Berlin Airlift: Tempelhof, Gatow and Tegel, 1948–49

When Soviet authorities halted all traffic by land and water into western Berlin on 20 June 1948, the Western Powers chose to supply the city by air. Operation Vittles began on 26 June, when C-47s carried 80 tons of food into Tempelhof. In July, pilot Gail Halvorsen met about thirty children lined up behind a barbed-wire fence here, and the dropping of candy to children near the airport became famous. The last airlift transport touched down on 30 September 1949.

Visitor guidance: The old terminal entrance is on Platz der Luftbrücke.

RAF Gatow played a key role in the airlift, alongside American Tempelhof and French Tegel. By 18 July 1948 the RAF was flying 995 tons of supplies a day into it. Australian, Canadian, New Zealand and South African air forces also flew cargo here. The site is now home to the Luftwaffe museum, where admission is free.

Visitor guidance: The Luftwaffenmuseum der Bundeswehr occupies the former airfield; admission is free.

Fassberg, an airfield established in 1934 and overrun by the British Army in April 1945, became a key base for the lift. Various Luftwaffe units had been stationed there between 1934 and 1945. After Fassberg and RAF Wunstorf, Celle became the third airfield in the region to serve in the airlift. During the blockade, RAF Fassberg played an important role as a hub for supplying the city.

Tempelhof was not big enough for all the relief aircraft, so French authorities ordered a new airport at Tegel with a 2,428 m runway, the longest in Europe at the time. Groundbreaking took place on 5 August 1948. Only 90 days later, on 5 November, a USAF C-54 Skymaster became the first aircraft to land. Scheduled flights ended in November 2020.

Celle sat at the end of the middle air corridor to Berlin, with the shortest distance to the city. USAF C-54s of the 317th Troop Carrier Group arrived at the end of 1948 and transported mostly coal. The airfield gained a rail siding of about 300 metres and its first asphalt runway, and 5,000 German workers helped the American forces. A smaller copy of the Berlin Airlift Monument has stood at the base since 1988.

The square outside Tempelhof is named for the airlift. In front of the airport entrance stands the Berlin Airlift Monument, erected in 1951, the first major monument in West Berlin after the war. Its base records the names and ranks of the 78 people killed in accidents during the blockade, and its three arcs pointing west symbolise the three air corridors that were the city's lifeline. The Platz der Luftbrücke U-Bahn station is at the square's north end.

Visitor guidance: Free to see at any time in front of the former Tempelhof terminal; the U-Bahn station is on the square.