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FReeper Canteen ~ The Berlin Airlift Part 3: Operation Little Vittles ~ December 22, 2008
Serving The Best Troops And Veterans In The World | StarCMC and Frosty The Snowman

Posted on 12/21/2008 5:00:07 PM PST by 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 One
Link to Part Two

ArmyPatch small   NavySeal small   Air Force Seal   Marines Seal small   Coast Guard Seal small (better)
 

"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 1st 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"       

 

 

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!



TOPICS: Culture/Society; Extended News; Free Republic
KEYWORDS: berlinairlift; canteen; military; troopsupport
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To: MoochPooch; yorkie; Alouette; American Preservative; Yehuda; yonif; Tamar1973; USAF_TSgt; ...
Happy Hanukkah!!


521 posted on 12/22/2008 2:10:56 PM PST by Kathy in Alaska (~ RIP Brian...heaven's gain...the Coast Guard lost a good one.~)
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To: NRA1995

And a very Merry Christmas to you as well, NRA. ((HUGS)) It is just starting to snow a little bit now.


522 posted on 12/22/2008 2:19:18 PM PST by Kathy in Alaska (~ RIP Brian...heaven's gain...the Coast Guard lost a good one.~)
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Comment #523 Removed by Moderator

To: Kathy in Alaska

Escaped from Cubeville. Good day. Busy until about 2:30 then died.

How’s yours going?


524 posted on 12/22/2008 2:40:49 PM PST by SandRat (Duty, Honor, Country! What else needs said?)
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To: Arrowhead1952; Allegra
That 14o marker in Cental Arizona had me going, until I saw that it was the Centigrade scale. We were at 60o here again this afternoon.
525 posted on 12/22/2008 2:59:56 PM PST by HiJinx (~ Support our Troops ~ www.americasupportsyou.mil ~)
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To: VoiceofXmasPast

Welcome to the Canteen - it’s a great place for wet feet, and other stuff.


526 posted on 12/22/2008 3:03:44 PM PST by HiJinx (~ Support our Troops ~ www.americasupportsyou.mil ~)
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To: VoiceofXmasPast; Kathy in Alaska
This looked like a friendly thread

It is that, and you're not likely to step on toes. There are generally several conversations going on with a loosely defined thread of troop (and vets) support woven into them all.

And don't feel bad if it appears you're being ignored. On a thread this long, it's easy to get overlooked. That's where Ma comes in. She reads every post and will eventually get around to welcoming you into the Canteen.

527 posted on 12/22/2008 3:11:58 PM PST by HiJinx (~ Support our Troops ~ www.americasupportsyou.mil ~)
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To: HiJinx; Allegra

We’ve been stuck in the mid 30s all day here.


528 posted on 12/22/2008 3:37:38 PM PST by Arrowhead1952 (The main stream media lied - America died.)
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To: Lady Jag
The Early Bird May Get The Worm, But The Second Mouse Gets The Cheese

This lil guy wooooed the cheese..... *click*

529 posted on 12/22/2008 3:37:38 PM PST by AZamericonnie
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To: tomkow6

I gotta get me one of these!:) *Hugs*

530 posted on 12/22/2008 3:39:03 PM PST by AZamericonnie
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To: AZamericonnie; tomkow6

Wha?!?! They make those?
Do you mean I can now watch my favorite DVDs over and over, again?
Wow!


531 posted on 12/22/2008 3:44:02 PM PST by HiJinx (~ Support our Troops ~ www.americasupportsyou.mil ~)
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To: HiJinx; VoiceofXmasPast; Kathy in Alaska

Yeah.....what he said!:)

Welcome to the canteen VoiceofXmasPast & Merry Christmas to you!

Well Jinxie, no one by the pool today....rainy & about 52 degrees. Balmy by some standards I know.


532 posted on 12/22/2008 4:08:28 PM PST by AZamericonnie
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To: HiJinx
Do you mean I can now watch my favorite DVDs over and over, again?

As long as you turn them over so you can watch the other side!:)

533 posted on 12/22/2008 4:09:55 PM PST by AZamericonnie
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To: AZamericonnie

Me too! I get the cheese all the time!


534 posted on 12/22/2008 4:20:28 PM PST by Lady Jag (DONATE NOW at https://secure.freerepublic.com/donate)
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To: unique

Wow....unique....more really great Christmas woohoos for the troops. ((HUGS))


535 posted on 12/22/2008 4:20:53 PM PST by Kathy in Alaska (~ RIP Brian...heaven's gain...the Coast Guard lost a good one.~)
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To: MEG33

Good afternoon, Meg...((HUGS))...I hope you aren’t too cold.


536 posted on 12/22/2008 4:37:30 PM PST by Kathy in Alaska (~ RIP Brian...heaven's gain...the Coast Guard lost a good one.~)
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To: VoiceofXmasPast
Canteen Mission Statement

Showing support and boosting the morale of
our military and our allies military
and the family members of the above.
Honoring those who have served before.

Welcome to the Canteen, VoiceofXmasPast, where we honor our troops, our veterans, their families, and our allies every day. We are here 24(mostly)/7/365 to provide a place for our military to stop in, pull up a chair, and enjoy a joke, hear a song (requests taken), read some history, enjoy a cyber meal (no calories), hear about our families lives, join in the silliness, and just relax.

All who honor our troops, veterans, their families, and our allies are welcome to join in the every day honoring. We have serving troops, veterans, family members, allies, and those who just wish to help honor them here every day.


537 posted on 12/22/2008 5:17:29 PM PST by Kathy in Alaska (~ RIP Brian...heaven's gain...the Coast Guard lost a good one.~)
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To: SandRat

Because of the short week, today is “Tuesday”, my late night. Been a busy day already. We have to print checks tomorrow for direct deposit.


538 posted on 12/22/2008 5:59:26 PM PST by Kathy in Alaska (~ RIP Brian...heaven's gain...the Coast Guard lost a good one.~)
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To: Arrowhead1952
We’ve been stuck in the mid 30s all day here.

That's chilly for your neck of the woods!

It's warm and wet here this morning. I woke up in the middle of the night to switch the A/C on. The winter weather here is every bit as unpredictable as Houston's is. ;-)

539 posted on 12/22/2008 8:38:45 PM PST by Allegra
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To: HiJinx
That 14o marker in Cental Arizona had me going, until I saw that it was the Centigrade scale. We were at 60o here again this afternoon.

We're supposed to hit around 70 today. It's breezy and sprinkling outside now and it rained during the night. That's a good thing because it keeps sand from blowing.

540 posted on 12/22/2008 8:42:27 PM PST by Allegra
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