RAAF Squadron Berlin Air Lift

Last updated

Berlin Airlift Squadron RAAF
RAF C-47s at Berlin-Tegel 1948.jpg
RAF Dakotas during the airlift, similar to those operated by the RAAF
Active1948–1949
CountryAustralia
Branch Royal Australian Air Force
Garrison/HQ Lübeck, West Germany
Commanders
Notable
commanders		Cyril Greenwood
Aircraft flown
Transport Douglas Dakota

The Berlin Airlift Squadron was a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) transport squadron formed to participate in the Berlin Airlift. The unit operated for one year, between August 1948 and August 1949, and was raised specifically for the operation, drawing crews from two existing RAAF transport squadrons. It flew more than 2,000 sorties during the airlift, without loss.

Royal Australian Air Force Air warfare branch of Australias armed forces

The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF), formed in March 1921, is the aerial warfare branch of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). It operates the majority of the ADF's fixed wing aircraft, although both the Australian Army and Royal Australian Navy also operate aircraft in various roles. It directly continues the traditions of the Australian Flying Corps (AFC), formed on 22 October 1912. The RAAF provides support across a spectrum of operations such as air superiority, precision strikes, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, air mobility, space surveillance, and humanitarian support.

Contents

History

In mid-1948, the Soviet Union placed the French-, British- and American sectors of the occupied city of Berlin under blockade following a dispute with the western powers, cutting off the city's land supply routes. As a humanitarian disaster loomed, a large-scale airlift was planned by the western powers to fly in aid to the city’s population. To support the effort, the Australian Government offered aircraft and aircrews to bolster the contribution of the United Kingdom's Royal Air Force (RAF). [1] Due to the inability of the RAF to fully crew its own Dakotas, the decision was made for the Australian contribution to be limited to aircrew who would utilise British aircraft. [2] The Berlin Airlift Squadron was formed at RAAF Richmond in August 1948 from ten Douglas Dakota crews drawn from No. 36 and No. 38 Squadrons. [3] In late August, the crews travelled to the United Kingdom as passengers in Qantas flying boats. [4] The Australian contribution to the airlift, from September 1948, was designated Operation Pelican. [5]

Soviet Union 1922–1991 country in Europe and Asia

The Soviet Union, officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), was a federal sovereign state in northern Eurasia that existed from 1922 to 1991. Nominally a union of multiple national Soviet republics, its government and economy were highly centralized. The country was a one-party state, governed by the Communist Party with Moscow as its capital in its largest republic, the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic. Other major urban centers were Leningrad, Kiev, Minsk, Tashkent, Alma-Ata, and Novosibirsk. It spanned over 10,000 kilometers (6,200 mi) east to west across 11 time zones, and over 7,200 kilometers (4,500 mi) north to south. It had five climate zones: tundra, taiga, steppes, desert and mountains.

Berlin Blockade Blockade on Berlin imposed by the USSR from 1948 to 1949

The Berlin Blockade was one of the first major international crises of the Cold War. During the multinational occupation of post–World War II Germany, the Soviet Union blocked the Western Allies' railway, road, and canal access to the sectors of Berlin under Western control. The Soviets offered to drop the blockade if the Western Allies withdrew the newly introduced Deutsche Mark from West Berlin.

Royal Air Force Aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces

The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's aerial warfare force. Formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world. Following victory over the Central Powers in 1918 the RAF emerged as, at the time, the largest air force in the world. Since its formation, the RAF has taken a significant role in British military history. In particular, it played a large part in the Second World War where it fought its most famous campaign, the Battle of Britain.

After receiving training at RAF Bassingbourn in the UK, [6] the aircrew moved to Lübeck in the British Zone of Allied-occupied Germany on 14 and 15 September. The first Australian flight into Berlin was on 15 September 1948, by the unit’s commanding officer, Squadron Leader Cyril Greenwood. The squadron conducted 2,062 flights in all over the course of the next 11 months, with the last completed on 26 August 1949. [4] To increase the payloads of each sortie, co-pilots were removed from the crews and were eventually sent back to the United Kingdom, to ferry several Bristol Freighter aircraft, which had been recently purchased by the RAAF, to Australia. [6]

RAF Bassingbourn

Royal Air Force Bassingbourn or more simply RAF Bassingbourn is a former Royal Air Force station located in Cambridgeshire approximately 3 mi (5 km) north of Royston, Hertfordshire and 11 mi (18 km) south west of Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England.

Lübeck Place in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany

Lübeck, officially the Hanseatic City of Lübeck (German: Hansestadt Lübeck), is a city in Schleswig-Holstein, northern Germany, and one of the major ports of Germany. On the river Trave, it was the leading city of the Hanseatic League, and because of its extensive Brick Gothic architecture, it is listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. In 2015, it had a population of 218,523.

Allied-occupied Germany Post-World War II military occupation of Germany

Upon defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II, the victorious Allies asserted joint authority and sovereignty over 'Germany as a whole', defined as all territories of the former German Reich west of the Oder–Neisse line, having declared the destruction of Nazi Germany at the death of Adolf Hitler. The four powers divided 'Germany as a whole' into four occupation zones for administrative purposes, under the United States, United Kingdom, France and the Soviet Union respectively; creating what became collectively known as Allied-occupied Germany. This division was ratified at the Potsdam Conference. The four zones were as agreed in February 1945 by the United States, United Kingdom and Soviet Union meeting at the Yalta Conference; setting aside an earlier division into three zones proposed by the London Protocol.

Flying via the 32-kilometre (20 mi) wide northern corridor to RAF Gatow, and then later to the partially completed Tegel airport in November and December 1948, [7] a total of 6,041 flight hours were tallied, with the squadron carrying 6,964 passengers and delivering 8,000 tonnes (7,900 long tons; 8,800 short tons) of supplies. [8] On arrival in Berlin, the aircraft were unloaded by German workers. On return, the aircraft were sometimes diverted to Schleswig and Hamburg when Lübeck was closed. [9] Flights were undertaken in all weather, at all hours. [10]

West Berlin Air Corridor

During the Cold War era (1945–1991), the West Berlin air corridors, also known as the Berlin corridors and control zone, were three regulated airways for civil and military air traffic of the Western Allies between West Berlin and West Germany passing over East Germany's territory. The corridors and control zone were physically centered on and under control of the all-Allied Berlin Air Safety Center (BASC) in West Berlin. The airspace within these corridors was used by US, UK and French-registered non-combat aircraft belonging to these countries' armed forces and airlines operated by pilots holding those countries' passports. In addition, it was also used by LOT Polish Airlines for regular scheduled services from Warsaw to London and Paris via Schönefeld Airport to the south of East Berlin.

RAF Gatow former airport in Germany

Known for most of its operational life as Royal Air Force Station Gatow, or more commonly RAF Gatow, this former British Royal Air Force airfield is in the district of Gatow in south-western Berlin, west of the Havel river, in the borough of Spandau. It was the home for the only known operational use of flying boats in central Europe, and was later used for photographic reconnaissance missions by de Havilland Chipmunks over East Germany. Part of the former airfield is now called General Steinhoff-Kaserne, and is home to the Luftwaffenmuseum der Bundeswehr, the German Air Force Museum.

Berlin Tegel Airport international airport in Berlin, Germany

Berlin Tegel "Otto Lilienthal" Airport is the main international airport of Berlin, the federal capital of Germany. It formerly served West Berlin. The airport is named after Otto Lilienthal and is the fourth busiest airport in Germany, with 20.5 million passengers in 2017 and about 22 million in 2018. The airport is a hub for Eurowings as well as a base for EasyJet. It features flights to several European metropolitan and leisure destinations as well as some intercontinental routes. It is situated in Tegel, a section of the northern borough of Reinickendorf, 8 km (5.0 mi) northwest of the city centre of Berlin. Tegel Airport is notable for its hexagonal main terminal building around an open square, which makes walking distances as short as 30 m (98 ft) from the aircraft to the terminal exit.

In addition to the Berlin Airlift Squadron, the RAAF also contributed crews on rotation to the Avro York-equipped No. 24 (Commonwealth) Squadron RAF. [1] The Berlin Airlift Squadron returned to Australia via the United Kingdom, where its personnel were accommodated at RAF Manston, before returning to Australia aboard an RAF York, [11] on 24 October 1949.

Avro York British transport aircraft

The Avro York was a British transport aircraft developed by Avro during the Second World War. The design was derived from the famed Avro Lancaster heavy bomber, several sections of the York and Lancaster being identical. Due to the importance of Lancaster production, York output proceeded at a slow pace until 1944, after which a higher priority was placed upon transport aircraft.

No. 24 Squadron RAF

No. 24 Squadron of the Royal Air Force is the Air Mobility Operational Conversion Unit (AMOCU). Based at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, 24 Squadron is responsible for aircrew training and engineer training.

RAF Manston RAF station in the north-east of Kent

RAF Manston was an RAF station in the north-east of Kent, at grid reference TR334663 on the Isle of Thanet from 1916 until 1996. The site was split between a commercial airport Kent International Airport (KIA), since closed, and a continuing military use by the Defence Fire Training and Development Centre (DFTDC), following on from a long-standing training facility for RAF firefighters at the Manston base. In March 2017, RAF Manston became the HQ for the 3rd battalion Princess of Wales Royal Regiment (PWRR).

Weather and interference from Soviet aircraft posed threats to the Berlin Airlift. No fatalities or losses were suffered by the squadron, although one Australian was killed during the airlift while serving on exchange with No. 27 Squadron RAF. [4] A total of 41 personnel were contributed initially, of which 16 were rotated home part way through the deployment, with six personnel being sent as replacements; [1] two members were decorated with the Air Force Cross for their role in the airlift. [12]

No. 27 Squadron RAF Royal Air Force squadron

No. 27 Squadron of the Royal Air Force operates the Boeing Chinook from RAF Odiham.

Air Force Cross (United Kingdom) British military decoration

The Air Force Cross (AFC) is a military decoration awarded to officers, and since 1993 other ranks, of the United Kingdom Armed Forces, and formerly also to officers of the other Commonwealth countries. It is granted for "an act or acts of exemplary gallantry while flying, though not in active operations against the enemy". A bar is added to the ribbon for holders who are awarded a further AFC.

Commanding officer

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 "RAAF Participation in Berlin Airlift 1948–49: Operation Pelican" (PDF). Royal Australian Air Force. Retrieved 24 September 2018.
  2. ↑ Eather, Odd Jobs, p. 30
  3. ↑ Eather, Odd Jobs, pp. 29–30
  4. 1 2 3 4 RAAF Historical Section, Maritime and Transport Units, pp. 181–182
  5. ↑ Clark, Operation Pelican, front cover
  6. 1 2 Eather, Odd Jobs, p. 31
  7. ↑ Eather, Odd Jobs, pp. 30–31
  8. ↑ O'Malley, Brendan (3 September 2009). "State role in Berlin blockade". The Courier Mail. p. 70 – via ProQuest.
  9. ↑ Eather, Odd Jobs, pp. 35–37
  10. ↑ Macaulay, Ron (6 May 1999). "Group Captain Cy Greenwood, OBE, AFC: Obituary". The Sydney Morning Herald. p. 34 – via ProQuest.
  11. ↑ Eather, Odd Jobs, p. 37
  12. ↑ O’Sullivan, Georgina (19 November 1949). "RAAF aircrews come home without a scratch". The Australian Women' s Weekly. 17 (24). Retrieved 29 October 2018– via Trove.

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References

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