For 462 days, Western aircraft landed at Berlin's Tempelhof Airport every three minutes around the clock. They brought coal. They brought flour. They brought powdered milk and dried eggs and medicines. At the peak of the operation, a fully loaded transport aircraft was touching down every 62 seconds. The Soviet Union had blockaded an entire city of two million people. The West had decided not to fight its way through — it would fly over instead.
The City That Was Supposed to Starve
On 24 June 1948, the Soviet Union closed all road, rail, and canal routes into West Berlin. The stated reason was "technical difficulties." The real reason was cold strategic calculation: Berlin lay 160 kilometres inside the Soviet occupation zone of Germany. If the West could be forced out of the city, it would be a significant early victory in the emerging Cold War — a proof that Soviet power could not be challenged.
West Berlin had enough food for 36 days and coal for 45. The city would run out long before any diplomatic solution could be reached. The Soviet planners believed the West had two choices: withdraw, or start a war. They did not seriously consider the third option, which was to supply the city entirely by air — because it seemed physically impossible. West Berlin required approximately 8,000 tonnes of supplies per day to survive. No airlift in history had come close to that volume.
Operation Vittles
US Air Force General Lucius Clay ordered the operation to begin within 24 hours of the blockade. The first aircraft — a fleet of Douglas C-47 Skytrains carrying just 80 tonnes between them — landed on 26 June 1948. It was a gesture more than a solution. But it was a start.
Over the following weeks, the operation transformed from improvisation into industrial logistics. The larger C-54 Skymaster, capable of carrying 10 tonnes, became the workhorse. A one-way traffic system was established in the air corridors: aircraft flew in via the northern and southern routes and flew out via the central route. Pilots flew multiple missions per day. Ground crews worked in shifts. The planners adopted a system called the "block system," treating the airlift like a railway timetable.
“A transport aircraft landed in Berlin every three minutes for 462 days. The Soviet blockade was supposed to be unbreakable. The West decided to go over it instead.”
— Berlin Airlift, 1948–1949The Candy Bomber
Among the pilots was First Lieutenant Gail Halvorsen of the USAF. In late July 1948, he made an unofficial visit to the airfield perimeter and spoke with the German children gathered there. They were curious, not begging — which impressed him. On impulse, he gave them two sticks of Wrigley's gum. He then promised to drop more from his aircraft the next time he flew in.
He fashioned tiny parachutes from handkerchiefs and dropped small bags of candy from his aircraft as he approached Tempelhof. The children called him "Uncle Wiggly Wings" because he would waggle his wings as he approached so they'd know it was him. When the story became public, the response was overwhelming. Americans across the country mailed candy to the airlift. Other pilots joined in. "Operation Little Vittles" dropped more than three tonnes of candy to the children of Berlin. It became one of the most enduring human stories of the Cold War.
The Numbers That Defied Expectation
By the spring of 1949, the airlift was regularly delivering more than 8,000 tonnes per day — matching and occasionally exceeding the pre-blockade supply levels. On 16 April 1949, during a deliberate maximum-effort day called "Easter Parade," the operation delivered 12,941 tonnes in 24 hours: one aircraft landing every 62 seconds at Tempelhof. The Soviets had got their answer.
On 12 May 1949, the Soviet Union lifted the blockade. It had failed. The airlift continued for several more months as a precaution while ground routes were confirmed open. When it finally ended in September 1949, the statistics were staggering: 278,228 flights, 2.3 million tonnes of supplies delivered, 101 fatalities (predominantly from accidents), and one unambiguous strategic defeat for the Soviet Union.
It was the first major confrontation of the Cold War, and it was won by logistics — by the unglamorous, relentless work of loading, flying, unloading, and loading again. The military aviation community considers it one of the greatest operational achievements in the history of air transport. And it turned the residents of West Berlin, who had every reason to distrust their former conquerors, into steadfast allies of the West for generations.
Sources: USAF Historical Division; Roger Miller, To Save a City: The Berlin Airlift (2000); Imperial War Museum; National Air and Space Museum.
Related Questions
What was the Berlin Airlift?
The Berlin Airlift was the Western operation to supply West Berlin by air after the Soviet Union blockaded the city in 1948. For 462 days, US and British aircraft flew food, coal and medicine into a city of two million people. At its peak a fully loaded transport landed in Berlin roughly every 62 seconds.
Why did the Soviet Union blockade Berlin?
On 24 June 1948 the Soviet Union closed all road, rail and canal routes into West Berlin, citing "technical difficulties." The real aim was strategic: West Berlin lay 160 kilometres inside the Soviet occupation zone, and forcing the West out would have been an early Cold War victory for Moscow.
How long did the Berlin Airlift last?
The Berlin Airlift lasted 462 days, beginning on 26 June 1948 and continuing into 1949. West Berlin needed about 8,000 tonnes of supplies per day to survive, a volume no previous airlift had approached. The operation, codenamed Operation Vittles, grew from improvisation into precisely scheduled industrial logistics.
What aircraft were used in the Berlin Airlift?
The airlift began with Douglas C-47 Skytrains carrying just 80 tonnes between them, but the larger Douglas C-54 Skymaster soon became the workhorse. Aircraft flew in along northern and southern air corridors and out via a central route, following a railway-style "block system" timetable to keep the flow constant.
Who was the Candy Bomber?
First Lieutenant Gail Halvorsen of the US Air Force became known as the Candy Bomber after he began dropping sweets on tiny parachutes to Berlin's children during the airlift. It started in July 1948 when he handed two sticks of Wrigley's gum to children at the airfield fence and promised to drop more.
How much did West Berlin need to survive?
West Berlin required roughly 8,000 tonnes of supplies a day, including coal, flour, powdered milk and medicine. The city had only enough food for 36 days and coal for 45 when the blockade began. Soviet planners thought supplying it entirely by air was physically impossible, which is why the airlift surprised them.
How did the Berlin Airlift end?
The Western powers' relentless air supply made the blockade pointless, and the Soviet Union lifted it in 1949. The airlift became a landmark Cold War victory, proving the West would defend Berlin without firing a shot, and turning aircraft like the C-54 Skymaster into symbols of resolve.
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