Boulder, CO (PRWEB) March 09, 2015
Early on the morning of June 24, 1948, daily life in Berlin stopped. Suddenly, there were no lights or electricity in most of West Berlin, and all land and water traffic in and out of the city came to a halt. Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin had effectively isolated West Berlin and started the Cold War. With winter just months away, West Berliners looked to the United States, British and French occupying forces in West Berlin for aid in this dire situation. Many diplomatic and military advisors did not think an airlift of this scale could work, but U.S. General Lucius Clay, President Harry Truman, and the British military disregarded objections and implemented the Berlin Airlift. Almost overnight, military and civilian aircraft were recruited to start the massive job of supplying coal and food for over two million West Berliners. Between 1948 and 1949, the Airlift delivered over two million tons of supplies to West Berlin on 270,000 flights. The blockade finally ended on May 12, 1949, and the Airlift became a symbol of the United States resolve to stand up to the Soviet threat.
In his ninth aviation history book, Bruce McAllister gives the reader a unique inside look at the Airlift, through rare historical photographs. BERLIN AIRLIFT covers a range of topics, including the Airlift pilots who flew in hazardous weather, the resolute West Berliners, the various aircraft involved, maintenance challenges, and the French construction of runways out of World War II rubble. Additional photographs convey Berlin’s reputation as one of the spy capitals of the world and the events leading up to the divisive Wall between East and West Berlin.
From Stephan Wilkinson’s AVIATION HISTORY review -- “Bruce McAllister has assembled a remarkable assortment of Airlift photographs accompanied by stylish and incisive text and captions. Many of us have seen a few of these photos, but I'm sure none have seen them all.”
ISBN 978-0-615-98499-5
254 Photographs and Illustrations / 216 Pages / Hard Cover
Retail $49.95
Release Date April 1, 2015
For more information, visit http://www.wingsalcan.com or contact mcax(at)aol(dot)com
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