Why didn't the Soviets simply intercept and escort US aircraft back to the West German border? Was there some kind of joint-airspace policy in the skies over East Germany?
Why didn't the Soviets simply intercept and escort US aircraft back to the West German border? Was there some kind of joint-airspace policy in the skies over East Germany?
The Allies had access through theWest Berlin Air Corridor - as long as they didn't stray outside those, the Soviets couldn't touch them.
The Allies had access through theWest Berlin Air Corridor - as long as they didn't stray outside those, the Soviets couldn't touch them.
Neither did the west when it started.they did not believe that Berlin could be supplied by air only.
Berlin was the most politically important city in Europe, and war is politics by other means...not in a military sense as West Berlin had no military value ,or at least a very low one.
Berlin was the most politically important city in Europe, and war is politics by other means.
Didn't both NATO and the USSR regularly (almost) intrude on each other's airspace and intercept one another's aircraft during later decades of the Cold War? IIRC, USAF fighters regularly intercepted Soviet bombers that were loitering near Alaskan airspace, for instance.
Didn't both NATO and the USSR regularly (almost) intrude on each other's airspace and intercept one another's aircraft during later decades of the Cold War? IIRC, USAF fighters regularly intercepted Soviet bombers that were loitering near Alaskan airspace, for instance.
Doesn't "intercept" mean to fly alongside another aircraft with the purpose of escorting them out of your airspace?
Doesn't "intercept" mean to fly alongside another aircraft with the purpose of escorting them out of your airspace?