MY RAF DAYS AND AFTER | home

BERLIN AIRLIFT

I received the following from Glen Broome,

from VP On-line Flying, DC3 Airways, 4/12/09.

I came across your website today and thought you might be interested to know that a virtual airline, DC3 Airways, will commence re-enacting the Berlin airlift each saturday at 19.00z on the internet using Microsoft flight simulation software.

As Multiplayer co-ordinator this is the 3rd airlift series that I have organised and this one will last over a period of 16 Saturdays.

We fly al the historic routes and approaches with pretty good scenery for all of the airfields involved. I expect to have about 25+ pilots participate at various stages. We fly with real weather enabled mostly but sometimes I will be specifying either foggy or stormy weather so that everyone gets the full taste of what it was like back in those days. Our website is www.dc3airways.com.

If you check on youtube for dca996 you will see there are a couple of airlift videos taken from the flight simulation program that I created. Although we fly either DC3's or DC4's we have utility software that adds 60 other aircraft in authentic types such as hastings, lancastrian, Viking, Halton, York etc..

You may like to check out this page if you or your colleagues have the FS2004 simulation program and have a go for yourself.

http://www.dc3airways.com/special_events/bal_3/bal.htm

Wunstorf and Fassberg

We flew out to Germany in one of our Dakota's from Upper Heyford, which stayed out

there to help with the airlift. We landed at Buckeburg, spent the night there, after taking on board some engine spares and more aircrew and mechanics, we flew on to Wunstorf, where we stayed for about two weeks, then all the Dakotas were transfered to Fassberg on the 28th July along with their ground crews.

I am not sure if this was taken at Wunstorf or Lubeck, anyone know?

This one of the York that did not make it, was sent to me by, Derek Watts,

also the one below of the main entrance R.A.F. Wunstorf. 1948 VINTAGE

Above sent to me by Pat Thurlow, anyone else remember this incident

Another one, of the York's in line with one Dakota in back groung, sent in by Pat Thurlow.

One more from Pat Thurlow, what type of aircraft ? Viking ?

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The following photos, and camp layout, of Wunstorf, were sent to me by Dr. Dennis A. Whitmore,

on the 14th November 2007.

If anyone else has any they will be most welcome.

This one is the camp layout.

I have revampted the following photos, and have lost touch with Dennis. If you read this, Dennis, could you please E - Mail me on:- les.haines@btinternet.com

Hope to hear from you sometime, Les Haines.

(Posted 09/07/2009) and updated 14/05/2010.

Some views of R.A.F. Wunstorf Spring 1948.

A civil converted bomber awaiting loading for Berlin.

Dennis posing by a knocked out tank

.With three friends (including the German hund).

Dennis is on the left

On a visit to Neustadt, near Hannover. Dennis is 2nd from left.

German labourers cutting timber for Berlin's fuel, below Dennis's window, of his barracks.

The Russian War Memorial, Hannover.

Devastation in Hannover.

A dangerous position.

Robert Hall, Dennis, and a colleage.

Our hotel in Bad Harzberg.

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Views of winter 1949 at R.A.F. Wunstorf.

View of the level crossing on main camp road with admin block behind sign.

View of the airfield with Hanger 3 on left and Dakota aircraft between trees.

Next two,

general views of the snow through the camp's forest.

Above is the Christmas Menu for 1948,

and below one of the Christmas Cards, front and inside.

Above13 photos sent to me by Pat Thurlow, who was at Wunstorf from 1948 until the end of the Airlift, working on the lines. I am trying to enlarge these photos, and will change them over at some time, Les Haines, webmaster..

That's all for now from Wunstorf, unless you know different................

FASSBERG

On arrival at Fassberg we were told that the aircraft were to be made ready

for immediate flight to Berlin and we would load our kitbags etc in the waiting vehicles and then get on with servicing the aircraft, the Flt. Sgt. Would have the form 700’s for us

to sign in the hanger later. While we were working a N.A.A.F.I. van came up and we all had our char and wads, it was nice to be looked after, we were then driven to the hanger to sign the form 700. Once the aircraft had been loaded, they then took off for Berlin.

Then it was time to find our kit and billets. We found our billets had only two beds and

they were like small railway carriages , they were in the woods and we had our own ‘fraulein’ to clean up after us each day, bit different from West Kirby. My room mate was Harry (Hal) Spencer, luckily we got on well together, in fact we were known as the “The Woody Woodpeckers”, why you may ask? So I will tell you. At the time there was a radio programme called A.F.N. ( American Forces Network). And there were loads of new tunes that we had not heard before, Phil Harris’s Woodman Spare That Tree, Near You and the Woody Woodpecker song and as Hal and I used to sing it every where we went, you can see now why we got that nick name. Following is the drawing Hal did of us.

There were plenty more tunes, too many to write down but anyone out there at the same time will know what I mean.

Dakotas on the Flight Lines, waiting for servicing and or loading.

RAF Regiment on guard duty Fassberg ?

Sent to me with no name and address ?

received on 20/01/07

No.1 & 2 Me and Hal.

No. 3. The Malcolm Club garden Celle,

the chap sitting there was from South Africa, can't remember his name.

Ken admiring one of the small US aircraft.

Some of the Civil Airlines who took part in the Airlift.

After we had been there about 2 weeks we were told a V.I.P. was coming to see us all

and a football game was to be arranged, so like an idiot I said I would play,

It was the R.A.F. against the Army, I can‘t remember the result. So the day came, we

had been practicing to make sure we knew each others capabilities, I was outside

right, (what that is called today I haven’t a clue) anyway after the game we were introduced to the V.I.P, it was the Prime Minister Clement Atlee. He spoke to us all individually and thanked us for the hard work. One of the lads asked him if we would

get a campaign medal, he said possibly, we never did though.

The camp had a terrific N.A.F.F.I., a German band played there at the weekends, mostly umpa music but we enjoyed it, also on the camp we had a large swimming pool, that we were in quite a lot, it was so hot out there that a good dip was great. On walking round the camp we came across a dump of old aircraft that had been shot down or scraped.

American flying fortresses and a lot of German planes.

Above sent by Jim Robinson.

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The Following photos were taken at Fassberg after the Airlift had finished, during March

to July 1950, by Bill Evison, or (ex. Cpl. Evison. W.S. Clk. P/A),

And sent to me on the 20/10/06, thanks Bill.

The Berlin Blockade was lifted at 00.01 hours on 12th May 1949, and the End of the Airlift itself was on the 6th October1949.

The captions under the photos should be read from LEFT to RIGHT as you look at them if there is more that one photo, linked together.

Above isCpl. W.S.Evison (Bill)

Ordely room types outside S.H.Q. R.A.F. Fassberg, Transmitter station,

Melia and Snell on ruins of bombed V-2 factory.

Under the trees we have Willey, Brooksbank, Suell and Wood.

S.H.Q. R.A.F.Fassberg.

Four from under the trees, and Wood and Willey.

The post office and photo shop Fassberg village.

Celle street scene, Building 27 R.A.F.Fassberg.

(Editors note; for those of you that have not been to Celle, it is a beautiful Town,

the wife and I went there and made some new friends, will look out one of my

colour photos and put on)

2 shots of the Malcolm Club

( there is a book on the Malcolm Clubs, Fassberg is in it)

Station cinema, view from Accts. Section window.

General view of airfield from roof of hanger 7, hanger 12 & flying control, again from

roof of hanger 7, general view from hanger 7.

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In Bills letter he told me, in Hanger 7 were found a large number of gliders, left by the Luftwaffe, along with a couple of launching winches, on Ford V-8 trucks. They were put into use by a Flying Officer (who's name Bill can't remember) who formed a Gliding Club, and Bill became a member.

He has now sent me some more photos of the glidders and the Ford V-8's.