Posted on 12/10/2023 9:59:08 AM PST by DFG
C-46 Commando over "The Hump"
Marking.
Since 2009, Indian and American teams have scoured the mountains in India’s north-eastern state of Arunachal Pradesh, looking for the wreckage and remains of lost crews of hundreds of planes that crashed here over 80 years ago.
I had a client who flew the hump, wish I had been more active in talking to him about it.
He did talk about a bit, at end of the war they loaded up a lot of equipment that fit in the plane and dumped them out over the sea.
I’ve read a little about the “Hump” campaign, but didn’t know they lost that many planes. Tough duty. I remember reading that the C-46 was called a flying coffin because of its’ propensity for engine fires when airborne.
Here is the actual source for those not thrilled with having to tip Yahoo first.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-67633928
“but didn’t know they lost that many planes.”
Me, either. Wow, that’s a lot of loss. I had no idea.
It may be a noble pursuit? But what is the motivation since 2009?
The US Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA), the US agency that deals with soldiers missing in action, has sent repeated teams to Arunachal Pradesh to locate the remains of missing servicemen.
There is usually a source of funding for this. That is ok, this is an accurate rebuilding of history. There is prob some local money in this for the museum as well as ours, or not?
Arunachal Pradesh chief minister Pema Khandu, what is his motivation? Remember some of the pilots were Chinese.
In the meant time, we are tearing down our monuments and history......................................
That’s an insane amount of aircraft lost.
I didn’t know the USAF carried out air raids from a base in India during WW II but apparently they did
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kalaikunda_Air_Force_Station
Here is the "Burma Road" land route overlaid on "The Hump" air route.
I worked in a natural gas / urea plant about 50 miles south of Yibin for seven months back in '76-'77. At the time, I had no idea I was in the main transport and supply lines area of WW II.
The flying tigers. starring John Wayne. Mostly civilian pilots fighting for the Chinese, for a couple years before Pearl Harbor.
I once talked to a WW II pilot who flew the Hump. He described as always dangerous and often harrowing due to weather, distance, heavy loads, remoteness, forbidding terrain, and operating at the extremes of what the aircraft and navigational technology of the era could do. The effort was necessary though to help keep China in the war against Japan.
Technology.
called the “flying coffin” - I was a passenger several times flying into Korea, 52’-’53. They claim if power is lost in one engine, the other cannot keep her up.
The China-Burma-India theater may still may have been safer than flying bombing runs over Europe.
The grouchy old hardware store owner I used to frequent in the 1970s was a c-47 pilot who flew over the hump with supplies for Chang and Chenault during the war.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.