Post war Germany was divided into three sections--the Allied part was controlled by the United States, Great Britain and France and other part by the Soviet Union. The city of Berlin, although located in the eastern Soviet half, was also divided into four sectors --West Berlin occupied by Allied interests and East Berlin occupied by Soviets. In June 1948, the Soviet Union attempted to control all of Berlin by cutting surface traffic to and from the city of West Berlin. Starving out the population and cutting off their business was their method of gaining control. The Truman administration reacted with a continual daily airlift which brought much needed food and supplies into the city of West Berlin. This Airbridge to Berlin lasted until the end of September of 1949---although on May 12, 1949, the Soviet government yielded and lifted the blockade.

    When the airlift began, there were only two airfields in Berlin; Tempelhof with one runway in the US sector and Gatow with one runway in the British sector. In 1945, when the Americans arrived in Berlin, Tempelhof's lone runway was sodded and had been used only for small aircraft and fighters during the latter stages of World War II. It was beautifully equipped with hangars and a large terminal building, but it was surrounded by high apartment buildings which required a 500 foot ceiling in thick weather. Before June 1948, US Army engineers had built a 12 foot thick rubber base runway and covered it with steel landing mats which was adequate for US military needs before the airlift. However, under the continuous pounding of heavy, loaded aircraft the steel landing mats started to break. Depressions in the runway began to form and soon a force of 225 men was kept busy working on the runway between plane landings in attempting to keep the field operational. In early July 1948, construction on a new runway at Tempelhof began without interrupting airlift traffic and during the same period the old runway was being constantly repaired. In late 1948, construction began on a third Tempelhof runway.

    Gatow, the other available airfield in West Berlin in June 1948, was located in the far southwest corner of Berlin and on the west side of Wannsee. In late June 1948, construction began at Gatow to lengthen and improve the one existing runway, and, on July 16, 1948, the new 1,800 meter concrete runway was opened for service. Plans were also made to construct a second runway at Gatow, but it became obvious that, if the airlift continued to expand, a third West Berlin airfield site must be found.

    On July 5, the first British Sunderland flying boat participating in the airlift landed on the Havel Lake in Berlin. Soon ten of these planes from the Royal Air Force Coastal Command were shuttling between Hamburg and Berlin. On July 7, the first twenty C-54s to carry coal to Berlin landed at Tempelhof. By July 15, the US effort numbered 54 C-54s and 104 C-47s making runs to Berlin. The combined US-British tonnage being flown into Berlin was averaging around 2,500 tons in over 600 daily flights. It was still short of the 4,500 tons established by the planners as the daily minimum requirement to feed and support the Allied military and Berlin civilian population, but a marvelous achievement in such a short period of time.

    During the first month of the airlift, enthusiasm was high, but confusion often reigned. Many pilots and air crews who had been desk bound for months and even years were pressed into service while others were making their way to Europe. It was a great adventure at first to report to Flight Operations, get a plane on the spur of the moment, and take off for a four hour round trip flight to Berlin. However, the tedium and danger soon became apparent. Pilots and crews were asked to make two and more round trips a day, seven days a week, in all kinds of weather, in World War II airplanes-often in need of repairs-poorly suited for cargo duty, and landing on makeshift runways.

    Ground operations were also uncoordinated during the first month. Planes often sat at airfields in Berlin for an hour or longer before unloading began. Air traffic control units were understaffed and operating under out-dated procedures which required 25 minutes separation between take-offs. Other operating procedures, not suited to an emergency airlift operation, requiring the utmost in use and efficiency, also died hard. These included one which required each pilot to visit the airfield weather office and sign a clearance form before take-off. Because the Airlift Task Force-which would later prioritize cargos according to absolute needs of the Berlin civilian and military population-was just getting organized, planes sometimes carried some frivolous and unnecessary cargo into Berlin.

    There also remained some very real differences of opinion on whether the Allies could maintain their position in Berlin and on what course of action should be taken. Walter Lippmann, the most prominent columnist on foreign affairs at the time, believed the Allies should negotiate the German peace treaty because". . . to supply the Allies sectors of Berlin by air is obviously only a spectacular and temporary answer to the ground blockade. . . The operation can only be carried on for a while in the summer months. But in the long run, especially in the fog and the rain of a Berlin winter, the cost in lives of the pilots and crews of planes which would have to be replaced, and of the money, would be exorbitant."