As a spy plane, the DH Chipmunk seems the most unlikely of candidates. And yet, during the Cold War, Berlin-based RAF Chipmunks carried out reconnaissance operations as they flew up and down the air corridors in and out of West Berlin. Andy Thomas outlines the story.
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THE COLD WAR IN BERLIN
Following the collapse of Hitler’s Third Reich in May, 1945, the victorious Allies occupied Germany. Britain, the US and France occupied the larger western part, whilst the eastern provinces came under the Soviet Union and included Berlin, a city the Soviets had captured at heavy cost. This was formalised at the 1946 Potsdam Conference at which an agreement divided the German capital into four Zones, with the Western Allies occupying the western boroughs. The quadripartite agreement also confirmed the Western Allies’ the legal right of access to Berlin by land and air corridors from the western occupied zones of Germany (later West Germany).
The agreement also established liaison missions between the British and Soviet Commanders in Chief – BRIXMIS and its equivalent SOXMIS. These soon became an important means of intelligence gathering as team members had significant access to the respective Zones. A…
