Tuesday, June 24, 2008






Food, diesel and coal arrived during the operation




Berlin Airlift veterans are to gather at a Shropshire museum to mark the 60th anniversary of the operation.

About 40 members of the British Berlin Airlift Association will meet members of the public at the RAF museum at Cosford on Wednesday.

West Berlin was cut off by Soviet troops and British and US aircraft flew in food, diesel and coal in nearly 300,000 flights over 11 months.

Sixty five British, Germans and Americans aircrew died in crashes.

The Soviet leader Stalin had hoped to force the city's citizens to accept Communist government.

But the operation continued until the blockade was lifted almost a year later.

Crews were faced with a number of obstruction tactics such as radio jamming, shining searchlights designed to temporarily blind pilots and drifting barrage balloons.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/uk_news/england/shropshire/7470675.stm

Published: 2008/06/24 08:39:44 GMT

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