My Frankfurt: Berlin Airlift Memorial, planespotting at FRA
Above/featured: Taxiing “behind” the memorial is Finnair A350-900 (A359) with oneworld livery. In summer 2022, Lufthansa’s Eurowings Discover delivered flights between Germany and North America with “wet-leased” Finnair Airbus A359s. Photo, 14 Jun 2022.
The city of Frankfurt am Main is known as: gateway into Europe for the city’s international airport; the country’s financial capital nicknamed “Main-hattan;” the city where German parliamentary governance and federalism got their start with the first freely-elected parliament for all German states in 1848; the home of Grüne Sosse and Ebbelwoi, the local savoury speciality and apple wine, respectively.
But the history shortly after World War 2 tells of an important connection between the cities of Frankfurt and Berlin.
Post-war Berlin was a landscape of occupied zones by American, British, French, and Soviet forces, a partial reflection of similar occupation in post-war Germany. Over a dispute about what monetary currency would be used, Soviet forces in eastern Germany blocked all road, rail, and water access into western Berlin on 25 June 1948. In one of the largest aircraft operations in peacetime history, the United States and United Kingdom began airlifting vital food and fuel supplies from their airbases in western Germany to over 2 million residents in west Berlin. Among the three airfields in western Berlin, Tempelhof became a key centre for critical supplies for almost one full year.
The Soviets allowed western forces to fly solely in three narrow air corridors from western Germany, over Soviet-controlled eastern Germany, and into Berlin. Inbound flights to Berlin along the southern corridor began from the area around Frankfurt am Main. The Rhein-Main Air Base (1945–2005) operated as a hub for US Air Forces as “gateway” into Europe; the base occupied the southern side of Frankfurt Airport and served as essential staging point during the Berlin Airlift operation. On 12 May 1949, Soviet forces reopened road and rail access into western Berlin, ending the blockade.
After countless flights in and out from Frankfurt, I visited the Berlin Airlift Memorial next to Frankfurt airport, as well as the planespotting area.
1948 map of Germany, north at top. 3 approved “corridors” for the Berlin airlift from Western Germany over Soviet-controlled Eastern Germany and into western Berlin. North corridor: primarily inbound from Hamburg area (HH) to West Berlin. Central corridor: primarily outbound from western Berlin towards Hannover area (H). South corridor: primarily inbound to western Berlin from the Frankfurt area (F). The three airfields in western Berlin were Gatow, Tegel, and Tempelhof. Source: Miller 1998; with labels added for clarity.
On approach to an airfield in west Berlin during the airlift operation, a U.S. Air Force Douglas C-54 Skymaster makes a candy-drop, seen as tiny parachutes below the tail of the plane. Aircrews dropped candy to children during the Berlin Airlift as part of Operation “Little Vittles”. Source: National Museum of the US Air Force, photo 050426-F-1234P-01, c. 1948 to 1949.
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