The Berlin blockade (June 24 1948 – May 11 1949) was one of the first major international crises of the cold war. During the multinational occupation of post-world war II Germany, the Soviet Union blocked the three Western powers' railroad and street access to the western sectors of Berlin that they had been controlling. The crisis abated after the Western powers bypassed the blockade by establishing the Berlin Airlift.On June 24, 1948, general Curtis LeMay, commander of United States air forces in Europe appointed brigadier general Joseph Smith, commander of the Wiesbaden military post, as the task force commander of the airlift.
On June 25, 1948, Clay gave the order to launch Operation Vittles. The next day thirty-two C-47 cargo planes lifted off for Berlin hauling 80 tons of cargo including milk, flour, and medicine. The first British aircraft flew on June 28. At that time, the airlift was expected to last three weeks.
No comments:
Post a Comment