Berlin Airlift Superpower relations Edexcel Cold War GCSE History How to get a Grade 9

Added: 2026-05-30

[00:00:00]Hello, and welcome back to Mrs. B History. Now, we've looked at the causes of the blockade and the blockade itself.

[00:00:07]Now, it's time for the Western response.

[00:00:10]So named Operation Vittles or the Berlin Airlift. This operation was one of the most remarkable feats of logistics in modern history. So, let's get into it.

[00:00:21]The Berlin Airlift, which was officially code-named Operation Vittles by the Americans, began in late June 1948, almost immediately after the blockade started. The Western Allies launched a massive effort to fly food, coal, medicine, and all other essential supplies into West Berlin along the three agreed air corridors.

[00:00:43]The pilots knew they were taking an enormous risk. They were flying into a city surrounded by Soviet controlled territory with Soviet anti-aircraft guns potentially trained on them. There was always the possibility that Stalin might order the planes to be shot down, but they flew anyway, day after day, night after night. The air corridors were the key legal loophole.

[00:01:07]Unlike the land routes, which the Soviets had technically the right to manage, the air corridors had been formally agreed in 1945.

[00:01:16]If Stalin shot down Western planes using these legal routes, he would be undeniably the aggressor and the one starting World War III. He knew he couldn't risk that.

[00:01:28]To get the airlift to work on the scale needed, the Western Allies and the people of Berlin had to work together.

[00:01:34]The people of West Berlin and Western troops in the city joined forces to expand and build airport facilities. At Tempelhof Airport, the main airport in the American sector, runways were extended and the facilities upgraded to handle a much greater volume of flights.

[00:01:51]Then, West Berliners and the Western military worked together to build a whole new airport at Berlin Tegel in the French sector, as you can see on the picture below, completed in record time to dramatically increase capacity.

[00:02:05]Ordinary citizens of West Berlin played a remarkable role. They volunteered to unload the planes as quickly as possible so they could take off again, helping to maintain the turnaround speed that was critical to the airlift's success.

[00:02:20]The more quickly planes could be turned around, the more flights could be made each day.

[00:02:26]The sheer scale of what was achieved is extraordinary. In the early days, the Americans and British were flying in around 750 tons of supplies per day, but week by week, the operation grew. By the autumn of 1948, the Americans were consistently flying in more than 1,000 tons of supplies every single day, and the British were achieving similar figures.

[00:02:50]At its absolute peak in January 1949, the operation was delivering no fewer than 170,000 tons of supplies in a single month. At one point, a plane was landing in West Berlin every 45 seconds. The Soviets had been absolutely certain that the Western allies would never be able to sustain the airlift through the brutal German winter. They were wrong.

[00:03:16]The allies were able to succeed with the airlift due to both practical achievements, including the new airports, huge tonnage airlifted, and the frequency of flights, as well as the political calculation that Stalin would not want to shoot planes down.

[00:03:33]One of the most memorable stories from the entire Berlin crisis is the story of a young American pilot named Gail Halvorsen.

[00:03:40]Whilst landing supplies at Tempelhof Airport, he noticed children watching the planes from behind the perimeter fence. He gave them some chewing gum, the only sweets he had with him.

[00:03:51]On his next flight, Halvorsen decided to attach small bags of sweets and chocolates to tiny parachutes and drop them out of his aircraft window for the children below. He began waggling the wings of his plane, earning himself the nickname "Uncle Wiggly Wings" amongst Berlin's children, so they'd know it was him.

[00:04:11]When the story got out, the other pilots started doing the same thing. The operation became formally known as Operation Little Vittles. Millions of sweets were parachuted down to West Berlin's children over the following months. It was a powerful symbol.

[00:04:27]The West wasn't just keeping the city alive logistically, it was showing human compassion and care for the people of Berlin.

[00:04:35]Operation Little Vittles was far more than a sweet gesture. It was a brilliant propaganda for the West. Instead of Stalin winning the propaganda war by making the West look weak, the Western allies were being portrayed as generous, kind, and caring, everything the Soviet blockade was not. The children of Berlin became a powerful symbol of Western moral superiority in the Cold War.

[00:05:00]By early 1949, it was becoming clear to Stalin that the blockade had failed. The Western allies had not given up. West Berlin had not surrendered. The airlift had kept the city alive through the entire winter. Rather than winning a propaganda victory, Stalin was looking like the aggressor, the one who had tried to starve a civilian population.

[00:05:23]On the night of May 1949, nearly a year after it had begun, Stalin quietly and without any announcement lifted the blockade. The land routes into West Berlin were reopened. The crisis was over.

[00:05:36]The results of the airlift were remarkable. There had been no Allied military casualties as a direct result of Soviet action. The Western allies had demonstrated that they could and would protect their allies even under extreme pressure. West Berlin had survived.

[00:05:55]The outcome was a serious setback for Stalin. His attempt to win a propaganda victory had completely backfired.

[00:06:02]Instead of looking strong and decisive, he looked like the bully who had tried to starve two and a half million innocent civilians.

[00:06:09]The West had responded in a peaceful, creative, and effective way, making Stalin look aggressive by comparison.

[00:06:17]Britain, France, and the USA had demonstrated their determination to stand firm against Soviet aggression.

[00:06:24]The Truman Doctrine had been proven to be more than words. It was a real commitment, and Berlin had become a powerful symbol for the West, proof that democracy could resist communist pressure.

[00:06:36]Remember the consequences of the airlift were both short-term consequences, such as Berlin surviving and no war, as well as long-term consequences, such as Germany being permanently divided and NATO being formed partly as a result.

[00:06:53]So, let's quickly just go over some key points for the Berlin Airlift.

[00:06:57]Operation Vittles began in June 1948, flying food, fuel, and supplies along three agreed air corridors into West Berlin.

[00:07:06]The West Berlin and Allied forces built new airport capacity.

[00:07:11]Tempelhof expanded, and Berlin Tegel was built, with citizens volunteering to unload planes.

[00:07:18]At its peak in January 1949, over 170,000 tons of supplies were flown in per month. That's a plane every 45 seconds.

[00:07:29]There was also Operation Little Vittles.

[00:07:31]Gail Halvorsen parachuting sweets was a propaganda triumph for the West.

[00:07:37]On the 9th of May 1949, Stalin lifted the blockade. The airlifted succeeded. His propaganda gamble had completely backfired.

[00:07:48]So, next up we'll look at one of the most significant consequences of the whole crisis, and that's the creation of East and West Germany.

[00:07:56]So, if you found this video useful, please like it as it really does help, and subscribe. I'll see you in the next video.