Non-Combat Military Operations Involving the United Kingdom - British Nuclear Explosive Tests, Berlin Blockade (Paperback)

Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. Pages: 23. Chapters: British nuclear explosive tests, Berlin Blockade, British nuclear tests at Maralinga, Operation Grapple, Operation Totem, Operation Blackcurrant, Kabul Airlift, Operation Backfire, Orange Herald, Operation Hurricane, Operation Cunningham, Nuclear weapons tests in Australia, Operation Mosaic, Operation Fresco, Operation Phillis, Exercise Purple Warrior, Julin Bristol, Operation Headstrong. Excerpt: The Berlin Blockade (24 June 1948 - 12 May 1949) was one of the first major international crises of the Cold War and the first resulting in casualties. During the multinational occupation of post-World War II Germany, the Soviet Union blocked the Western Allies' railway and road access to the sectors of Berlin under Allied control. Their aim was to force the western powers to allow the Soviet zone to start supplying Berlin with food and fuel, thereby giving the Soviets practical control over the entire city. In response, the Western Allies organized the Berlin Airlift to carry supplies to the people in West Berlin. The United Kingdom's Royal Air Force and the recently independent United States Air Force flew over 200,000 flights in one year, providing up to 4700 tons of daily necessities such as fuel and food to the Berliners. Alongside British and US personnel the airlift involved aircrews from the Royal Australian Air Force, Royal Canadian Air Force, Royal New Zealand Air Force and South African Air Force. By the spring of 1949, the effort was clearly succeeding and, by April, the airlift was delivering more cargo than had previously been transported into the city by rail. The success of the Berlin Airlift brought humiliation to the Soviets who had refused to believe it could make a difference. The blockade was lifted in May 1949 and resulted in the creation of two separate German states. The Federal Republic of Germany ...