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  • Military Liaison Mission Sign

    Immediately after World War II, the Western allied powers made agreements with the Soviet Union to allow the establishment of small military liaison missions within the German zones of occupation. The United States Military Liaison Mission (USMLM) to the Soviets was established in Potsdam, Deutsche

  • Berlin Airlift Honors

    A grateful nation honored the service personnel who participated in the airlift, primarily with three awards. The Air Medal was awarded for the completion of 50 flights into Berlin. An Oak Leaf Cluster was awarded for each 50 additional flights. The Medal for Humane Action was initially authorized

  • Berlin Airlift Victory

    The blockade of West Berlin ended on May 12, 1949. This was not just a victory for the Allied Forces, but a victory shared with all of the citizens of Berlin. These were citizens who braved the hardships, the hunger and the cold. These were the citizens who toiled long hours unloading aircraft and

  • Tech. Sgt. John H. "Jake" Schuffert

    Tech. Sgt. John H. "Jake" Schuffert made a unique, valued and memorable contribution to the Berlin Airlift. Schuffert, an aircraft radio operator, volunteered to do cartooning for the Airlift Times, which was a newspaper published by the U.S. Air Force for Airlift personnel. His keen sense of humor

  • Maintaining the Berlin Airlift

    An equal challenge to supplying the city of Berlin was the need for the Airlift forces to supply and maintain themselves. During the Airlift's peak months, the U.S. Air Force provided maintenance support not only for the 324 assigned aircraft, but also for 1,600 motor vehicles and 500 ground power

  • Berlin Airlift SCR-658 Radio Receiver

    This model SCR-658 Radio Receiver was installed at Tempelhof Central Airport in Berlin by U.S. occupation forces in 1945. During the Berlin Airlift, Air Force weather forecasters used it to track weather balloons, measure the wind's direction and speed, temperature, humidity and air pressure by

  • Planes, Boats and Trains: The Berlin Airlift Team

    The success of the Berlin Airlift was the result of coordinated efforts between the U.S. Air Force and the other services. The U.S. Navy contributions to the Airlift were two transport squadrons -- VR-6 and VR-8. These squadrons were equipped with the R-5D aircraft which was the Navy's version of

  • Berlin Airlift Dog Parachute

    This parachute was specially made for "Vittles," a dog that flew 131 missions with his owner, 1Lt. Russ Steber, during the Berlin Airlift. Gen. Curtis LeMay named the dog and ordered the parachute made for him. Vittles, a boxer, accumulated around 2,000 flying hours, but never had to use the

  • Coal: Berlin's Key to Survival

    The single most critical necessity for Berlin to survive was fuel. Coal became the major cargo of U.S. Air Force C-54s and ultimately made up 65 percent of the total tonnage flown into Berlin. Coal was dirty, dusty and heavy, all of which created major problems for both aircraft and crew. Coal dust

  • Coal, Candy Bars and Clarence the Camel: The Cargo

    The Berlin Airlift carried a total of 2,325,510 tons of cargo into Berlin with coal representing approximately 1,500,000 tons, followed by more than 500,000 tons of food. The rest of the tonnage was miscellaneous cargo that included dismantled steam rollers and electrical power plant machinery, as