Post by drhenley on Apr 19, 2021 21:53:03 GMT -6
I found this fascinating. I was blown away at how much food supplies and fuel have to be shipped into a city every day to keep it running.
In case people don't remember, when East Germany blockaded West Berlin in June of 1948, essentially laying siege to West Berlin, all their supplies and food had to be flown in. It took a while to get a steady stream of cargo planes flying into West Berlin and in the process of trial and error they were able to calculate the amount of EVERYTHING needed to sustain the people in West Berlin.
646 tons of flour and wheat
125 tons of cereal
64 tons of fat
109 tons of meat and fish
180 tons of dehydrated potatoes
180 tons of sugar
11 tons of coffee
19 tons of powdered milk
5 tons of whole milk for children
3 tons of fresh yeast for baking
144 tons of dehydrated vegetables
38 tons of salt
10 tons of cheese.
In all, 1,534 tons were required each day to sustain the over two million people of Berlin.
Additionally, for heat and power, 3,475 tons of coal, diesel and petrol were also required daily
At the beginning of the airlift, the US estimated that they could carry 300 tons of supplies a day, and the British could carry 400 tons a day.
General Lucius D. Clay, who was in charge of the airlift, told Ernst Reuter, the mayor of Berlin:
"Look, I am ready to try an airlift. I can't guarantee it will work. I am sure that even at its best, people are going to be cold and people are going to be hungry. And if the people of Berlin won't stand that, it will fail. And I don't want to go into this unless I have your assurance that the people will be heavily in approval."
Reuter told General Clay that the people of Berlin would make the necessary sacrifices and support his action.
This meant that the people of Berlin had to survive on 1/7 of what was considered necessary until the airlift got better organized and efficient. They went cold and hungry while waiting. I don't think any city will patiently go cold and hungry nowadays.
After two months they were able to get 4500 tons a day in to Berlin, but with winter approaching they would need an extra 6000 tons a day of fuel.
It took 10 months before the airlift was able to supply as much to Berlin as had been coming in by rail before the blockade. A cargo plane was landing in Berlin every 30 seconds.
In case people don't remember, when East Germany blockaded West Berlin in June of 1948, essentially laying siege to West Berlin, all their supplies and food had to be flown in. It took a while to get a steady stream of cargo planes flying into West Berlin and in the process of trial and error they were able to calculate the amount of EVERYTHING needed to sustain the people in West Berlin.
646 tons of flour and wheat
125 tons of cereal
64 tons of fat
109 tons of meat and fish
180 tons of dehydrated potatoes
180 tons of sugar
11 tons of coffee
19 tons of powdered milk
5 tons of whole milk for children
3 tons of fresh yeast for baking
144 tons of dehydrated vegetables
38 tons of salt
10 tons of cheese.
In all, 1,534 tons were required each day to sustain the over two million people of Berlin.
Additionally, for heat and power, 3,475 tons of coal, diesel and petrol were also required daily
At the beginning of the airlift, the US estimated that they could carry 300 tons of supplies a day, and the British could carry 400 tons a day.
General Lucius D. Clay, who was in charge of the airlift, told Ernst Reuter, the mayor of Berlin:
"Look, I am ready to try an airlift. I can't guarantee it will work. I am sure that even at its best, people are going to be cold and people are going to be hungry. And if the people of Berlin won't stand that, it will fail. And I don't want to go into this unless I have your assurance that the people will be heavily in approval."
Reuter told General Clay that the people of Berlin would make the necessary sacrifices and support his action.
This meant that the people of Berlin had to survive on 1/7 of what was considered necessary until the airlift got better organized and efficient. They went cold and hungry while waiting. I don't think any city will patiently go cold and hungry nowadays.
After two months they were able to get 4500 tons a day in to Berlin, but with winter approaching they would need an extra 6000 tons a day of fuel.
It took 10 months before the airlift was able to supply as much to Berlin as had been coming in by rail before the blockade. A cargo plane was landing in Berlin every 30 seconds.