April 29, 1945
Operation Manna began. At the end of World War II, Lancaster bombers of the Royal Air Force dropped 6,680 tons of food into parts of the occupied Netherlands to feed starving people during the Dutch famine, called the “Hunger Winter.” With the consent of occupying German forces, almost 3,300 sorties were run in nine days. In addition, 400 American B-17s dropped 800 tons of K-Rations. This photo, taken over Holland, captured the “Many Thanks” spelled-out in tulips as a message to their pilot saviors.
