The Candy Bombers

On 24 June 1948 Lucius D. Clay, the Commanding General of the American Forces in Europe, ordered that all disposable transport aircraft should be made available for flights to Berlin. His order marked the beginning of the largest ever humanitarian supply campaign carried out entirely by air transport, the Berlin Airlift. Clay was well aware of the political significance of his decision. The aim was to overcome the blockade mounted by the Soviet Union by supplying the western sectors of the city via air corridors.°°The political and historical background of the Berlin Airlift have been well researched. Less is known about the people and planes focused on this documentary study. The success of the airlift is owed not only to the air crews, who risked their lives so often, but also to all the others who inconspicuously made their great and tireless contributions. Success is also owed to the aircraft which transported supplies for the 2,2 million people living in the besieged western sectors of the city.