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Pilots: It Takes a Lot of Gas
Chapter section from:
Airbridge to Berlin --- The Berlin Crisis of 1948, its Origins and Aftermath
By D.M. Giangreco and Robert E. Griffin
© 1988
(Used with permission)
Prior to the airlift, the USAFE average monthly consumption of aviation fuel was 30,000 barrels. In July 1948, the first full month of airlift operations, consumption jumped to 82,500 barrels. By January 1949 it had climbed to 191,000 barrels and then peaked in July 1949 at 291,000 barrels. More than 100,000,000 gallons of aviation fuel was consumed during the airlift. This fuel was brought over on US Navy tanker ships to Bremerhaven and then piped or shipped by rail to the airfields. The planning and execution of such a logistical operation is another example of the type of problem that had to be met and overcome daily.
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