INDIA-CHINA WING

The Wing was responsible for transport operations across the Himalayan Mountains, "The Hump" between airfields in Assam and China, formerly performed by the 10th AF India-China Ferrying Command and the 1st Ferrying Group, and operated a western Indian sector in Karachi. It was responsible for the materiel support of the Fourteenth Air Force in China and of the Tenth Air Force operations.
The Air Transport Command
The Hardship of "The Hump"
The operational difficulties of the Hump are well known. For a long time, and understandably, there was a fearsomeness in the word "Hump" itself. One of the chief factors was the almost complete lack of information in regard to the jungles, mountain gorges, and snow-capped ranges along the lines of flight. Another was the wild tribes inhabiting the region, thought of variously as fanatical headhunters, murderous bandits, or inhospitable misanthropes. Still a third was the presence of roving Jap patrols along parts of the route, obviously eager to intercept parachuted airmen, and a fourth was enemy fighter planes, which in the early days shot down an occasional unarmed, heavily-loaded transport.

The organization began with two stations (Dinjan and Chabua) and three others under construction, operating less than 60 aircraft. By August 1945 ICD had expanded to more than 60 Base Units, 640 aircraft, and 34,000 personnel. On 29 January 1944 the ICWATC became the first non-combat organization to be awarded the Presidential Unit Citation, at the personal direction of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, for its efforts flying the Hump.

As weekly reports from the Hump indicated that the December 1943 record would exceed all commitments, enthusiasm mounted. On 27 December Stratemeyer recommended that the wing be cited in War Department general orders. The next day the President himself directed the citation of the wing and sent his personal thanks to every officer and man concerned. Colonel Hardin, who received chief credit from General George, was ordered back to the United States for a month's leave and was quickly promoted to brigadier general. At the Pentagon, on 29 January, he accepted the presidential citation, formally presented to him as representative of the wing by General Arnold.

General Chennault, writing to General Hoag, noted some of the accomplishments of the Fourteenth Air Force during December, "using the gasoline, ammunition, bombs, and other supplies which the India-China Wing of the ATC has delivered to us." He concluded his detailed report of combat activities by saying, "I am particularly anxious that your pilots and crews know that only through their efforts can we accomplish these important missions."

The operations of the India-China Wing took a grave toll of men and aircraft. Between June and December 1943 there were 155 major aircraft accidents in the wing, 135 on the Hump route. Crew fatalities totaled 168. The introduction of twenty-four-hour-a-day flying in October helped push the monthly total for November up to 38 major accidents on the Hump; in the record month of December, however, the number dropped to 28. In spite of regrets over the many casualties, ATC headquarters at Washington, New Delhi, and Chabua, felt obliged to push the job, as General Smith put it, "for all it is worth." He continued: We are paying for it in men and airplanes. The kids here are flying over their head - at night and in daytime and they bust them up for reasons that sometimes seem silly. They are not silly, however, for we are asking boys to do what would be most difficult for men to accomplish; with the experience level here we are going to pay dearly for the tonnage moved across the Hump.... With the men available, there is nothing else to do.

In the hope of reducing the accident rate by improving the technical skill of the young pilots flying the route, wing headquarters sent out a series of earnest appeals to ATC for check pilots competent to conduct a program for upgrading flight personnel. The first of these reached the theater by the end of the year. At the same time the wing was developing an aggressive search and rescue program intended to save the men who crashed or bailed out over mountain or jungle. The early search missions had been impromptu affairs. When a plane crashed, was abandoned, or was reported missing, the first available crew and plane that could be spared were assigned to the search. At Chabua there gradually developed a more specialized search and rescue organization, under the leadership of Capt. John L. ("Blackie") Porter. His men became known as "Blackie's Gang." Theirs was a difficult tree-skimming mission. In July 1943 they were assigned two C-47's. One of their first rescue attempts involved the crew and the passengers (twenty men in all, including Eric Sevareid, CBS commentator) who had abandoned a disabled C-46 on 2 August over the much-feared Naga country in northern Burma. Needed supplies were dropped, and Lt. Col. Don Flickinger, Wing Flight Surgeon, and two medical aides parachuted to the assistance of the survivors. A rescue party walked in, and the mission was a complete success. Late in October wing headquarters established a special search and rescue unit at Chabua with Captain Porter in command, under the control of the operations division of the Eastern Sector. After a very successful series of rescues, Porter was killed on 10 December 1943 when his B-25 and another rescue plane were lost to enemy action. The rescue craft thus destroyed were replaced, however, and the work went on.

Initially search and rescue efforts to find downed aircraft were informal and spasmodic. About August, 1943, search and rescue took a more formal approach with the establishment of a Search and Rescue group by the ATC. Equipped initially with C-47 aircraft and later with B-25 aircraft, this group swept the mountains and jungles of Burma and the mountains of western China at low altitudes in search of downed aircraft. This group proved very successful in finding and helping downed crews return to safety. PT-17s, L-4s and L-5s of the group flew out many downed airman.

When a Hump plane goes down and the crew abandon it, high drama enters their lives along with extremes of hardship. They may spend 93 days away from their base, as one crew did (this is the longest recorded walkout) and they may encounter anything from cobras to tigers-leeches and lice being taken for granted. Or, as the famed "Shangri-La" crew did, they might be swept far off course and fall into the splendor and the lavish hospitality of the Tibetans' holy city of Lhasa, and, after being fed, entertained and lionized there, be solicitously guided from that remote fastness back to their own civilization in a 30-day horseback journey.

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China Burma India AIR TRANSPORT UNITS
                                                            


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 Monument located in Memorial Park National Museum of the United States Air Force
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CBI UNIT HISTORIES - AIR TRANSPORT / COMBAT CARGO


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CBI Search and Rescue - 1352nd ARMY AIR FORCES BASE UNIT


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"When a Hump plane goes down and the crew abandon it, high drama enters their lives along with extremes of hardship. They may spend 93 days away from their base, as one crew did (this is the longest recorded walkout) and they may encounter anything from cobras to tigers-leeches and lice being taken for granted. Or, as the famed "Shangri-La" crew did, they might be swept far off course and fall into the splendor and the lavish hospitality of the Tibetans' holy city of Lhasa, and, after being fed, entertained and lionized there, be solicitously guided from that remote fastness back to their own civilization in a 30-day horseback journey."
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