FReeper Canteen ~ the Berlin Airlift ~ Part 3: Operation Little Vittles ~ 20 December 2021

Serving The Best Troops and Veterans In The World !! | The Canteen Crew

[Kathy in Alaska]

Our Troops Rock!  Thank you for all you do!

For the freedom you enjoyed yesterday... Thank the Veterans who served in The United States Armed Forces.

Looking forward to tomorrow's freedom? Support The United States Armed Forces Today!

~ Hall of Heroes ~

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!

[Kathy in Alaska]

Hello Veterans, wherever you are!!

[Kathy in Alaska]

You’re most welcome, Pro...enjoy dinner and hanging out with your son.

[Kathy in Alaska]

Good evening, ML...((HUGS))...hope you and Penny are enjoying not having to shovel snow yet.

Is it good coat weather? They say we will have a bunch of snow tomorrow.

[radu]

Yes, I’m staying warm today. I took litter box scoopings out to be thrown away this afternoon and the cold NW wind almost took my breath away. That was all it took to make the decision to just stay put. LOL

It’s already dropped to 30 and it’s early yet. Clear skies will do that.
They SAY tomorrow will be a little nicer than today was and I hope they’re right. I HAVE to get out and about tomorrow afternoon.

There’s wet stuff out over the Bering Sea heading your way but it doesn’t look too bad. Maybe you won’t get much snow.
One of the Lake Hood cam chatters who lives in Anchorage mentioned there’s a good chance y’all will have snow Christmas Day.

[luvie]

BEST Christmas story ever!
Except for the real one.
Thanks, Kathy, for telling it. 🇺🇸

[Kathy in Alaska]

Good evening, my...got all your stuff together for Christmas? Deliveries to all the right places?

[radu]

Howdy, luvie.

Hope your day was a good one, and not as cold as it was here. brrrrrr

[Kathy in Alaska]

No shoveling needed today, but “they” say another storm is coming in tomorrow. If we get snow...more work on the steps.

[Kathy in Alaska]

Good evening, luvie...it certainly is a great story about man’s ingenuity when pressed for answers to difficult problems.

[luvie]

Hey there, radu!

It was a good day, but yes, it was cold. Never got up to 50 and right now it’s 39 and going down. But it will be spring by next weekend. 81 on Friday. LOL!

Sorry it was very cold there. Will that trend continue?

[luvie]

Only American servicemen can save the day! :)

[radu]

You’d mentioned you’d been working on your steps a couple at a time and I didn’t know if you’d gotten them all yet. I hope you did so you have a head start on the next round of snow tomorrow.

[MoochPooch]

Evening, Kathy.
Year 1948 was exciting, quite pivotal. Hard to believe Berlin would later be united.

[radu]

Oooo, right now that 81 degrees sounds reeeeeeal nice. LOL

We made it to 41 this afternoon but that vicious wind made it misery to step outside. If the wind will stop tomorrow, it won’t be too bad at 50, IF we get that warm. 50s through Thursday, then mid 60s for Friday and Saturday, and back down into 50s Sunday. I can live with that. :-) Pretty much normal for this time of year. Winter cold settles in next month and that’s when I’ll be whinin’. LOL

[MHGinTN]

Tears in these old eyes ... the ‘little vittles’ action is what Ture Americans are about.

[Kathy in Alaska]

Good evening, Mooch...how is your editing project going?

1948 certainly was an interesting time. And pretty amazing that the 2 Berlins did get united.

[luvie]

I guess it sounds nice, but not when you have all these neat sweaters to wear and you’re stuck with summer clothes all winter. LOL!

Yes, your day sounded really miserable. The wind was the kicker. Without it, it might not have been that bad. Well, pretty cold, but..... You don’t seem to be warming up much before.

[Kathy in Alaska]

Good evening, MHGinTN...I agree with you; the actions of true Americans.

[MoochPooch]

Hi Kathy,

Got some more editing right now. Freelance is feast or famine; have to take advantage.

[mylife]

Yes thank you.