Transcripts of 45 interviews recorded for The Berlin Airlift , a television documentary produced by 3BM Television for Channel 4's Secret History series and broadcast on 29 June 1998. Those interviewed include individuals and or relatives of individuals connected with the airlift operation which took place in response to the Berlin blockade, 24 June 1948 - October 1949, notably members of the armed forces of UK and USA including the RAF, RN and WAAF, a representative of the Foreign Office, journalists and authors, German interpreters, German civilians and children, members of Soviet administration and relatives of servicemen. Attention is given to direct roles and experience of the airlift but also seeks views of its historical significance to them personally and to the wider world. Topics covered in the interviews relate to causes of the blockade, Stalin's aims for Germany after 1945, the potential threat of war in 1948, British and US responses to the blockade, Soviet intelligence gathering and espionage in the UK Foreign Office, attitudes of British servicemen to American servicemen in Germany and vice versa, German experience of the Soviet conquest of Berlin in 1945 and ensuing occupation, living conditions at the air bases in West Germany and in Berlin, food and fuel shortages, rationing, operation of the black market, prostitution, relations between conquered and occupying forces, 'no fraternisation' rule, the logistics of the airlift operation - aircraft maintenance, loading and unloading of supplies, Soviet harassment, experience of pilots and crew, incidents such as air crashes, evacuation of Berliners including children, and Operation Little Vittles. The role of significant individuals such as Ernest Bevin (1884-1951), British Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs at the time, and Gen. Lucius D. Clay (1897-1978), Military Governor of Germany 1947 - 1949, are also discussed. Notable participants include Sir Frank Kenyon Roberts (1907-1998) diplomat and Principal Private Secretary to the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs during 1948 - 1949, Mrs Jessamy Waite, widow of Air Cdre Reginald Newnham Waite (1901-1975), who devised and organised the airlift operation, and Col Gail S Halverson who became known as the 'Candy Bomber' for his drops of packages of candy attached to miniature parachutes to the children of Berlin. Transcripts include questions and answers, and the tape counter numbering has been logged. The interviewer is not identified. Where interviews were translated this has been noted. Some names, places or phrases have been guessed at, or spelled phonetically by the transcriber. No information is given about the date or identity of the transcriber.

Copies of papers, 1909-1974, comprising typescript copy of the 'Interim Report of the Advisory Committee for Aeronautics', 1909; night order book, HMS THESEUS, Korea, 1950-1951; newspaper cuttings on HMS THESEUS' departure from UK to Korea and subsequent return, 1950-1951; typescript transcript of Royal United Services Institute for Defence Studies lecture by Bolt, Oct 1951, entitled 'HMS THESEUS in the Korean War and some special problems of naval aviation in that theatre' (subsequently published in the Journal of the Royal United Services Institute for Defence Studies; standard circular letters to all retired admirals, containing Royal Navy news and information, from Chief of Naval Staff and First Sea Lord Adm Sir Varyl (Cargill) Begg, 1966-1968, Adm Sir Peter (John) Hill-Norton, 1971, and Adm Sir Michael (Patrick) Pollock, 1972-1974; article by Bolt on minesweeping in 1940-1941 by Vickers DWI (Directional Wireless Installation) Wellington aircraft entitled 'Minesweeping Wellingtons: Part 1: equipment and technique: early operations in the Thames Estuary', published in Air Pictorial (Apr-May 1979), with nine uncaptioned photographs of Wellington aircraft and a captured German magnetic mine.

Papers relating to the military career of Maj Gen Sir John Edward Capper, dated 1900, [1910] and [1913], 1917-1918, principally comprising typescript notes on military aeronautics, [1910]; text of his lecture to the Staff College on the effect of aircraft on war, [1913]; telegrams between German High Seas Fleet and V Adm Sir David Beatty, Commander-in-Chief of the British Grand Fleet, concerning the surrender of the former at Scapa Flow, 1918; 'Report of the commission appointed by Act of Parliament to enquire into the operations of war in Mesopotamia' (London, HMSO, 1917). Copy of typescript text on the Capper Medal Collection, Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst, [1969], including brief biographies of members of the Capper family.

Autobiography of Harold Roxbee Cox, Baron Kings Norton of Wotton Underwood " A Wrack Behind" (Cranfield University Press, 1999), covering his life and career, particularly the design and construction of the airship R.101, his association with Air Commodore Sir Frank Whittle and the development of the jet propulsion gas turbine, and his association with Cranfield University.

The collection consists primarily of master copies and research papers for Dean's book on the RAF, The Royal Air Force and two World Wars, foreword by Sir Arthur Travers Harris (London, Cassell, 1979). The research papers contain Dean's correspondence on aspects of RAF history with leading RAF personnel of the period before and during World War Two, in particular with ACM Sir Arthur Travers Harris with comments by him on the text of Dean's book, particularly on sections relating to Bomber Command. There is also a correspondence between Harris and MRAF Sir Charles Frederick Algernon Portal over the issue of bombing targets. Also included are extensive research notes from Public Record Office files and from secondary sources. The collection includes a paper written by Dean on dynamics and optics, 1928; papers relating to the development of airships and the crash of the R101 airship dating from Dean's initial period at the Air Ministry, 1929-1943; texts of lectures and seminars relating to the Civil Service given by Dean at the University of Strathclyde and other colleges and entries and related papers compiled by Dean for the Dictionary of National Biography (Oxford University Press, Oxford).

Papers relating to aviation and transport, dated 1910-1928, principally comprising papers relating to Joint War Air Committee (Inter-Departmental Committee on the Air Service) chaired by Edward George Villiers Stanley, 17th Earl of Derby, 1916, Committee on the Administration and Command of the Royal Flying Corps, 1916, and Air Boards chaired by Weetman Dickinson Pearson, 1st Viscount Cowdray, 1917, and George Nathaniel Curzon, 1st Earl Curzon of Kedleston, [1916]; correspondence, 1915-1916, 1920, notably including correspondence with Herbert Henry Asquith, 1916, Curzon, 1916, Derby, 1916, the Imperial Defence Committee, 1916, the Parliamentary Aviation Committee, and George Sydenham Clarke, 1st Baron Sydenham of Combe, 1916; printed books, pamphlets, memoranda, notes and texts by Douglas-Scott-Montagu and others, 1910-1920, mainly relating to aviation technology, anti-aircraft defence and the organisation of the air services; memoranda, official reports, notes and texts relating to his work as Adviser on Mechanical Transport Services to the Government of India, 1915-1919; manuscript account of service of No 1 Armoured Motor Unit, North West Frontier, India, 1915-1916, by Capt A J Clifton, 68 Durham Light Infantry, 1915-1916, dated 1917, including photographs and preface by Montagu. Other papers relating to his life and career, 1914-1926, dated 1914-[1926], 1948, principally comprising letters relating to his service with 7 Hampshire Regt in Egypt, 1914, and India, 1915; photographs and photographic negatives, 1915-1922, mainly relating to his service in India, 1915-1919. Typescript draft of A strange war. Burma, India and Afghanistan, 1914-1919 (Sutton, Gloucester, 1988), an account of 2/5 Bn, Somerset Light Infantry and 2 Mechanical Transport Company by Chris P Mills, based on the recollections of Col B G L Rendall, the diary of Edward William Ewens and research into the Montagu papers, dated 1987.

Papers, 1953-1977, including draft of article relating to the role of air transport in army supply, published in the Army Journal; Imperial Defence College background study notes, 1966, on international relations, the UK economy, research and development; papers relating to Aden, 1967, including extracts of regimental journals relating to operations of British units in Aden, situation reports of 1 Bn the Lancashire Regt (Prince of Wales's Volunteers), translations of daily communiqués of FLOSY (Front for the Liberation of Occupied South Yemen) and NLF (National Liberation Front), texts of speeches and official briefing papers of Headquarters MELF, notes and drafts for a book by Dunbar on Aden; articles by Dunbar, 1971-1973, relating to operations of 8 Bn (Midland Counties) the Parachute Regt in France, Belgium and Palestine, 1944-1948, and 16 Independent Parachute Bde Group in Cyprus and Suez, 1956.

Photograph album containing photographs on board the HMS CALYPSO and HMS PEMBROKE I, including crew attending a sporting event, 1925; aeroplane wreckage and the forced landing of an air liner, Corfu, 1926; ship football team and officers, 1926; torpedo firing, 1927; and crew dressed as clowns for Navy week, 1928.

Just a Bit of Time , memoir of the life and service of Captain Michael Hugh Hutton, 1931-1985; including descriptions of training at the Royal Naval College, Dartmouth, 1938; service as midshipman aboard HMS JAMAICA and HMS ROCKET, 1942-1943; the Battle of Barents Sea, Dec 1942; involvement in Operation TUNNEL for the interception of German shipping in the English Channel which resulted in the loss of HMS CHARYBDIS and HMS LIMBOURNE, Oct 1943; the bombardment of the Normandy coast by HMS WARSPITE, D Day, 6 Jun 1944; training to become a pilot, 1945-1948; work as personal pilot to Vice Admiral Sir John Eccles, 1954-1956; service aboard HMS BULWARK, Singapore, 1963-1965. With photocopied photographs of Hutton as Captain, HMS JAMAICA, HMS ROCKET, HMS WARSPITE, HMS OCEAN, a Firefly aircraft approaching a landing deck and HMS HARDY.

List of stations on the Tomsk, Sabaikal, Omsk and Chinese Eastern Lines compiled in connection with British Military Mission in Irkutsk, USSR, 1919, with annotations made by the Commanding Officer of the mission while retreating from the Bolsheviks, 1919-1920. Passed to Percival for use on a planned round-the-world flight.

Official illustrated edition of RAF Middle East: The Official Story of Air Operations in the Middle East, from February 1942 to January 1943 (His Majesty's Stationery Office, London, 1945); official illustrated edition of Atlantic Bridge: The Official Account of RAF Transport Command's Ocean Ferry (His Majesty's Stationery Office, London, 1945)

Fifty editions of Tee Emm, the Department of the Air Member for Training, Air Ministry, training memoranda monthly magazine, Apr 1941-Mar 1946. In addition to containing RAF training procedures and memoranda relating to RAF administration, navigation techniques, airmanship, crew co-operation requirements, gunnery, and aerial intelligence matters, the magazines included leisure articles and cartoons; fictional accounts of air operations; RAF honours lists; and updates on technological developments in the RAF

Papers of MRAF Sir John Slessor, 1965-1968, including: correspondence regarding the Defence Review on Naval Airpower with Air Chief Marshal Sir Charles Elworthy; W M Mills, Ministry of Defence; Edward Shackleton, Ministry of Defence; Hawker Siddeley Aviation Ltd; Air Marshal Sir Kenneth Cross, Transport Command; and others, 1965-1968, particularly debating the use of aircraft carriers. Correspondence regarding the Battle of the Atlantic with Vice Admiral Sir Peter Gretton; Capt Stephen Roskill, historian; the Air Historical Branch; the Naval Historical Branch; and others, 1966-67, including statistical analysis of efficacy of RAF and information and statistics from Air History Branch regarding U-Boat destruction, 1955. Correspondence with Capt B H Liddell Hart, 1965; with Rear Admiral Samuel Morison, USNR, 1968; with Professor Arthur Marder, 1966. Articles by Slessor relating to the Defence Review on Naval Airpower, including: 'An Integral part of the Fleet', 1964; 'The Capital Ship Complex', 1965; 'Air Power - Seabourne or Shore-based', 1965; 'Naval Air Power - Is it Worth It?', 1965; 'The Story of Jutland: Some reflections on Vol. 3 of "From the Dreadnought to Scapa Flow" - Arthur J Marder', 1966; 'Air Power and the Defence Review', 1966; 'Air Power East of Suez', 1966; 'The Purchase of the F111', 1966; 'Meeting Today's Defence Needs: Virtues of Shore-Based Planes', letter to The Times , 1968; and 'The Air League's Memorandum on Defence - January 1967', 1967. Also articles by others including: 'The case for the Aircraft Carrier' by Fletcher Pratt, and response 'The Case for Land-Based Air Power' by Francis V Drake, The Reader's Digest , 1949; German, Italian and Japanese U-Boat Casualties during the War: Particulars of Destruction , (HMSO, 1946); A memorandum on Defence , The Air League, 1967; and 'Merchant Aircraft Carriers' by Kenneth Poolman, Air Pictorial , Oct 1968.

Papers relating to his RAF career, 1942-[1953], principally comprising correspondence relating to the development of a submersible target at RAF St Eval, Cornwall, 1942, dated 1948; manuscript notes on the problems of establishing Coastal Command Station, Nassau, Bahamas, as a training centre for Coastal Liberator crews, 1942; official report on the RAF occupation of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, 5-11 May 1945; printed reports on the progress of air disarmament in Germany in 1944-1946, produced by British Air Forces of Occupation, 1945-1947; correspondence relating to his work as Director of Air Branch, Control Commission, Berlin, 1947-1949, and to the planning of the Berlin Airlift, 1948-1949; official report on organisation and structure of Berlin Airlift administration; RAF training course notes and papers, 1950; papers relating to his service as Assistant Chief of Staff, Allied Air Forces Central Europe, [1951-1953], notably including photographs of Waite, [1951-1953]; published RAF manuals, 1948, 1950.

Papers and photographs relating to Wilson's career, 1928-1990, especially his service as test pilot for British and captured German aircraft, 1937-1945, setting the world air speed record, 1945, and his role as Commandant, Empire Test Pilots' School, 1945-1947, including three flying log books, 1928-1944; typescript copy of unpublished memoir entitled 'Icy calm. Recollections of a wartime test pilot', written in [1972]. One hundred and seventy four official and personal photographs relating to Wilson's career, 1930-[1950], including damaged Bristol Bulldog fighter, crash landed by Wilson, UK, 1931; captured German aircraft Heinkel He111, Junkers Ju88, Messerschmitt Me109, Messerschmitt Me110 and Italian Fiat CR42 [1941-1945]; testing of CAM (Catapult Assisted Merchantman) aircraft launch apparatus and tests on Fairey Fulmar, Blackburn Shark and General Aircraft Hotspur gliders with RATOG (Rocket Assisted Take-Off Gear), 1941-1942; Empire Test Pilots' School students under instruction and in flight, 1945-1947; photographs of De Havilland Mosquito, Avro Lancaster, Hawker Tempest, Supermarine Spitfire, Gloster Meteor and De Havilland Vampire, 1945-1947; prototype of Planet Aircraft Satellite, 1948-1949. Contemporary reports, memoranda and official and personal correspondence, 1937-1990, including typescript memorandum by Wilson entitled 'Pilot's impressions of the [Blackburn] Botha', 1940; typescript report by Wilson entitled 'Observations of fighter requirements', 1940; typescript report by Wilson entitled 'Tactical trials and other observations on the De Havilland E6/41 (known as the DH100 Spider-Crab, later renamed Vampire) with Halford H1 engine', 1944, and Empire Test Pilots' School student's confidential report for Sqn Ldr J G Mann, RAF, Course No 3, 1946; typescript report by Cyril Francis Caunter entitled 'A historical summary of the Royal Aircraft Establishment 1918-1948', 1949; correspondence with potential publishers for Wilson's memoir, 1972-1990. Publications, 1946-1972, including two editions of The Times, 1946 and 1947, edition of The Aeroplane with article on the Empire Test Pilots' School, 1946, and booklet entitled 'Empire Test Pilots' School Personnel Supplement. List of graduates 1943-1972 and present staff' [1972].

Copies of official photographs of HMS RAJAH, 1944-1945, including details of anti-aircraft guns; aircraft on board (some crashed onto deck); aircraft being unloaded by crane; Suez Canal; wardroom and ratings messdeck, Christmas 1944; boxing and hockey on deck. Also copy of a certificate of service for 1943-1946; wireless history sheet, 1943-1945.