It is 70 years since the ‘Iron Curtain’ was drawn around the Western-occupied sectors of Berlin by the Soviet Union.
In this vivid and compelling account, Robert Jackson describes how the beleaguered city was supplied from the air in a remarkable operation hardly rivalled in history — a vital lifeline which the people of Berlin have never forgotten.
Fly into Berlin’s spartan but modern Tegel airport today and it is difficult to imagine the mud and confusion that attended its opening in 1948 as an addition to Gatow and Tempelhof in the race to provide food and other vital necessities for the city’s starving population.
It was nightfall on 2 May 1945 when the Russian occupation of Berlin became complete. Then, after three years of uneasy confrontation, all road and rail links between the city and the West were severed by the Soviets and the Berlin Airlift had begun.
For ten months, it was only the efforts of the Royal Air Force, the United States Air Force and a variety of civil airline contractors which enabled the Western-occupied sectors of the city to survive.
Enormous tonnages of food, fuel and other supplies were flown into the beleaguered city in an endless stream of aircraft operating around the clock in all weathers. They were constantly harassed by Russian fighters and 54 aircrew gave their lives — something Berliners have never forgotten.
The final Dakota touched down in September 1949, its nose bearing the words ‘Positively the last load from Lübeck, 73,705 tons’; the Russian blockade had failed and a political solution was quick to follow.
In this graphic account, former RAFVR Squadron Leader Robert Jackson recreates vividly those tense days forty years ago as the ‘Iron Curtain’ came down with a vengeance.
Taking the story from the Russian occupation right through to the lifting of the blockade and its aftermath, the book concludes with appendices of aircraft and crew casualties, lists of monthly tonnages and tables of some of the remarkable individual aircraft performances. It is a story of courage and ingenuity in the face of adversity hardly rivalled in history.
Robert Jackson (b. 1941) is a prolific author of military and aviation history, having become a full time writer in 1969. As an active serviceman in the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve he flew a wide range of aircraft, ranging from jets to gliders.
In this vivid and compelling account, Robert Jackson describes how the beleaguered city was supplied from the air in a remarkable operation hardly rivalled in history — a vital lifeline which the people of Berlin have never forgotten.
Fly into Berlin’s spartan but modern Tegel airport today and it is difficult to imagine the mud and confusion that attended its opening in 1948 as an addition to Gatow and Tempelhof in the race to provide food and other vital necessities for the city’s starving population.
It was nightfall on 2 May 1945 when the Russian occupation of Berlin became complete. Then, after three years of uneasy confrontation, all road and rail links between the city and the West were severed by the Soviets and the Berlin Airlift had begun.
For ten months, it was only the efforts of the Royal Air Force, the United States Air Force and a variety of civil airline contractors which enabled the Western-occupied sectors of the city to survive.
Enormous tonnages of food, fuel and other supplies were flown into the beleaguered city in an endless stream of aircraft operating around the clock in all weathers. They were constantly harassed by Russian fighters and 54 aircrew gave their lives — something Berliners have never forgotten.
The final Dakota touched down in September 1949, its nose bearing the words ‘Positively the last load from Lübeck, 73,705 tons’; the Russian blockade had failed and a political solution was quick to follow.
In this graphic account, former RAFVR Squadron Leader Robert Jackson recreates vividly those tense days forty years ago as the ‘Iron Curtain’ came down with a vengeance.
Taking the story from the Russian occupation right through to the lifting of the blockade and its aftermath, the book concludes with appendices of aircraft and crew casualties, lists of monthly tonnages and tables of some of the remarkable individual aircraft performances. It is a story of courage and ingenuity in the face of adversity hardly rivalled in history.
Robert Jackson (b. 1941) is a prolific author of military and aviation history, having become a full time writer in 1969. As an active serviceman in the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve he flew a wide range of aircraft, ranging from jets to gliders.
