page_title: United States Air Forces in Europe – Air Forces Africa
section_title: 1961 Berlin Crisis
hierarchical_section_title: United States Air Forces in Europe – Air Forces Africa / The 1960s / 1961 Berlin Crisis
caption_attribution_description: F-84Fs from the 7108th Tactical Wing in formation over Chaumont Air Base, France - 1962
context_page_description: The United States Air Forces in Europe – Air Forces Africa is a United States Air Force major command and a component command of both United States European Command and United States Africa Command. As part of its mission, USAFE-AFAFRICA commands U.S. Air Force units pledged to NATO, maintaining combat-ready wings based from Great Britain to Turkey. USAFE-AFAFRICA plans, conducts, controls, coordinates and supports air and space operations in Europe, parts of Asia and all of Africa with the exception of Egypt to achieve U.S. national and NATO objectives based on taskings by the two combatant commanders.
  USAFE-AFAFRICA is headquartered at Ramstein Air Base, Germany. It is the oldest continuously active USAF major command, originally activated on 1 February 1942 at Langley Field, Virginia, as the Eighth Air Force of the United States Army Air Forces. Two years later, it was designated as United States Strategic Air Forces in Europe and on 7 August 1945 it was designated as United States Air Forces in Europe. On 20 April 2012 it formally assumed its current designation when the 17th Air Force inactivated.
context_section_description: The 1961 Berlin Crisis became USAFE's first test of what was known as a "Flexible Response" strategy. In the spring of 1961, Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev decided that the Soviet Union would sign a peace treaty with the East German government. In effect the German Democratic Republic would control the Russian zone of Berlin and could end joint occupation of the city. This action was a clear violation of the Potsdam Agreement of 1945.
  When the Western allies objected to this proposed peace treaty, Khrushchev began speaking about restricting the West's aerial access to Berlin and preventing the entry of East Germans into the city. This possibility started an exodus of Germans from the eastern zone as they rushed to leave their sector and relocate in West Germany.
  Departures snowballed from a few dozen refugees daily to a flow of 4,000 per day by August 1961. On the night of 12 August 1961 the Soviet backed East German government began erecting the Berlin Wall to prevent this flow of workers from communism, precipitating a new Cold War crisis that had been brewing for the previous twelve months. Berlin became a divided city. The response agreed to by the Kennedy Administration was to rapidly increase tactical airpower in Europe during the summer of 1961.
  The Air Force responded with a two-phase deployment of reinforcements to Europe – the largest such overseas movement of aircraft since World War II. The first phase began on 5 September with Operation Tack Hammer. Tactical Air Command launched eight F-100D squadrons from its Composite Air Strike Force to augment USAFE strength with 144 fighters. All Tack Hammer fighters moved across the Atlantic Ocean with aerial refueling en route. The TACK HAMMER deployment was an interim measure until ANG units could relieve Tactical Air Command squadrons. The Air National Guard was tasked to supply six tactical fighter wings and one tactical reconnaissance wing to expand USAFE. Also deployed to Europe was the ANG 152d Tactical Control Group consisting of six Tactical Control Squadrons, manned by 230 officers and 1,850 airmen with mobile ground radar and radio equipment to control tactical air power on the battlefield. It was dispersed throughout West Germany.
  The second phase began with the movement of eleven Air National Guard squadrons in late October and November 1961. Operation Stair Step was the code name for the rapid aerial movement of the fighters to Europe. Aircraft supplied by ANG wings totaled one hundred tour F-84Es, twenty RF-84Fs, seventy-eight F-86Hs, and seventy-two F-104As. The majority of the fighters arrived on 4 November and amazingly had no losses en route. The F-84E and F-86Fs were considered old and obsolete aircraft even though they were only seven to nine years out of the factory. The three F-104 squadrons were activated on 1 November 1961. They disassembled their Starfighters and loaded them into Military Air Transport Service C-124s which delivered them to air bases in Germany and Spain.
  The primary combat mission of the STAIR STEP units was air superiority and offensive tactical air support operations using conventional munitions to defend West Germany if a war developed over Berlin access. Upon arrival in Europe their missions consisted of command inspections, theater flying training, air-ground close support operations, gunnery training, photo missions, and air defense alert duty. Though equipped with conventional weapons, the STAIR STEP F-84F and F-86H squadrons maintained their proficiency to deliver nuclear weapons by practicing toss bombing. By March 1962, the Berlin Crisis was subsiding and plans were being made for departure of the ANG wings from Europe. Units were to return all personnel, equipment, and aircraft to CONUS by 1 September 1962 for early release from active duty.
  However, the Berlin Wall was built and a barbed wire fence with minefields extended the entire north-south length of a divided Germany. The wall effectively isolated East Germany for the next twenty-eight years. But the American, British, and French Zones still remained in Be
caption: F-84Fs from the activated Air National Guard's 7108th Tactical Wing in formation over Chaumont-Semoutiers Air Base France. With the end of the Berlin Crisis, these aircraft were reassigned to the 366th Tactical Fighter Wing.
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