1949: The Berlin Blockade (24 June 1948 – 12 May 1949) was one of the first major international crises of the Cold War. On 12 May 1949, the USSR lifted the blockade of West Berlin, due to economic issues in East Berlin. Pres. Truman and his Allies demonstrated an unshakeable commitment not to surrender Berlin to Soviet blackmail resonated with the aircrews who had to make the airlift work. The airlift was a “come as you are” operation, with no plans or procedures for handling the massive flow of diverse aircraft types, mostly American and British, into the restricted geography of Berlin. The pilots had to learn to fly in narrow air corridors in all kinds of weather, making straight-in-one-try-only approaches into fog shrouded fields. Skills or not, they could not have done the job without GCA (ground control approach) radar. In 277,569 flights American and British aircraft delivered 2.3 million tons of cargo. American aircraft sustained 70 major accidents. NATO was born as a result of the airlift. (Wolf Samuel)
