"UNCLE WINGS"

Gail S. Halvorsen - the "Berlin Candy Bomber"

Gail S. Halvorsen (born October 10, 1920) was a pilot in the American Air Force during the Berlin Airlift ("Operation Vittles") in 1948-1949.

On one of his first flights to Berlin, he went to the airport's perimeter fence while his plane was unloading. As he approached, he saw several children standing at the fence and waving to the planes. He had two pieces of chewing gum with him and cut them up and gave them to the children. The children's tears and gratitude touched him deeply. He promised them that he would throw candy out of his plane the next time he approached. The question immediately came up: how are we supposed to recognize you? His answer: I shake my wings. This earned him the name "Uncle Wackelflügel".

Shortly before his next landing at Tempelhof Airport, he wobbled his wings and dropped sweets attached to handkerchief parachutes to the children waiting curiously at the airport fence. Word quickly got around among the children. There were more and more children waiting at the fence. At night, when he could not fly, he sat in his bunk and made parachutes and begged his comrades for sweets. After several of his comrades helped him get sweets, make parachutes and drop them in Berlin, the action was naturally picked up by the press and published. Letters addressed to Uncle Wackelflügel also arrived at Tempelhof Airport. The action thus became known to the command posts and Gail Halvorsen was ordered to report. He told his commanders that his reason for dropping sweets was that he had done it to bring joy to the people of bombed-out Berlin who were used to hardship and deprivation. His commander agreed, the operation was expanded and given the name "Operation Kleiner Provian-Operation Little Vittles". This triggered a wave of support. Gail Halvorsen and his crew soon had 850 pounds of candy available to drop every day. The planes were given the name "Raisin Bomber" (in the USA "Candy Bomber"). By the end of the airlift, the planes had dropped 23 tons of candy over Berlin.

Many contemporary witnesses agree that these actions had a significantly positive impact on the image of Americans in post-war Germany.