Title: Save Tempelhof !!
Tags:
Blog Entry: This morning an Email landed in my Inbox from the organisers of a group dedicated to establishing Tempelhof Airport in Berlin Germany as a World Heritage site. The essential links to their Website and Campaign are included at the foot of this Blog. As it happens I`m currently writing an article about some of the advances in ATC and Aircraft servicing procedures that were made as a result of lessons learned during Operation Plainfare 60 years ago. I don`t have a lot of time now unfortunately, but I've cut and pasted a few paragraphs from my notes to remind you about some of the key points. So forgive me if it's a little disjointed. However I`ll make the full version available once it's complete. In June 1948 - During a period of high tension amongst former WW2 allies in Europe, The Soviets unilaterally closed all land routes into Berlin. Put simply Stalin wanted the former allies out of Berlin. If Stalin were allowed to succeed the consequences for a free and secure Europe would have been unthinkable. With great foresight the British and American governments determined they would defy this treachery in a way that would not provoke the potential for armed conflict. Despite the reduced manpower and reduced availabilty of aircraft after demobilisation A combined UK/US operation was launched to airlift essential supplies into the city to lift what effectively amounted to a siege. Demand and supply During the three months December to February, the proposed consumption amounted to approximately 4,340 metric tons/day' for German economy, 600 metric tons/day for Allied maintenance. and a target of 1,680 metric tons/day for civilian space-heating-a total of about 6,620 metric tons/day. The figure for German economy included Food 1300 metric tons/day Public utility coal (e.g. , gas, electricity, etc.) 2,040 metric tons/day Other . essential coal (bakeries, hospitals, etc.) 800 metric tons/day Consumer goods and raw materials 200 metric tons/day. The figure of 1,680 metric tons/day of coal for civilian space-heating aimed at would have allowed a distribution of only 4 cwt. to each family for the entire winter, obviously inadequate to cope with the usual Berlin winter. It was estimated that the air forces planned could provide 3,600-4,100 metric tons/day in December. and 4,100-4,650 metric tons/day in January and February. The forecast stock level on December 1st was inadequate to bridge the gap that remained. Without very widespread repercussions in the economic and political fields, no considerable reductions could be made in the requirements: the only possible exception was the civilian space-heating coal, and this would naturally mean even greater hardship. Actually, only about 50 Ibs. of coal plus a small amount of wood were issued to each household for the entire winter. Some reduction in the lift of raw materials and consumer goods took place also. Fortunately, the winter was exceptionally mild, the average temperatures for December, January, and February being those normally encountered towards the middle or end of November, and the beginning or middle of March. Lack of space-heating did no t, therefore, lead to civilian morale being lowered to any large degree. The forecast and actual lift and consumption in Berlin are discussed under planning. For example, it was estimated that with the increased force available at the end of 1948 the coal position, depending on the severity of the winter, would be betweeen 6 and 23 days' reserve - the minimum adequate reserve was stated to be 21 days. The actual reserve at the end of February amounted to 21 days, plus 3 days chiefly attributable to the diversion of airlift tonnage from food to coal, and 4 days on account of the discovery of further coal stocks. Hence the margin for safety was quite small in spite of the exceptionally favourable winter. Ways And Means At the beginning of the Operation the object was to provide only for the requirements of the Allied Forces in Berlin. Dakotas, based at Wunstorf, were used and were later joined by Yorks, the supply of the civilian population being undertaken. Civilian charter firms called in to increase the lift used a variety of aircraft : Bristol Freighters and Wayfarers, Dakotas, Yorks, Liberators, Lancastrians, Tudors, and Haltons, At first, these civilian aircraft were mainly "freighters", but gradually they became specialized and towards the end of the blockade the majority had been converted to tankers and supplied the entire liquid fuel requirements. (It was shown that in spite of the increased initial cost, liquid fuel was far more economical than coal for purposes when either could be used). Aircraft in action On the American side,the aircraft origina11y engaged were C-47s (Dakotas) and C-54s (Skymasters), but at an early stage the former were eliminated and the Skymaster force was built up. The policy was to use one type of aircraft and so simplify air traffic and servicing , problems; only a few other aircraft were used for specialized loads. At first, the American airfields were Rhein-Main and Wiesbaden, both near Frankfurt. With the increased number of Skymasters, however, aircraft were transferred to Fassberg in the British Zone and, later, also to Celle; a move which reduced the flying time per trip, and hence increased the utilization of aircraft. Towards the end of the blockade the airfields and aircraft in use were : British Zone Wunstorf - R.A.F. Yorks; civilian tankers and freighters Lubeck - R.A.F. Dakotas Schleswigland - R.A.F. Hastings; civilian tankers Fuhlsbuttel - Civilian freighters and tankers Celle - U.S.A.F. Skymasters Fassberg - Skymasters American Zone Rhein-Maine - Skymasters Wiesbaden - Skymasters Ultimately many types were employed including.. Avro Lancaster Avro York Avro Tudor Avro Lancastrian Boeing C-97 Stratofreighter Bristol Type 170 Freighter Consolidated B-24 (also: Liberator) PBY Catalina (flying boat, Catalina) Douglas C-54 Skymaster and Douglas DC-4 Douglas C-74 Globe Master Douglas C-47 and Douglas DC-3 (UK: Dakota) Fairchild C-82 Packet Handley Page Hastings Handley Page Halifax Halton Ju 52/3m (operated briefly by France) Short Sunderland Vickers VC.1 Viking ...... To cut a much longer long story short for now... The plan worked.. the Soviets were humiliated. On April 25, 1949 the Russian news agency TASS reported a willingness by the Soviets to lift the blockade. The next day, the U.S. State Department stated the "way appears clear" for the blockade to end. Soon after, the four powers began serious negotiations, and a settlement was made on Allied terms. On May 4 the Allies announced that an agreement to end the blockade, in eight days, had been reached. The Soviet blockade Berlin was lifted at one minute after midnight, on May 12, 1949. Email received from the rescue Tempelhof group. Please take a look, and sign if you feel it's a good idea. It's a fascinating site. "We have now collected more than 7,000 signatures for a World Heritage Site "Tempelhof Airport". This puts our goal of at least 10,000 signatures within reach. Please acontinue to tell friends and colleagues about the action. Signature sheets in German or English are available at: http://www.rescue-tempelhof.org/media/aufruf.pdf To sign online on the Internet: http://www.rescue-tempelhof.org/cgi-bin/entry.pl Please forward this information to friends and colleagues. Yours sincerely, Volker Perplies http://www.tempelhof-weltkulturerbe.de http://www.rescue-tempelhof.org " Oh... and please tell your friends to visit Iviation so they can see this blog and sign up as well..
VIEW FULL VERSION: Link