Citrus Heights resident Major Bill J. Anderson was only 24 at the time, but even now at the age of 91, he clearly remembers the Berlin Airlift.

Some history is required on the origins of the Berlin Airlift. On May 8th, 1945, World War II ended, but a new Cold War menace to freedom in the Western world would be born out of a post-war treaty between Allies, the United States, Great Britain, France, and the Soviet Union. Germany was divided into four sectors occupied by allies, and the capitol city of Berlin was in the Soviet section. Winston Churchill, Joseph Stalin, and President Harry Truman met at the Potsdam Conference in July of 1945 to work out the details of rebuilding war-torn Germany.

However, the Soviets were not planning to keep their agreement, but were attempting to push the United States out and claim Germany and Berlin for their own. Stalin and the Soviet Union were now seen as the new threat to the West.

On June 24th, 1948, a blockade of Allied sectors of Germany began when all rail, barge, and highway traffic into Berlin was cut off, along with all water and electricity. General Lucius D. Clay, deputy military governor of the American sector, saw the plight of 2.2 million Berliners who were mainly women and children and ordered an immediate food airlift. To those who questioned its feasibility, he maintained, “When Berlin falls, Western Germany will be next. If we…mean to hold Europe against Communism, we must not budge…I believe the future of democracy requires us to stay.”

Almost immediately, on June 26th, 1948, a full-scale airlift dubbed “Operation Vittles” began. The three 20-mile-wide air corridors, which had previously been negotiated at the Potsdam Conference, were used to transport food and supplies from around the world to the American Air Base at Tempelhof and to the British Royal Air Force base in Gatow.

The backbone of the Airlift was the Douglas C-54 Skymaster, which could each carry 20 tons of cargo. As the Airlift progressed, the need for more aircraft and troops became obvious. A call went out for more Troop Carrier Wings, which consisted of 45 C-54s. The call was answered from American airbases around the world.

At the time, Major Bill J. Anderson was flying B-29s at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson, Arizona. When the call for more Airlift pilots went out, he responded and attended the “Little Vittles” School in Great Falls, Montana to learn about the C-54 and air traffic procedures in Germany.

The Berlin Airlift changed postwar history. Anderson and a crew of three flew 225 flights into Berlin carrying mainly 20 tons of coal per flight. Upon takeoff during one of these flights, the oil line to the number two engine broke. The pitch of the propeller went out of control, causing the engine to seize, sheering off the propeller and projecting it into the side of the plane’s fuselage, cutting off their radios and compass. No one was injured, but upon landing, the damage was assessed and several gaping holes discovered.

Following the war’s end, Anderson came to California in 1968 as Aircraft Commander of B-62s at Mather Air Force Base until he retired in May of 1965.

At its peak, the Airlift saw one airplane take off every 90 seconds, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. By the end of the Airlift on May 12th, 1949, nearly 2.4 million tons of supplies had been flown into Berlin during 277,569 flights. Seventy-five percent of the C-54s were flown by U.S. pilots, the rest by the British. Twenty two thousand pounds of flour, lard, dried potatoes, eggs, and milk had been airlifted to Berlin. Coal was flown in to keep the power plants running, along with clothing, medical supplies, and work materials. The Berliners now had a new hope knowing that they were not alone.

Veterans of the Airlift—including pilots and support personnel—formed the Berlin Airlift Veteran Association, which holds a reunion each year in different countries throughout the United States and Germany. Anderson estimates only about 300 veterans are still alive today.

Sources: Berlin Airlift Memorial program, Berlin Airlift 40^th Anniversary Reunion program, “Blockade and Airlift, Legend or Lesson,” “Airbridge to Berlin – Its Origins and Aftermath,” Major Bill J. Anderson USAF Retired