Berlin 1949 color - Berlin Airlift pilot filming - Luftbrücke - Airports - Wiesbaden

Private Filmaufnahmen aus West-Berlin aus dem Jahr 1949, gedreht von dem Piloten Capt. John Gill. / Private film footage from West Berlin from 1949, shot by the pilot Capt. John Gill. (english description below)

Der Kameramann gehörte zu einer Gruppe von zivilen Piloten und zivilen Airlines der US Luftfahrt, die als zivile Verteidigungsreserve auch bei der Berliner Luftbrücke eingesetzt wurden. So flogen Gill und seine Kollegen zwischen Sommer 1948 und Frühjahr 1949 ca 2.500 Missionen nach Berlin. Gill kaufte sich eine 16mm Bolex Kamera zu kaufen. Seine Aufnahmen sind nicht perfekt, oft etwas unscharf, doch er hinterlässt er uns eine Viefzahl an einmaligen Aufnahmen. Fahrten in die von Trümmern bestimmte Stadt, vorbei an Funkturm, Fahrt bis Siegessäule, Reichstag, Brandenburger Tor, Sowjet. Ehrenmal, Gedächtniskirche, OlympiaStadion, Unterbringung in Villa am Wannsee.

Die Original Filmrolle mit 16fps wurde nach der Digitalisierung mit digitalen Werkzeugen restauriert und in der Geschwindigkeit angeglichen.

Dazu Szenen von den Flughäfen Gatow, Tegel und Tempelhof, Starts, Landungen, Bildern vom Flugfeld, Beladen, Kabine, Flugpläne, Tempelhof, Abflug nach Wiesbaden, einer der Drehscheiben der Luftbrücke im Westen Deutschlands. Aufnahmen aus der Stadt Wiesbaden. Frankfurt Airport, Abflug Kevlavik/Island.

Capt. John Francis Gill, US Luftfahrtpionier, Pilot mit der frühen US-Flugscheinnr. 217., Postflieger, Transportflieger und Experte für Flugsicherheit, geboren 1901, Alabama, bis 1964 für die Eastern Airlines als Chief Pilot im Dienst.

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Private film footage from West Berlin from 1949, shot by the pilot Capt. John Gill. The cameraman belonged to a group of civilian pilots and civilian airlines from US aviation who were also deployed as a civil defense reserve during the Berlin Airlift. Between summer 1948 and spring 1949, Gill and his colleagues flew around 2,500 missions to Berlin. Gill bought a 16mm Bolex camera. His shots aren't perfect, often a bit blurry, but he leaves us a number of unique recordings. Journeys into the city marked by rubble, past a radio tower, journey to the Victory Column, Reichstag, Brandenburg Gate, Soviet. Cenotaph, Memorial Church, Olympic Stadium, accommodation in the villa at Lake Wannsee.

The original film was shot in 16fps. After the film had been scanned, the footage had been restored with digital tools and speed corrected.

There are also scenes from Gatow, Tegel and Tempelhof airports, take-offs, landings, pictures of the airfield, loading, cabin, flight plans, Tempelhof, departure to Wiesbaden, one of the airlift hubs in western Germany. Photos from the city of Wiesbaden. Frankfurt Airport, departure Kevlavik/Island

Capt. John Francis Gill, US aviation pioneer, pilot with early US license number. 217th, mail pilot, transport pilot and aviation safety expert, born in 1901, Alabama, served as chief pilot for Eastern Airlines until 1964.

Here is another source on the participation of civil aviation during Berlin Airlift. /Hier noch eine Quelle zur Beteiligung der zivilen Luftfahrt an der Berliner Luftbrücke

https://media.defense.gov/2013/Sep/16...

(...)
The British and Americans responded on June 26, with an airlift designed to overcome the blockade. Under orders from Gen. Lucius D. Clay, the American commander in Germany, the Air Force in Europe organized its fleet of C–47s into a make-shift airlift to resupply the American troops stationed in the city. When it became clear that the operation would have to be expanded to include necessary food, medicine, fuel, and clothing for all 2,250,000 West Berliners, Maj. Gen. William H. Tunner, an airlift expert, was sent from Washington, where he had been deputy commander of MATS, to head the multinational Combined Airlift Task Force called "Operation Vittles." ... By the end of the operation in October 1949, the task force had flown 279,114 sorties and had carried 2,324,257 tons of cargo to the beleaguered city. Still the U.S. civilian air transport industry did play a role in supporting the airlift. Just three days after the airlift had begun, civilian carriers were called upon to lift spare engines and parts from the United States to Frankfurt, Germany, where they were needed to keep the military airlift aircraft flying. At least three U.S. airlines also made flights along the American air corridor into Berlin. American Overseas Airlines, which wasthen operating several scheduled flights daily to Berlin, actually increased the pace of its operations, flying a total of 2,186 missions to Berlin from June 1948 through May 1949, and 61carrying over 7,250 tons of cargo and more than 29,000 passengers. Also, in September and October 1948, Seaboard and Western made a number of flights into Berlin—a hundred or more it would seem—under contract to American Overseas Airlines. In all, the airline flights into Berlin may have numbered close to 2,500.