies near the end of the war. I watched the story about the "candy bomber," Gail Halvorsen.

[@MrStrauss1965]

Thank you for posting this here.

[@merlemorrison482]

Are you familiar with the "candy bomber" from those days?

[@timengineman2nd714]

When Halvorsen got sent to see Gen. Turner, who was in charge of The Airlift, he wasn't sure if he was going to be courtmartialed or not. He got the go ahead to continue being the "candy bomber"/"uncle wiggly-wings" and when he got back to his airbase, he stopped off at the PX (Base Exchange) and found that all the candy bars and other sweets had been bought out! When he returned to his barracks he saw that his bunk was covered in Candy!! The other pilots of his squadron had emptied the PX in support!!!

[@asmodeus0454]

The Berlin Blockade and consequent airlift June 24, 1948 to May 12, 1949 was a moment in the very early days of the Cold War that could have started a real shooting war in Allied-&-Soviet-occupied Germany. One U.S. or British transport aircraft supplying West Berlin shot down by Soviet anti-aircraft fire and it could have started a real war. It is likely that only the then-U.S. monopoly of atomic weapons prevented this from occurring.

[@frankmontez6853]

I wonder if pilots of non transport planes like bomber/ fighters were used ? Probably very different planes but if they ran short of these other planes pilots ...

[@Wookierabbit]

At the end of the movie, they had emails and urls! 0_0

[@frankmontez6853]

They probably weren't getting as much much food before the war began but they probably were getting more than at peak of it . just before the surrender . I'm sure most food was in very short supply

[@johnsnowkumar359]

All it take is for one racist to divert food and chocolates from Japan to Germany! in the opinion of a few non white Americans, it was partly racism. Some American pilots did not want to drop chocolates to people of Asian national origin or African national origin. Lots of American govt food were approved and ready to be shipped to Japan and China in the years preceding Berlin blockade for newly nuked cities of Nagasaki and Hiroshima. Some racist American civil servants and govt officials did not want to feed people of Asian national origin in these cities. They would rather send the food to people of European national origin. Some American officials would rather send the food earmarked for Asia and Africa, and send these to Germany. The Soviets had already been feeding Berliners to 3 years. They already arranged for additional distribution of food by East German new civil servants and Soviet soldiers and East German policemen and East German soldier and others to distribute food or to report any hidden families who may be hiding in basements . President Truman had a soft corner for these two cities in Japan, and had the food ready for japan. So, govt officials decided to find a high ranking government official with the same last name as an American war time general, to spearhead the diverting of food stock of America earlier earmarked for Japan, and to send these to Germany instead. Many Germans are saying now, "Had I known that some American officials were diverting food crates and food packets from being sent to nuked Japan to send these to Berlin, we would have turned down the offer back in 1948 or so. We Germans weren't that hungry, as soviets were already feeding us. In fact, we Germans in 1948 would have arrested these racist american pilots coming to supplement the food offered to us by the Soviets. The Soviets fed us everything except chocolates."

[@willcruz943]

Bullshit.

[@hmbpnz]

What is your source for this extraordinary claim?

[@candaceroberts3238]

The German people would have starved and frozen without the food and coal sent by the US. The Russians would have let them starve. While shipping to Berlin the US was also feeding and rebuilding Japan. Russia isn’t known to be humanitarian, just look at what Russia is doing to Ukraine right now. The United States and American (on their own) are always helping where there is need.

[@JimAllen-Persona]

@@willcruz943 Thank you.

[@Jay-pq7nf]

Give me source articles then I’ll believe you