FReeper Canteen ~ The Berlin Airlift Part 3: Operation Little Vittles ~ December 22, 2008

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The Berlin Airlift
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"       

 

 

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[beachn4fun]

Good morning, Pro

I can’t wait for it to get warmer here.

[beachn4fun]

Good morning, hon

((((hugsssss))))

What happened with the Steelers?

[beachn4fun]

Good morning, Meg

HUGS

[GodBlessUSA]

[CodeToad]

“We goofed.”

lol.

[GodBlessUSA]

W H b4its2late :)

[MEG33]

[beachn4fun]

It was not funny!

Dang machine started spinning and took waaaaaay too long and then it stopped at 449!

[beachn4fun]

Hello Voice

Welcome to the FR Canteen. We’re here for the Military, our Allies and their families. Are you among this list? Or, wanting to join us in providing comfort and support to them?

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[NRA1995]

[[[[[[[[[[[Christmashugsbackatcha]]]]]]]]]]] hon. I had to work so I missed most of the game. I’m not real concerned about the loss, I expected Titans to win; We’ll get another crack at ‘em, so not to worry. I was more upset with how poorly Dallas was prepared for the Ravens.

[unique]

[beachn4fun]

Didn’t see anything on the Dallas/Ravens game.

I did see the great save that the Skins did against the Eagles.

[Lady Jag]

Birds eat carrots? I didn’t know that.

My birds won’t get hungry and they barely have to work. I feed them hulled sunflower seeds and suet with insects. Bluebird love the suet plus in winter they will eat seed.

The feeders are frozen shut this morning so I threw seeds on the frozen snow and they’re busy cleaning them up.

[Lady Jag]

Good morning! Have you gotten that snow your weatherman predicted yet?

[Kathy in Alaska]

Nary a flake....you still snowing?

[tomkow6]

Morning!

I'd like to thank all the wonderful people who took time out from their busy day to take time to wish me a "Happy Birthday" last Friday.

I've been behaving, as best I can.

After clearing my driveway of about 6" of snow Friday morning, I met up with some friends to celebrate the occasion

...got some GREATS gifts, too!

Thank you, all!

[Lady Jag]

 

Lady Jag’s Personal Horrorscope for Monday, December 22, 2008   The Early Bird May Get The Worm, But The Second Mouse Gets The Cheese

---

 

Aries (March 21 - April 19)

Twelve freshly cut rods (made from ash) will be found in a peculiar pattern on the lawn. Two large black crows will watch you solemnly from the top of a parked VW Microbus. The weather will turn colder, and the air, although clear, will seem grey. Don't worry, though, it's probably nothing.

Taurus (April 20 - May 20)

Today you will become a digger. Dig, dig, dig. That's all you'll think of, for months. You will discover an amazingly large diamond, about 27 feet down, and will be fabulously rich after that. Not that you'll give me any credit, of course. Ingrate!

Gemini (May 21 - June 20)

You are being stalked by an invisible mutant from Planet 7. Or at least, you'll find that this makes an excellent excuse for not doing those outside chores today.

Cancer (June 21 - July 22)

You will lurk, today. There's nothing that wrong with lurking, after all, and it's occasionally somewhat refreshing. In fact, you'll soon begin work on How To Lurk, a best-selling self-help book on the topic.

Leo (July 23 - August 22)

A rare form of management disease will strike you today, where you can only speak in metaphors. Still, you'll open the kimono and hit the ground running.

Virgo (August 23 - September 22)

Too much "musk" in that cologne - don't try it. Or if you do, bring along a few carrots for the moose.

Libra (September 22 - October 22)

The mythic asteroid Chaeron, in collaboration with the uneasy spirit of Atahualpa (the last Inca king), will act to produce a gastric upset of epic proportions, today. Keep your chakras clear, and carry some Imodium.

Scorpio (October 23 - November 21)

Today you will be overcome with a sudden strong urge to learn to play a wooden flute while cavorting around in the forest. I recommend you treat those separately at first. You'll find what you need under "Music, Instruction" and under "Cavorting, Instruction." Don't get talked into buying any cavorting supplies, though -- they're really only needed by professionals.

Sagittarius (November 22 - December 21)

Excellent day to walk around wearing a white lab coat and carrying a clipboard.

Capricorn (December 22 - January 20)

You must seize the opportunity that presents itself today, no matter what the consequences may be. Remember: opportunity knocks but once and absolutely refuses to ring the doorbell.

Aquarius (January 21 - February 18)

Oh boy! Today you will find some cool shoes that you'd forgotten all about, in the back of your closet. Oddly, they no longer fit, and are at least 3 sizes too large. This may worry you.

Pisces (February 19 - March 20)

Today you will begin a new hobby: collecting spores, molds, and fungus. You will find it richly rewarding, in a spiritual sense.

[Kathy in Alaska]

And good morning to you,too. Have you escaped with only 6” of snow? The maps show it is mighty cold in your part of the country.

[E.G.C.]

((HUGS))Good morning, L.J. How’s it going?