It was one of the first major international crisis of the Cold War. Since the Soviets blocked the Western Allies' railways, roads etc. the Western Allies organized the Berlin airlift, where aircrews from the United States Air Force, the British Royal Air Force, the Royal Canadian Air Force, the Royal Australian Air Force, the Royal New Zealand Air Force, and the South African Air Force, provided to the West Berliners up to 8,893 tons of necessities each day, such as fuel and food.