Berlin Airlift cargo aeroplanes. US Navy R4D and US Air Force C-47 aircraft being unloaded at Berlin's Tempelhof Airport during the Berlin Airlift of 1948-9. This was a response to the Berlin Blockade, an attempt by the Soviet Union to gain complete control of the German capital which had been divided between the USA, the UK, France, and the USSR following World War II. Over 200,000 flights of cargo planes by the Western Allies over 15 months provided some 4700 tonnes of daily supplies, ensuring that the blockade failed. At peak times, cargo planes were landing every few minutes, with cargo unloaded rapidly to achieve swift turnaround times.