After the three Western powers single-handedly introduced a new currency, the Deutsche Mark, in their zones in 1948, the USSR reacted to this angrily and blocked Berlin. It shut down all channels of supply to West Berlin. The western allies had only two choices: either give up Berlin or supply it by airlift from the West German airports. An aircraft landed in Berlin every 90 seconds, whose pilots threw sweets from the cockpit. As such, these aircraft came to be known as ‘Rosinenbomber’.
