Over the Hump

A heavy fog settled over the air corridors to blockaded Berlin. Instrument flying was the rule rather than the exception. On some days the airlift terminals were socked in so tightly that operations were suspended for as long as nine hours at a time. But after the first month of Germany's rugged winter weather, the daily average of cargo hauled stood at 4,229 tons--only some 300 tons below minimum needs.

By last week U.S. and British airmen were confident that they were over the hump. With the help of reserves built up during summer months, Berlin now had stockpiles of food and fuel which could keep the city going for a month with no resupply at all. Despite the weather, and wholesale predictions of a prohibitive accident rate, only three U.S. planes had cracked up so far this month. All crewmen escaped without fatal injuries (though three British airmen died in one R.A.F. crash).

By the end of next month, airlift commanders expected colder weather to cut away the worst of the fogs. Meantime American C-54s had been transferred to British airlift bases to take advantage of the shorter run into Berlin. This week, as the fog lifted and airlift planes began full use of the new Tegel airstrip in the French sector of Berlin, Allied flyers lugged in a whopping 5,405 tons in one day. Said the Air Forces' Lieut. General John K. ("Uncle Joe") Cannon: "There is absolutely no doubt in my mind about our ability to supply Berlin in the winter, or indefinitely, or forever and a day."

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