Berlin 1948: World War II was over but the Cold War was just beginning. The Allies had split Germany in half: East Germany went to the Soviets while France, Britain, and the US took West Germany.
Berlin, however, was located entirely within the Soviet-controlled eastern region. Hence, the city was also split. East Berlin went to the Soviets. West Berlin was a small “island” of democracy situated within the Communist territory.
But Josef Stalin wanted control of the entire city. So he cut off railroads and roadways that transported coal and food into Berlin. The goal: starve and freeze West Berliners into submission, forcing them to vote for Communist Party rule and thereby claiming all of Berlin for the Soviet Union.
The US, Britain, and France took action.
Although Soviets blockaded land routes and waterways, they couldn’t block the air. West Berlin had airfields at Gatow and Tempelhof. Planes could ferry goods into the city. They risked being shot down by Soviet guns, but that would spark another World War, which Western leaders bet Stalin would not want.
So began one of the greatest non-lethal military actions in history - the Berlin Airlift.
Airplanes, which had just a few years earlier dropped bombs on the country, transported food and coal from West Germany to beleaguered West Berliners. They flew with precision day and night around the clock. The Soviets could have shot them down but did not.
Among the many pilots assigned to the Berlin Airlift was a lieutenant from Utah named Gail Halvorsen.
He was a 26-year-old Air Force veteran who had flown C-54 cargo planes for transport operations during the war.
Like other airlift pilots, he flew missions day after day for months during the Soviet blockade.
While waiting for his cargo plane to be refueled and reloaded in Berlin, he took his camera to the fences that surrounded Tempelhof Airfield.
He snapped photos of dozens of German children watching the takeoffs and landings. He offered them two sticks of chewing gum.
Instead of fighting over them, the children broke the sticks into tiny pieces to share evenly with the entire group.
Overcome with sympathy, Halvorsen promised the kids that he’d return tomorrow with more. One child asked how they would know which plane was his. He said he would wiggle the wings just before landing.
Halvorsen kept his promise and brought more gum and candy. The children began calling him Uncle Wiggly Wings.
In days that followed, he asked all of his fellow pilots to give him their gum and candy, which he then tossed out of the plane window on his approach to the airstrip.
But the candy sometimes fell in inaccessible locations or shattered upon hitting the ground. So Halvorsen spent his nights fashioning little “parachutes” out of handkerchiefs. That way the candy could float to the ground from his cockpit window.
Halvorsen hadn’t received permission for his stunt, and when his superiors discovered it, he feared a severe reprimand. To his surprise, they encouraged him to do more. Dropping candy was a morale booster for the Berliners and for the military.
The enterprise was approved, expanded, and named Operation Little Vittles.
News spread to the US, where citizens created tiny parachutes and candy manufacturers provided their products for free.
Lt. Gail Halvorsen became famous for the rest of his long life as the Candy Bomber.
The Berlin Airlift continued throughout 1948 and early 1949 and got more efficient.
Stalin capitulated and reopened the railroad tracks and waterways. West Berlin remained a democratic territory. Operations concluded in spring of ’49.
The airlift was a resounding success.
Halvorsen stayed in the US military and reached the rank of colonel. In 1970, he became Commander of an Air Force Group at Tempelhof Airport - the same place where he’d dropped candy over 20 years earlier.
After retirement, Col. Halvorsen and his wife moved to a ranch in their native Utah where they lived the rest of their lives.
The world-famous Candy Bomber died February 2022 at the age of 101.
ALSO:
It was my honor to correspond with Col. Halvorsen 20 years ago as I researched my novel All Eyes Skyward, a work of historical fiction.
This year, 2023, marks the 75th anniversary of the Berlin Airlift.
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