FReeper Canteen ~ Hall of Heroes: The Berlin Airlift, Part 3 ~ December 17, 2012

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[Kathy in Alaska]

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Part 3:  Operation Little Vittles
All info and photos from this website.

Link to Part One
Link to Part Two

           

"DER SCHOKOLADEN FLIEGER"
 

OPERATION LITTLE VITTLES
 

40K JPEG	General Hoyt S. Vandenberg, Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force is shown presenting the 1948 Cheney Award to 1st Lieutenant Gail S. Halvorsen, USAF, former Berlin Airlift pilot and originator of Operation Little Vittles while his wife, second from left, looks on.
U.S. Air Force Photograph Negative Number A-35720 AC National Air and Space Archives Videodisc Number 3B-38771

One of the most poignant stories of the Berlin Airlift was that of one 1^st Lt. Gail S. Halvorsen.  Halvorsen was somewhat of an ammeter moviemaker, and on July 17, he decided that on one of his off days, he would hitch a ride as a passenger on a C-54 and visit the City he was saving.  Once at Tempelhof, Halvorsen walked to the end of the runway to film some aircraft landings when he noticed a group of children near the fence watching the planes, too.  He went over to them.  They asked questions about the aircraft, the cargo, how fast it was going and things like that.  During this conversation he noticed that these children, unlike others he had encountered in Europe as a Ferry command Pilot during the War, did not ask him for any candy or gum, like others always had.  This struck him funny, and he knew that they were too proud to beg for such things.  Some having been born during wartime had not even heard of treats like that.  He made a fateful decision at that moment which was to become one of the symbols of the airlift.  He reached into his pocket and found that he had only two sticks of Wrigley's Doublemint Gum.  He remarked that if they did not fight over it, he would drop some candy to them if they were there the next day.  They agreed, took the sticks of gum and divided it amongst themselves, some happy to get only a piece of the wrapper.  Before he left them, a child asked him how they would know it was him flying over.  He replied, "I'll wiggle my wings." 
True to his word, the very next day, on approach to Berlin, he rocked the airplane and dropped some chocolate bars attached to a handkerchief parachute to the children waiting below.  Every day, the number of children would increase and he made several more drops.  Soon there was a stack of mail in Base Ops addressed to "Uncle Wiggly Wings', "The Chocolate Uncle" and "The Chocolate Flier". 
Halvorsen didn't tell anyone about what he was doing for fear he'd get in trouble.  Then, he was called into his commander and asked what he was doing.  He replied 'Flying, Sir."  His commander asked again, and received the same response.  He then pulled out a newspaper with a picture of Halvorsen's plane and tiny parachutes trailing behind.  Apparently, a newspaper reporter narrowly escaped being hit on the head with a chocolate bar.  His commander wasn't happy about it, but General Tunner though it was just the kind of gesture that the operation needed.  It was dubbed "Operation Little Vittles".  It continued, and many C-54 pilots participated.  Candy and parachutes were assembled and sent from Chicopee Falls, MA to assist in the gesture.  In the end, over three tons of candy was dropped over Berlin, some even in the Soviet sector.  For this simple kindhearted gesture, Halvorsen became the most recognized pilot of the Berlin Airlift. 

THE EASTER PARADE
 

By April 1949, airlift operations were going rather smoothly, and General Tunner wanted to break up the monotony.  He liked the idea of a big event that would show the capabilities of his command, as well as give everyone a big morale boost.  He wanted to set a record.  In order to do that, much planning was necessary, and it was decided that on Easter Sunday, the only cargo was to be coal.  In fact general Tunner wanted to shatter all previous tonnage records set so far.  Secretly, coal was stockpiled for the event.  Maintenance schedules were altered so that the maximum number of planes was available.  Everyone put in extra effort for this special event.  From 12:00PM April 15, to 12:00PM April 16, 1949, crews worked overtime to deliver more tonnage than had ever been delivered in a 24 hour period.  When it was over, 12,941 tons of coal had been delivered as a result of 1,383 flights without a single accident.  As a matter of fact, as a result, the daily tonnage also increased from 6,729 tons a day before the Easter Parade, to 8,893 tons per day, an unexpected benefit.  This was the straw that broke the camel's back. 

THE END OF THE BLOCKADE
 

On May 12, 1949, the Soviets capitulated.  The blockade was over.  It was decided to continue supplying Berlin by air in addition to the land routes in order to build up a sufficient supply of goods.  The Airlift officially ended on Sept. 30, 1949, fifteen months after its meager beginnings in June of '48.  In total, the US delivered 1,783,572.7 tons, while 541,936.9 tons were delivered by the British totaling 2.3 Million tons from 277, 569 total flights to Berlin.  C-47's and C-54's alone traveled over 92 million miles in order to do so.  These were astounding figures, considering that in the beginning it seemed impossible to even try.  Nevertheless, even the greatest operation is not without risk.  A total of 101 fatalities were recorded as a result of the operation, including 31 Americans, mostly due to crashes. 

The end of the blockade was unexpected; however, as bigger plans were made and bigger planes were set to replace the existing fleet of C-54's.  The USAF had already used a C-74 "Globemaster" and one Boeing YC-97A "Stratofreighter" in the airlift, testing the feasibility of heavy-lift transports and their use in a continued operation.  The Douglas C-124 "Globemaster II" was coming and the plan was to use C-97's and 124's to continue the operation without as many flights.  Fortunately, that was not necessary. 

Boeing C-97 "Stratofreighter" owned by the Foundation         Fairchild C-82 "Packet"                          Douglas C-74 "Globemaster"       

 

...continued and concluded next week....

 

Please remember the Canteen is here to honor, support and entertain our troops and their families.  This is a politics-free zone!  Thanks for helping us in our mission!

[spel_grammer_an_punct_polise]

Yet another sharp, snappy salute to the Berlin Airlift heroes and especially to the “Cholcolate Pilot”!

[Kathy in Alaska]

Good evening, ML...((HUGS)...any lessons today?

A chance for a ride?

[svcw]

I think I gave you incorrect information before. my father IL was part of the airlift but he actually delivered mail several weeks before the official lift.
My husband said he would check the log books, but remembers hearing stories about a guy who tied chocolate bars to handkerchiefs and dropped them out of the airplanes before they landed.
Oh, a silly part was that my mother IL went into labor early with my husband and my father IL heard about it on his radio, so because he was flying a Douglas air craft they named him Douglas (really glad he wasn’t flying a Boeing)

[DeaconBenjamin]

[left that other site]

Linda donned her Christmas Bow and we went yard-saling together!

[Kathy in Alaska]

Good evening, spel....fascinating piece of history.

[Kathy in Alaska]

Thanks, Nana Hope, for today's Pledge…((HUGS)). Thanks, AfghanMan and Penguin Girl, for your service to America.

[Kathy in Alaska]

Good evening, alfa...((HUGS))....what a great story! Those that never help laugh at the United States, who always is there to help. *sad commentary*

Merry Christmas to you and yours.

[ConorMacNessa]

Hey alfa! Great to see you - it's been ages! How have you been lately?



Keep Faith with the Fallen of Benghazi! Let the Obama Regime, for once, tell the Truth!

Fiat Justitia, Ruat Coelum!

Genuflectimus non ad principem sed ad Principem Pacis!

Listen, O isles, unto me; and hearken, ye people, from far; The LORD hath called me from the womb; from the bowels of my mother hath he made mention of my name. (Isaiah 49:1 KJV)

[ConorMacNessa]

GOD BLESS AND PROTECT OUR TROOPS AND OUR BELOVED NATION!


TATTOO
(Click)

Must retire – the 0500 Reveille approaches relentlessly.

The Bugler, his grim visage replete with an evil sneer, already mounts the parapet.

Do poor Tom some charity, whom the foul fiend vexes!



All Gave Some – Some Gave All!!!
(Click)

Good night, God bless you, and God bless the United States of America!

Godspeed our Troops around the Globe – especially those in harm’s way – by virtue of their service and sacrifice we continue to live in Freedom!

Genuflectimus non ad principem sed ad Principem Pacis!

Listen, O isles, unto me; and hearken, ye people, from far; The LORD hath called me from the womb; from the bowels of my mother hath he made mention of my name. (Isaiah 49:1 KJV)

[Cloverfarm]

Thanks for the article. My dad was in on this while stationed in Germany.

[Kathy in Alaska]

Good evening, Mayor, and thanks for today’s sustenance for body and soul.

Hope you had a relaxing weekend.

[Kathy in Alaska]

Good evening, Mac...*HUGS*...did you marshal all your forces and get your tree finished?

Hope you had some good rest today.

We got several things crossed off the “to do” list and I finished getting my mailings ready. I will take them to work and mail them. I seem to be doing better on “timing” than last year. d:o)

[Kathy in Alaska]

Hmmm...it would not be much fun growing up and having to explain to EVERYONE why your name was Boeing.

That Candy Bomber would be Gail Halvorsen, "Uncle Wiggly Wings".

"Uncle Wiggly Wings"

[Kathy in Alaska]

Aloha, Hawaii...((HUGS))...any sun for you yet? Is your winter usually without much sun?

We got about a foot of snow and are now back to cold...it is -2 right now. The next week’s high is maybe 15.

[Kathy in Alaska]

Good evening, Deacon....I love the picture on the cover. Thanks.

[Kathy in Alaska]

I bet Linda was a vision of loveliness.

[luvie]

What a “sweet” story told here, Galz! Thanks for sharing it! :)

[Kathy in Alaska]

God Bless you good, Mac. Good night and rest well. Thanks for helping honor our troops, past and present.
Thank you for your service to our country.

[luvie]

Howdy, Alfa! Thanks for sharing that with us! :)