Operation Plainfare

Operation Plainfare. This was the Royal Air Force's codename for its pivotal contribution to the massive Berlin Airlift, a defining confrontation of the early Cold War. Launched in response to the Soviet Union's Berlin Blockade of West Berlin, the operation involved a relentless schedule of flights to deliver vital food, fuel, and supplies to the isolated city's inhabitants. Alongside the larger United States Air Force effort, Operation Vittles, it sustained over two million people for nearly fifteen months, becoming a monumental feat of logistics and a powerful symbol of Western Bloc resolve against Soviet expansionism.

Background and context

The immediate origins of the operation lay in the escalating tensions between the former World War II allies over the administration of occupied Germany. Following the Potsdam Agreement, the United States, United Kingdom, and France consolidated their zones, introducing a new Deutsche Mark currency in West Germany and West Berlin. Viewing this as a threat, the Soviet Union, under Joseph Stalin, initiated a full land and water blockade of the Allied sectors of Berlin on 24 June 1948, aiming to force their withdrawal from the enclave deep within the Soviet occupation zone. With all ground routes severed, the only remaining access to the city was through three narrow air corridors established by prior agreement. Faced with the choice of abandoning Berlin or provoking a direct military confrontation, President Harry S. Truman and British Prime Minister Clement Attlee authorized an unprecedented airlift to sustain the city.

Planning and objectives

The primary objective was stark: to provide the minimum daily necessities for the civilian population and Allied garrison in West Berlin, thereby demonstrating that the blockade would not succeed. Initial planning by the British Air Ministry and RAF Transport Command was rushed, based on assessments from officials like Military Governor Sir Brian Robertson. The plan required creating a highly disciplined, continuous airbridge from bases in the British zone, primarily RAF Lübeck and RAF Wunstorf, to airports in West Berlin such as Gatow Airfield and later Tegel Airport. Coordination with the United States Air Forces in Europe under General Curtis LeMay was essential to unify the separate national efforts into a single, efficient logistical machine, a task later perfected under USAF commander William H. Tunner.

Execution and airlift operations

Execution began immediately, with the first RAF Douglas Dakota flights arriving at Gatow Airfield on 28 June 1948. The operation rapidly scaled from a provisional emergency measure into a meticulously organized shuttle service. RAF crews, alongside personnel from Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and South Africa, flew grueling schedules in all weather conditions. The process was refined to extreme efficiency: aircraft followed strict timetables along the air corridors, landed often without stopping their engines for quick offloading by German civilian crews, and returned for another load. Key to success was the construction of Tegel Airport by French engineers and Berlin laborers in just 90 days, providing a crucial third airfield. The peak of the effort came during the Easter Parade of April 1949, when over 1,300 flights delivered nearly 13,000 tons in a single day.

Aircraft and logistics

The RAF fleet initially relied on the Douglas Dakota and the Avro York, a transport derivative of the Avro Lancaster bomber. These were later supplemented by the larger Handley Page Hastings, the first purpose-built postwar transport for the RAF. The United States Air Force primarily used the Douglas C-54 Skymaster. The logistics chain was immense, requiring the daily import of thousands of tons of cargo, most notably dried potatoes, flour, dried eggs, coal, and petrol. Specialized equipment was developed, including coal sacks and miniature parachutes for candy drops during Operation Little Vittles. Ground operations at airfields like Gatow Airfield and Tempelhof Airport operated around the clock, managed by a combined staff of Allied military and thousands of Berlin workers.

Impact and conclusion

The operation was a decisive political and humanitarian success. It sustained the morale and survival of West Berlin's populace, embodied by iconic figures like Ernst Reuter and Luise Schroeder, and showcased Western Bloc unity and technological prowess. Faced with the airlift's undeniable success and the counter-blockade on Eastern goods, the Soviet Union lifted the blockade on 12 May 1949. Operation Plainfare and Operation Vittles officially continued until 30 September 1949 to build a stockpile. The airlift cemented the division of Germany, directly leading to the creation of the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic. It solidified the United States and United Kingdom's commitment to Containment, foreshadowed the formation of NATO, and established Berlin as a persistent flashpoint in the Cold War, culminating in later crises like the Berlin Wall.

Category:Cold War operations involving the United Kingdom Category:Berlin Blockade Category:Royal Air Force operations