BERLIN EXPEDITION - 4-6 July
When most people think of RAF personnel flying from Marham to Berlin it conjures up images of the Blitz and the terrors of WWII. In fact, Exercise PLANE FAIR was an opportunity for Marham members of the RAF Flying Clubs’ Association (RAFFCA) to participate in a Staff Ride to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Berlin Airlift.
The blockade of Berlin began on June 26th, 1948 and finished on May 12th, 1949 and was an attempt by Soviet Russia to starve Berliners into accepting communism. The Allies, however, didn’t play as expected and a massive re-supply of Berlin by air began in what would be called Air Ops for Strategic Effect in today’s doctrine. Lt Gen Curtis Le May, more famous for strategic bombing in the Pacific during WW2, commanded the huge effort, although the RAF had a head start, as they were already airlifting supplies to the British Army in Berlin and had already calculated what would be needed to supply the whole city. To give each citizen about 1700 calories daily, about 1500 tonnes of various foodstuffs would be required daily, as well as 3500 tonnes of coal and gasoline. So began the mammoth effort, aircraft flew in to Berlin around the clock, in all weathers. Berlin was approached and left via 3 corridors: north, central and south. Take-offs and landings were tightly scheduled, with each aircraft allowed only one attempt at landing before being sent home as it would disrupt the continuous flow. Aircrew were forbidden to leave their cockpits lest it should create delays, and locals were given extra ration for unloading aircraft. The rate of arrival, unloading, loading and departure was phenomenal but did not come without cost: some 101 airmen lost their lives in accidents during the blockade. Aircraft did not arrive at Templehoff and Gatow unopposed – the Soviets flew perilously close to the aircraft and fired rockets and bullets past the cockpits on many occasions, although none of the C47, Dakotas or other Allied aircraft was actually shot down in the 733 recorded incidents.
The Berlin Airlift officially ended on September 30, 1949, after fifteen months. In total, the U.S.A. delivered 1,783,573 tons, while 541,937 tons were delivered by the RAF (including many delivered by Sunderland Flying Boat via lakes!), totaling 2,326,406 tons of food and supplies on 278,228 total flights to Berlin. The aircraft together flew over 92 million miles in the process, nearly the same distance as the earth is from the sun.
With the hand of history heavy on our shoulders, so to speak, the Marham contingent, consisting of SAC Grant Mercer (31 Sqn), Sqn Ldr Darren Howett (II(AC) Sqn) and Wg Cdr Ian Gale, OC 31 Sqn left Marham on Friday 4th July. We were already a day late; intense thunderstorms on the continent had forced us to forgo the leg to Lubeck and we settled instead for Niederrhien airport, formally RAF Laarbruch. SAC Mercer flew the majority of the first leg, up to 5000ft over the channel, through Belgium and Holland before descending into Germany – not bad for someone with only 13 hours flying experience and yet to go solo! After a refuel at Niederrhein and a change of co-pilot, Sqn Ldr Howett flew the next leg (his first flight in a light aircraft for 10 years!), into the Northern corridor and via a competition route devised by the organisers of the Staff Ride. On approach to Berlin Templehoff the weather worsened considerably, and we gained a real insight into exactly how it must have been for those weary crews in the heavy weather of 1948. We were forced down by the cloud and had to conduct several holding patters at what felt like church-steeple height before being allowed to commence our approach to the right hand runway at Templehoff. The Airlift crews frequently complained about the hard manoeuvring they were forced to complete close to landing and of the extensive blocks of flats that are built right up to the edge of the airfield, forcing an unnatural approach to a displaced landing position and we saw all of that! We were lucky though to benefit from the long, firm runway – the Airlift crews had to land on a muddy field until September 1948.
After arrival formalities, we conducted a number of ‘stands’ where the participants briefed everyone on various aspects of the Airlift, strategic air power and Berlin-related topics. Although we had missed the stands carried out at Lubeck, we were able to benefit from some really extensively researched work, as well as deliver our own presentations on strategic air ops and the role of RAF Marham in and after WWII. The following day we were treated to an exclusive tour of Templehoff airport, including the Nazi storage facility and the underground aircraft factory. After this, we visited Checkpoint Charlie, the Brandenburg Gate and the Reichstag. The following morning, all 16 aircraft and about 30 people who had made the journey set off for home, once again via Laarbruch for most. After glorious weather across the whole continent and channel, it was back to the typical British summer of low cloud and rain, so we finished off with an instrument approach into Marham into pouring rain.
All in all, we flew for about 12 hours, got some new places into our logbooks, landed at a truly historic airfield for the first and last time (Templehoff will close in October 2008), learned a great deal about the Airlift, the division of Berlin and expanded our aviation horizons. Travelling in the footsteps of those who had gone before, particularly in the weather of the day, really gave us an unparalled empathy with those Airlift crews that none of us will forget.
If you want to organise or run your own Staff Ride, just speak with Force Development Sqn, who will tell you the requirements and give you any assistance that you may need. The procedure is simple and you are able to reclaim many of the expenses involved. We are already looking at the next one….