Berlin Blockaded by Soviet Union.

Germany, at the end of the Second World War, was divided into four zones under British, French, American and Soviet administration. The 'Big Four' also occupied Berlin, dividing the city into sectors, even though it was located well inside the Soviet sector. Relations between the Big Four became increasingly strained in the immediate post-war era and co-operation between the Soviets and the others began to break down in 1947. When the three Western powers decided to amalgamate their zones and introduce the Deutsch Mark, the situation deteriorated further, especially as the Western powers extended the new currency to West Berlin. The Soviet Union deliberately disrupted Western traffic to and from the Berlin and eventually imposed the Berlin Blockade on 24 June 1948. Berlin became a city under siege and was accessible only by air.

The Western powers reaction was the Berlin Airlift, which supplied over 2 million West Berliners with food, fuel and other essentials. At its peak, one plane landed in West Berlin every 30 seconds. The Airlift officially ended on 30 September 1949 and in total, the United States and Britain delivered 1,783,573 and 541,937 tons respectively, from 277,569 flights to Berlin. The UK and USA's casualties were 101 fatal deaths recorded as a result of the airlift, including 39 British (17 Royal Air Force, 1 British Army, 21 civilians).

Below:The funeral of a Royal Air Force aircrew at the British cemetery in Berlin, 19 July 1949. Five RAF air crew were killed when their Handley Page Hastings crashed on take off from Tegel airport in Berlin on 15 July. This was the twentieth and final fatal air crash of the Berlin Airlift.

BRITISH FORCES IN BERLIN, GERMANY 1949 - 1960© IWM (BER 49-203-012)