Review of "Berlin Airlift," Simply Media DVD

 Review of

Berlin Airlift, Simply Media DVD

Four out of five stars

Largely factual rendition of a great success

 From the standpoint of rapidly developed logistics, the Berlin Airlift of 1948-49 was an incredible achievement. When the Soviet Union blocked all land and water access to what was to become West Berlin, the only possible option to keep the city from being starved out was to supply by air. The largest cargo planes at the time could carry at most 10 tons of freight and the daily minimum requirements was over 3,000 tons per day.

 At first, the Soviets did not believe that the Allies could possibly fly that much in by air, and then after the initial success of the Allies, did not think it could be sustained over the course of the winter. Once the level of determination of the Allies to hold their sections of Berlin was clear, the Soviets eventually lifted their embargo on land and canal traffic. The success of the Berlin Airlift was the first significant victory of the Allies in the Cold War. 

 While the necessary background on the political situation is given, most of the information in this video covers the sheer logistical aspects. Of particular interest is the information on the flight corridors, the rate of plane traffic and some of the difficulties concerning the different velocities of the different types of planes. All had to be tightly controlled, from the take-off, through the flight to the unloading and then the flight back. 

 It is impossible to overstate the importance of the success of the Berlin Airlift in the rivalry between the Allies and the Soviet Union. Without firing a shot, the Allies achieved a great victory and demonstrated their technical skills and resolve. This video explains the basics of how it was done.