Kirjahaku

Drawing on rare US Air Force files, recently declassified documents from the National Archives, records released since the collapse of the Soviet Union, and the memories of airlift veterans themselves, Roger G. Miller provides an original study of the Berlin Airlift.

On March 15, 1916, the 1st Aero Squadron arrived at Columbus, NM. The squadron was to join an expedition led by BG John J. "Black Jack" Pershing into Mexico in response to a March 9 attack on the tiny border town by the Mexican desperado, Francisco "Pancho" Villa. For the first time, the U.S. Army's entire air force-the 1st Aero Squadron-had deployed for an active campaign. The Squadron played a significant role in the Punitive Expedition, but, in dramatic contrast to how an air force functions today, it served as a means of communication and observation, not as a combatant arm. (Originally published by the Air Force History and Museums Program)

Following World War II, the Soviet Union drew an ""Iron Curtain"" across Europe, crowning its efforts with a blockade of West Berlin in a desperate effort to prevent the creation of an independent, democratic West Germany. The United States and Great Britain, aided by France, responded with a daring air logistical operation that delivered almost three million tons of necessities to the people of Berlin.Drawing on rare documents from both sides of the curtain and the memories of Airlift veterans themselves, Roger G. Miller provides an original study of the Berlin Airlift. What began as a hastily organized operation by a small number of war-weary cargo airplanes evolved into an intricate bridge of aircraft that flowed in and out of Berlin through narrow air corridors. Day after day, week after week, a stream of airplanes delivered everything from food and medicine to coal and candy in defiance of breakdowns, inclement weather, and Soviet hostility.