June 1948   The first major test of the Free World's will to  resist Soviet aggression came in June 1948  when Soviet authorities, claiming "Technical difficulties," halted all traffic by land and by  water into or out of the western-controlled  section of Berlin. The only remaining access  routes into the city were three 20 mile-wide air corridors across the Russian zone of Germany. Faced with the choice of abandoning the city or attempting to supply its inhabitants with the  necessities of life by air, the Western Powers chose the latter course and for the next 11 months sustained the city's 2 1/2 million residents in one of the greatest feats in aviation history. Operation Vittles, as the airlift was unofficially named, began on June 26 when USAF C-47s carried 80 tons offood into Berlin, far less than the estimated 4,500 tons of food, coal, and other material needed daily to maintain a minimum level of existence.

But this force was soon augmented by U.S. Navy and Royal Air Force cargo aircraft. On Oct. 15, 1948 to promote increased safety and cooperation between the separate U.S.and British airlift efforts, the Allies created a unified command, theCombined Airlift Task Force under Maj. Gen. William H. Tunner, USAF.  To underscore Allied determination to resist Soviet pressure, three SAC bomb groups were sent to Europe, placing Soviet targets well within B-29 range. Airlift aircraft used three airfields within Berlin: Tempelhof (above) in the U.S. sector, Gatow in the British sector, and Tegel which was built in the French sector in only 60 days using volunteer German men and women laborers.  C-47s unloading at Tempelhof, formed the nucleus of the airlift until September when the larger and faster four-engine C-54s capable of hauling ten tons had been put into service.Cross-sectional view of flight into Berlin as of Sep. 1948.This arrangement allowed for landing at the rate of one plane every 3 minutes. Later, two levels were used with spacing that allowed for landing at the same rate. Airlift pilots flew under an extremely rigid system of traffic control, which required each pilot to fly an exact route at predetermined speed and altitude.