C-47 Transporter in honour of the Berlin Airlift
From 24 June 1948 to 12 May 1949, the Soviet blocked the land and waterways from the Trizone to West Berlin. The Western Allies organised the Berlin airlift to carry supplies to the people of West Berlin.
The Americans and British began a joint operation in support of the entire city. Aircrews from the United States Air Force, the Royal Air Force, the French Air Force the Royal Canadian Air Force, the Royal Astralien Air Force, the Royal New Zealand Air Force, and the South African Air Force flew over 200,000 sorties in one year, providing to the West Berliners necessities such as fuel and food, with the original plan being to lift 3,475 tons of supplies daily. By the spring of 1949, that number was often met twofold, with the peak daily delivery totalling 12,941 tons. By this time the airlift was clearly succeeding, delivering more cargo than had previously been transported into the city by rail. The Soviets did not disrupt the airlift for fear this might lead to open conflict, even though they far outnumbered the allies in Germany and especially Berlin.
On 12 May 1949, the USSR lifted the blockade of West Berlin, although for a time the American and British continued to supply the city by air anyway because they were worried that the Soviets were simply going to resume the blockade and were only trying to disrupt western supply lines. The Berlin Airlift officially ended on 30 September 1949 after fifteen months. The US Air Force had delivered 1,783,573 tons (76.40% of total) and the RAF 541,937 tons (23.30% of total), totalling 2,334,374 tons, nearly two-thirds of which was coal, on 278,228 flights to Berlin.
The C-47s and C-54s together flew over 92 million miles in the process, almost the distance from Earth to the sun. At the height of the Airlift, one plane reached West Berlin every thirty seconds.
Seventeen American and eight British aircraft crashed during the operation. A total of 101 fatalities were recorded as a result of the operation, including 40 Britons and 31 Americans, mostly due to non-flying accidents.
In honour of the Berlin Airlift 1948-1949
US Army Air Forces insignia on left shoulder, initials on left chest
Patch Painting: Air Transport ‘Command Presque Isle, Maine