View Full Version : Berlin Air Lift Anniversary
BBC News story here with video
BBC NEWS | UK | Bitter-sweet memories of Berlin Airlift (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8040022.stm)
Nice to see aircraft after aircraft lined up with "Air Transport Command"
Goes without saying that we would have neither the capability or political will to achieve anything like that now. Would probably contravene 20 H&S regulations as well. Much safer to let them all starve
philrigger
12th May 2009, 11:38
;)
Goes without saying .................
Then why say it?
Mr C Hinecap
12th May 2009, 12:59
No we couldn't do it now. However, we don't need to shift as much loose coal as we did then and we're not currently suffering post-war rationing. Yet.
How you could think to compare the RAF of then and now is just beyond me.
It was more the absence of political will and attitude that I was thinking about. But the text wouldn't really make sense without ackowledging that we don't have anything like that capability now
Old Photo.Fanatic
12th May 2009, 13:56
To add a lighter note?
During a Photo. tour in the USA in 2001, I visited Ryan Field
near Tucson Arizona.
On the ramp of ARDCO Aviation converting old C54/DC4 Aircraft for Fire Fighting.
Chatting to the Owner he mentioned having collected about a Kilo of Coal fragments from nooks and crannies from one particular Aircraft while stripping the interior.
Aircraft Was C54. Ident AF43-22178,(1943) Civil Reg N 9015Q.
See Google search for more details/Photos.
Used to carry coal during Berlin Airlift.
It took a bit of smooth talking for him to eventually let me have one fragment of coal as a Momento/Keepsake.
So I can claim to have a fragment of coal from the Berlin Airlift.
Other than Aviation minded friends, you can imagine the response I got from the few people I told about keeping a "Fragment of Coal" as something special. !!!!