Description
Berlin, 1948 – the ruined German capital lay 120 miles inside Soviet-controlled eastern Germany. Stalin wanted the Allies out; the Allies were determined to stay, but had only three narrow air corridors linking the city to the West. Stalin was confident he could crush Berlin’s resolve by cutting off food and fuel. Over eleven months, British and American aircraft carried out the most ambitious airborne relief operation ever mounted, flying over 2 million tons of supplies to save a beleaguered Berlin. With new material from American, British and German archives and original interviews with veterans, Turner paints a fresh picture of the airlift, the repercussions of which still remain today.