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Berlin Airlift |
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Press Release Technical Details Below Date of Issue: June 26, 1998At the end of World War II, in a massive operation known as the Berlin Airlift, U.S. Air Force planes helped deliver much needed food and fuel to the citizens of the war torn German capital. Next month, a U.S. Air Force plane will again make a delivery to Berlin -- a special postage stamp commemorating the 50th anniversary of the historic effort. On June 26, Einar V. Dyhrkopp, Vice-Chairman of the Postal Service’s Presidentially appointed Board of Governors and a World War II veteran, officially dedicated the stamp in a 10 a.m. ceremony at Tempelhof Airport in Berlin. As part of the ceremony, a plane which took part in the airlift delivered the stamp. In 1948, after the Soviet Union halted all traffic by land or water into or out of western-controlled Berlin, Allied Powers began supplying the city’s 2.5 million residents with the necessities of life -- by air. The Allied airlift, unofficially named Operation Vittles, began on June 26 when 32 flights of C-47s carried 80 tons of food and supplies into Berlin. The C-47s made up the heart of the airlift and were later joined by the larger and faster C-54s, which were capable of hauling 10 tons. On May 12, 1949, the Soviets reopened land and water routes into Berlin, but the airlift continued until Sept. 30 in order to build a reserve of supplies. The airlift saved Berlin from Soviet takeover and taught a valuable lesson in air traffic control, aircraft maintenance and standardized loading and unloading procedures. The stamp depicts a family of Berliners watching a C-54 -- the aircraft which carried valuable resources for survival -- flying over a section of Berlin. The design is based on an actual photograph which appeared in the New York Times. The caption on the stamp reads ‘Berlin Airlift delivers food and fuel in 1948-1949 blockade.’ Thirty million of the commemorative stamps will be available nationwide on June 27. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Berlin Airlift
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