The Berlin Airlift was one of the first major crises of the Cold War. In June 1948, the Soviet Union blocked all land and water access to West Berlin in an attempt to force the Western Allies out. The Allies responded by flying food, fuel, and medicine into the city for nearly a year.
: Over 278,000 flights delivered more than 2.3 million tons of supplies. Luftbruecke zip
: The U.S. called it Operation Vittles , while the British referred to it as Operation Plainfare . The Berlin Airlift was one of the first