FReeper Canteen ~ The Berlin Airlift ~ Part 3: Operation Little Vittles ~ 21 December 2020

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[Kathy in Alaska]

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

Link to Part 1
Link to Part 2

           

"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!

[The Mayor]

Thank you Kathy!

[luvie]

This wonderful story never gets old.

[Kathy in Alaska]

Good evening, Pro...a piece of history that needs repeating.

[aspasia]

Never old ... it delivered the European Union with denationalized states. Bad story.

[luvie]

I prefer to dwell on the good stuff. :)

[aspasia]

$600 coming your way soon.

[luvie]

Not holding my breath but that would be upbeat news. LOL!

[radu]

Greetings to all at the Canteen!

To all our military men and women, past and present,

THANK YOU
for your service!

[Kathy in Alaska]

Thanks, VeniVidiVici, for sharing your experiences. And we thank you for your service to our country.

[Kathy in Alaska]

Oh my...waiting or working, new job, new title. Good luck in the decision making.

[Kathy in Alaska]

[radu]

Howdy, Kathy.

Y’all sure are getting the snow this weekend, aren’t you? The hits just keep a-comin’. Pretty to look at but it’s keeping crews who keep streets cleared mighty busy, I’d say.

[PROCON]

Hi radu, great pictures of our WWII heroes, thanks!

No white Christmas for us unfortunately, warmish and nice.

We're locked down but I will be bringing over Applebee's take out on Christmas Eve for Robin and Zach, daughter will be by next month.

Hope all is well with you and yours and the kittehs.

"My work is done here, time for a nap."

[Kathy in Alaska]

Good evening, Luvie...it doesn’t get old.

[radu]

Howdy, PRO!

You’re quite welcome. I got lucky while “shopping” for some new pix to add to my collection. Those stood out.

They still can’t decide if we’ll have a white Christmas but the possibility exists. ugh! The weatherfolks are all over the place with their predictions. It’ll be cold no matter what we get in the way of precipitation. We aren’t going anywhere so it doesn’t matter if it’s cold or warm.

We have fog thick as pea soup tonight. I had to make a store run after supper and couldn’t see to drive. It was creepy but I got there and back without running into anything or anyone. LOL

I bought a ham the other day to fix up for Christmas dinner. Still debating what else to whip up with it. It’s just the two of us so there’s no need to make a whole lot of stuff.

We aren’t locked down yet but our gov. announced his new EO regarding restrictions this evening. No big indoor gatherings and he wants employers to let their employees to work from home - - those who can. Those who work in stores need to wear masks but he still hasn’t issued a mandate for everyone ..... yet.

Your pic of the tree and cat are precisely why we don’t put up a tree. LOL It wouldn’t last a half our with our wild bunch.

[radu]

Howdy, luvie.

Are you enjoying temps in the 70s yet? I seem to recall you said they were expected soon.

It wasn’t too bad here but it was a dreary day. The clouds cleared out just after sunset and fog set in. THICK fog.

Thank goodness it’s going to be clear tomorrow evening, just in time for the “Christmas Star” conjunction. Can’t wait to see it!

[luvie]

Hi, Kathy! (((hugs))) It sure doesn’t get old. Our troops [and those of our allies] are the best!

[luvie]

Not yet. Tomorrow 66 and then 70 on Tuesday...in time for a dental appointment o joy....and then back to 50s.

Glad it was not cold there today. Sorry it was cloudy. I love fog if I don’t have to drive in it.

I think I saw the “conjunction” tonight. I lugged my very heavy telescope out and found a very bright star looking east at about 45 degrees, but I couldn’t see if it was 2 or just one. The darn thing is hard to focus and aim. I should have asked for a smaller one.

[Kathy in Alaska]

Good evening, radu...great pictures!

Are you staying warm? A little more gentle snow today.

[E.G.C.]

A very pleasant good Monday morning and ((HUGS)) to everyone at the Canteen and to all our military at home and abroad. Thanks for your service to our country.

How's everyone doing this morning?