Aircraft of the Berlin Airlift: The Tankers

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 During the Soviet Blockade of Berlin, the city needed tens of thousands of gallons of petrol, kerosene and heating oil to survive. Transporting liquid fuels in conventional cargo aircraft, however, was extremely hazardous and inefficient, and specially designed tankers were required. Unfortunately, neither the USAF nor the RAF possessed such aircraft. In consequence, the RAF turned to civilian charter companies to fill the gap and these assumed full responsibility for liquid fuel deliveries. By the end of the airlift they had delivered 92,345 tonnes of fuel. Two aircraft carried the lion's share of those deliveries: 

the Tudor (left) and the Lancastrian (right).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Tudor:

The first tanker aircraft deployed on the Berlin Airlift were Tudors operated by Airflight, a company founded by the former C-in-C of the RAF's Pathfinder force. Air Vice Marshal Donald Bennett.  After the war, Bennett had taken a position as director with British South American Airways (BSAA) He was dismissed after a dispute with the board of directors in February 1948. When the Airlift started four months later, he founded Airflight Ltd expressly to fly freight to Berlin and purchased two Tudors for that purpose.

By then, the Tudor already had an unsavory reputation. The aircraft had evolved from the Lancaster bomber and had been intended to be Britain's first pressurized airliner after the end of the war. The prototype flew in June 1945, but it never found favour with customers, who saw the design (including a tail wheel) as old-fashioned and more importantly the construction as inefficient because it carried only 12 passengers compared to the DC-4's 44. Furthermore, flight testing revealed a plethora of issues including problems with the stability. Despite making modifications, BOAC rejected their aircraft altogether as unsuitable for the trans-Atlantic route. 

A larger versions of the Tudor (Marks II and III) followed, each with modifications including an elongated fuselage to accommodate 60 passengers. But again in testing the aircraft did not perform  well, causing Qantas and South African Airways to cancel orders. After yet more modifications, the Tudor IV was introduced, and six were sold to BSAA. Then in January 1948 a BSAA Avro Tudor disappeared without a trace on a flight from the Azores to Bermuda with the loss of all 31 people on board. A year later a second BSAA Avro Tudor disappeared on another flight to Bermuda with the loss of 21 lives. The remaining Tudors were taken out of passenger service, sold off, or turned into freight carriers.

Meanwhile, the Berlin Airlift had started and Bennett had left BSAA. A believer in the Tudor, he purchased two from BSAA and converted them into liquid fuel tankers. Having proved the concept, BSAA followed his example and joined the Airlift with seven Tudors, two in dry freight and five in liquid fuel configuration. Altogether the Tudors of Airflight and BSAA flew 3,193 sorties and delivered 27,473 tonnes of liquid fuel to Berlin.

The Lancastrian:

Although Tudors were the first dedicated tankers on the Airlift, the Lancastrian and Halton tankers dominated the trade, each contributing 17 tankers to the Airlift compared to the 7 Tudors. The Halton tanker was a modified Halifax and has been described earlier. The Lancastrian, like the Tudor, was developed from the Lancaster -- only much more directly and with fewer modifications. The early models were Lancasters with the turrets, armament and nose sections removed. Because the fuselage was very narrow, however, the Lancastrian was never envisaged as a passenger carrier, but rather for VIPs and mail. Specifically for the Berlin Airlift, they were modified to carry liquid fuel, making 6,106 sorties and delivering 31,512 tons.

The Berlin Airlift is the subject of Bridge to Tomorrow, a trilogy of novels starting with Cold Peace and followed by Cold War and Cold Victory.


Standing up to dictators isn’t easy — but sometimes it’s necessary.

Berlin 1948. The economy is broken, the currency worthless, and the Russian bear is hungry. Next on the menu is Berlin. Here war heroes and war’s victims are struggling to come to terms with a world where unemployment is widespread and the wartime Allies are at each other’s throats. When a Russian fighter brings down a British passenger plane, and the world teeters on the brink of World War Three. The defenders of freedom must work together to save Berlin from Soviet tyranny. The first battle of the Cold War is about to begin.

Based on historical events, award-winning novelist Helena P. Schrader brings to life the backstory of the West's bloodless victory against Russian aggression via the Berlin Airlift in Cold Peace, the first book in the Bridge to Tomorrow Series.

Cold Peace is the winner of WINNER of an Independent Press Award 2025 in the category: Political Thriller, Runner-Up for BOOK OF THE YEAR 2023 from the Historical Fiction Company,  GOLD (1st Place) in the category Historical Fiction from the Feathered Quill Book Awards 2024, GOLD (1st Place) in the category Wartime Fiction from the Historical Fiction Company Book Awards 2023, SILVER (2nd Place) in the category Political Thriller from Readers' Favorites Book Awards 2023, a MAINCREST MEDIA Award and a BRAG Medallion. 

Buy Now!

Stopping Russian Aggression with milk, coal and candy bars….

Berlin is under siege. More than two million civilians must be supplied by air or surrender to Stalin’s oppression.

USAF Captain J.B. Baronowsky and RAF Flight Lieutenant Kit Moran once risked their lives to drop high explosives on Berlin. They are about to deliver milk, flour and children’s shoes instead. Meanwhile, two women pilots are flying an air ambulance that carries malnourished and abandoned children to freedom in the West. Until General Winter deploys on the side of Russia….

Based on historical events, award-winning novelist Helena P. Schrader delivers an insightful, exciting and moving tale about how former enemies became friends in the face of Russian aggression — and how close the Berlin Airlift came to failing. 

WINNER OF BRONZE for 20th Century Historical Fiction from the Global Book Awards 2024 

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You know you’re winning when the enemy turns to dirty tricks ….

With the Airlift gaining momentum, the Russians turn to more devious tactics to thwart the forces of democracy. Key players — or their loved ones — are targeted in unscrupulous attacks. Simultaneously, the policy of “collective guilt” has been replaced by “collective amnesty,” enabling former Nazis to worm their way back into positions of power. Yet throughout this dangerous dance with the henchmen of dictators, women are steadily rebuilding Berlin and Germany.

Award-winning novelist Helena P. Schrader takes the reader away from the limelight and into the shadow side of the Berlin Airlift to explore the social, psychological and long-term impact of this seminal event.

Based on historical events, Cold Victory reminds readers that standing up to tyrants isn’t easy — but sometimes it is necessary.

Buy Now!

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