The Berlin Air Lift
We were a very short time at RAF Wunstorf. We were initiated into the mechanics of the Air Lift and then moved to Hamburg. From Fuhlsbuttel, the main airfield of Hamburg we would fly three sorties to Berlin (Tegel) and back in twenty four hours. We would fly, without days off, for three weeks, alternating the eight hour shifts three times then we would take our aircraft back to Tarrant Rushton for servicing whilst we had one weeks leave in the U.K. Pay was generous. The whole of the Hotel Baslerhof in the centre of the flattened city was taken over by Flight Refuelling. All our meals were paid for and we were given a daily allowance of "Scrip" BAF ( British Armed Forces) money to pay for our incidental expenses. Spirits at the Hotel Bar were sixpence per generous tot and bottles were six shillings ! Our travel to anywhere in the U.K. was paid each month during our leave and our extremely generous salary was paid every month in to our banks in the U.K.
During the sixteen hours per day that we had free we would sleep and then enjoy the various sessions that would be going on in the bar and the billiard room where an Airlift game called "Bongo" was was always in action. There was an extra white ball worth 10 points and you could pot a colour without playing a red but if you missed it you lost your break points and if you missed the Bongo which had to be played after the Black then you wiped out your entire score. Huge amounts of Scrip would change hands on this and the permanent Poker sessions that were always going on. You would leave to fly your three sorties delivering fuel to Berlin and return to find the party going on but with different people.
The Barman was a monocled ex U boat man named Fritz, needless to say, Once whilst a game of "High Cockalorum" which conisted of a sort of Rugby scrum with bodies piled up on top of one another until the goal of either the ceiling or the complete collapse of everyone was achieved, I found Fritz, regarding the scene and watching one of our Captains, Joe Viatkin, who had broken his neck in a crash but had recovered and was flying on the Airlift. Joe had retained muscular control but after a few drinks this would weaken and his head would roll, horribly for an alarming number of degrees around his neck. Fritz was leaning on the bar with his head in his hands , weeping uncontrollably. "What's up, Fritz ?" I said sympathetically, " How did you B......rds win the war ?" was his tearful reply. Discipline was poor and the near proximity of the Reeperbahn in St. Pauli didn't help. Flight Refuelling brought in a real Dragon of a Station master but even he could not stop one of the wildest coups which was when a crew returning from St.Pauli one night, came across an unattended workers hut near the tramlines and got hold of the oxyacetyline welding equipment inside and spot welded as many tramline points as they could find resulting in the complete stoppage of the tramways system as trams were stranded all over Hamburg.
I found myself renewing acquaintance with many old friends including Ralph Hollis from my class in the USA and whom I had met again in India. He replaced the useless First Officer I had started with. I had just touched down back at Hamburg when I found myself airborne again. THe F/O had pulled all the flaps up as I touched the ground. "What the hell did you do that for ?" I yelled. "I just wanted to see what would happen " he said. He soon found out but only on his way back, in a boat , to England.
Ralph got his own Command very shortly.