Berlin Airlift

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How would a second Berlin Airlift have worked?

Revealing the once-secret plans for how the western allies intended to keep West Berlin supplied in the face of renewed Soviet obstruction

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Berlin Airlift – the British contribution

Avoiding World War Three, or the first victory of the Cold War? Helena P Schrader re-evaluates Britain’s contribution to Operation Plainfare, the UK’s designation for the Berlin Airlift

D-Day Squadron plots European return

The D-Day Squadron – a US-based tribute flight comprising Douglas C-47 and DC-3 aircraft – has announced that it will be returning to Europe in 2024

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How Avro's Tudor regained its reputation

The Avro Tudor is best-known for tragedies. But, on the Berlin Airlift, it demonstrated a more positive side

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The early years: Remembering Sir Freddie Laker

Born during the interwar years and coming of age in a boom time for British aviation, the early efforts of Frederick Alfred Laker helped define his career trajectory

C-54 Skymasters on turn-around between airlift sorties, with C-54G 45-532 of the Pacific Division, Military Air Transport Service, in the foreground. KEY COLLECTION Feature Premium

Berlin Airlift - USAF pilots' memories of Operation Vittles

Berlin Airlift pilots from the US Air Force tell the story of their part in one of the greatest humanitarian efforts in aviation history

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The ‘Candy Bomber’ Gail Halvorsen has passed away aged 101

Colonel Gail Seymour Halvorsen, better known as the 'Candy Bomber', has died at the age of 101…

U.S.A.F. Skytrains at Tempelhof airport unloading supplies from the Western Zone. Feature Premium

First-hand report from the Berlin Airlift

A revealing account of the aircraft operations during the Berlin Airlift with ‘The Aeroplane’s’ John E Fricker getting to experience flights into the city on an Avro York and Short Sunderland carrying supplies. In his article, which was published in the July 23, 1948 issue, he also gives his impressions of life in Berlin which was still bearing the scars from World War Two

The Avro York: an Unsung Hero 

Its design was derived from the much-loved Lancaster bomber and it became the hero of the Berlin airlift, even serving as Winston Churchill’s personal transport. The Avro York first flew on July 5, 1942