Second Sino-Japanese War
91-534: The Historic Flight Foundation (HFF) was an aviation museum located at Felts Field in Spokane, Washington . The museum collected, restored, and flew historic aircraft from the period between Charles Lindbergh's solo Atlantic crossing in 1927 and the first commercial flight of the Boeing 707 in 1957, a 30-year period when airplanes evolved from relatively simple wood and fabric biplanes to commercial jets. The museum
182-626: A 1927 Cadillac Touring Phaeton car in which President Franklin Delano Roosevelt toured Glacier National Park on August 5, 1934. The automobile collection featured two "Jammer" touring buses —one from Yellowstone Park and one from Glacier National Park. The museum's collection included the following historic aircraft. The collection's Douglas DC-3 was manufactured at the Douglas Aircraft Company's Long Beach plant as one of only 300 DC-3s specifically designed to "fly
273-705: A busy regional hub for private and small-plane aviation and related businesses and services. In 1991, it was designated Felts Field Historic District on the National Register of Historic Places . Today the airport is used for general aviation. No scheduled passenger service remains at Felts, though scheduled Part 135 cargo operations remain via UPS and DHL contracting ( Ameriflight LLC and previously Merlin Express Airways). Felts Field covers 416 acres (1.68 km ) at an elevation of 1,957 feet (596 m) above sea level . It has two runways: 4L/22R
364-570: A crash that May. Parkwater Aviation Field, later Felts Field, was the location for flight instruction , charter service , airplane repair, aerial photography , headquarters of the 116th Observation Squadron of the Washington Air National Guard, and eventually the first airmail and commercial flights in and out of Spokane. In the summer of 1946, the airlines ( Northwest and United ) moved west to Geiger Field (later Spokane International Airport). Felts Field remains
455-554: A dearth of radio and navigation aids in ATC transports. Rickenbacker and Tenth Air Force commanding general Clayton L. Bissell recommended return of the operation to theater command, but Stratemeyer disagreed, as did Maj. Gen. Howard C. Davidson , who was about to replace Bissell in command of 10AF and had made an inspection tour of his own in June. Frustration at the failure of the ICW to meet
546-750: A half tons of 100- octane gasoline flying the Hump over the Himalaya Mountains between India and Kunming (to get) four tons through to the Fourteenth Air Force . Before a bombardment group can go on a single mission in its B-24 Liberators, it must fly the Hump four times to build up its supplies. With the onset of heavy monsoon rains in March the ATC operation was reduced to operating from the only all-weather base at Chabua (the RAF base at Dinjan
637-814: A key subordinate of Brig. Gen. Robert Olds . Olds and his staff had founded the Air Corps Ferrying Command in June 1941 and pioneered overseas military air transport, including use of the South Atlantic air route by which aircraft, personnel, and cargo would reach India from the United States. However, at the time the India-China Ferry was conceived, the ABC Ferry Command was not prepared to plan, control, or execute such an operation. Its formal organization
728-502: A larger load capacity, the Chinese carrier was far more efficient in tonnage lifted per aircraft, by a factor of 2.5 to 1. The primary cause of ATC's failure was the complete inadequacy of its airfield facilities, but other major factors were unsatisfactory performance by overwhelmed aircraft maintenance personnel that grounded a hundred ATC aircraft per day, a predominance of inexperienced pilots (particularly compared to those of CNAC), and
819-622: A pair of the former Pan Am DC-3s to ferry 8,000 U.S. gallons (30,000 liters) of aviation fuel intended to resupply the Doolittle Raiders . The collapse of Allied resistance in northern Burma in May 1942 meant further diversion of the already minuscule air effort. The ABC Ferry Command resupplied Stilwell's retreating army and evacuated its wounded, while establishing a regular air service to China using ten borrowed DC-3s, three USAAF C-47s, and 13 CNAC C-53s and C-39s. Only two-thirds of
910-595: A projected total of 50 by the end of the summer. USAAF Commanding General Henry H. Arnold observed first-hand the hazards of "flying the Hump" in February 1943 when the combat crew flying Argonaut , the B-17 that transported his party, became lost as they flew to Kunming following the Casablanca Conference . From his experiences, Arnold later wrote: A C-87 Liberator transport must consume three and
1001-637: A prospective bombardment group commander, was assigned to command the Assam- Kunming branch of the India-China Ferry, dubbed the Assam-Burma-China Ferry Command . Col. Robert L. Scott , a pursuit pilot awaiting an assignment in China, was assigned as his operations officer and a month later as executive officer . Haynes was a fortuitous choice to be the airlift's first commander, as he had just completed an assignment as
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#17327875782871092-670: A short time engines intended for P-43 fighters of the Chinese Air Force were adapted for use on C-47s, but the supply of those proved small. Although three bases constructed by the British on tea plantations at Chabua , Mohanbari , and Sookerating were declared operational in August 1942, and construction of a fourth began at Jorhat , none were expected to be ready for all-weather operations before November or December because of problems with unskilled indigenous labor and
1183-465: A veteran crewman who flew the Hump was described in a feature story for a local newspaper years after: ... Let there be no question about it! Flying the Hump was risky business. The air route led first over the Himalayan foothills and finally to the mountains, between north Burma and west China, airspace where turbulence and abominable weather was the norm. Judge for yourself: [the name of] one of
1274-543: Is 4,499 by 150 feet (1,371 by 46 m) concrete and 4R/22L is 2,650 by 75 feet (808 by 23 m) asphalt. It has a seaplane landing area designated 3W/21W, 6,000 by 100 feet (1,829 by 30 m). The runways were formerly numbered 3/21. In the year ending February 28, 2015, it had 54,881 aircraft operations, averaging 150 per day: 93% general aviation , 7% air taxi , and <1% military. In July 2017, 176 aircraft were based at Felts Field: 146 single-engine, 15 multi-engine, and 15 helicopters . The hangar facilities at
1365-860: The Assam–Burma–China Command (April–July 1942) and the India-China Ferry Command (July–December 1942) of the Tenth Air Force; and the Air Transport Command's India-China Wing (December 1942 – June 1944) and India-China Division (July 1944 – November 1945). The operation began in April 1942, after Japanese forces blocked the Burma Road , and continued daily until scaled down from August 1945. It procured most of its officers, men, and equipment from
1456-605: The China Burma India Theater (CBI) for basing the large number of transport aircraft that would be needed. Flying over the Himalayas was extremely dangerous and made more difficult by a lack of reliable charts, an absence of radio navigation aids, and a dearth of information about the weather. The task was initially given to the USAAF's Tenth Air Force , and then to its Air Transport Command (ATC). Because
1547-667: The Kumon Mountains . He then crossed a series of 14,000–16,000-foot (4,300–4,900 m) ridges separated by the valleys of the West Irrawaddy , East Irrawaddy, Salween , and Mekong Rivers. The main "Hump", which gave its name to the whole awesome mountainous mass and to the air route which crossed it, was the Santsung Range , often 15,000 feet (4,600 m) high, between the Salween and Mekong Rivers. East of
1638-714: The Second World War to the eastern end of the Himalayan Mountains over which they flew military transport aircraft from India to China to resupply the Chinese war effort of Chiang Kai-shek and the units of the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) based in China. Creating an airlift presented the USAAF a considerable challenge in 1942: it had no units trained or equipped for moving cargo, and there were no airfields in
1729-622: The "Assam-Burma-China Command", a route from bases in Assam to southern China. The original scheme envisioned the Allies holding northern Burma and using Myitkyina as an offloading terminal to send supplies by barge downriver to Bhamo and transfer to the Burma Road. However, on 8 May 1942 the Japanese seized Myitkyina which, coupled with the loss of Rangoon , effectively cut Allied access to
1820-710: The 40-acre (160,000 m ) site of the Hastings Jute Mill, Stratemeyer, now a lieutenant general and commander of all USAAF forces in the CBI, established Hastings Army Air Base as the headquarters of the Army Air Forces India-Burma Theater, using a converted 8.5-acre (34,000 m ) mill building to house his headquarters, that of CBI Air Service Command, and ICWATC. Under Hardin, tonnages increased, but so did expectations and frustrations; morale and safety concerns continued to plague
1911-813: The 6th Ferrying Group. On 1 July, ATC reorganized its nine wings worldwide into air divisions, and sectors into wings. The ICW-ATC became the India China Division ATC (ICD-ATC), while the Eastern Sector, carrying out the India-China airlift, was re-designated the Assam Wing , and the Western Sector support organization became the India Wing . The India China Division also had an operational training unit at Gaya and used
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#17327875782872002-519: The ATC service depot at Agra , India. Japanese fighters based in central Burma began to challenge the transport route near Sumprabum at the end of the summer monsoon. On 13 October 1943, a large number of Japanese fighters assisted by ground observers evaded U.S. fighter patrols and shot down a C-46, a C-87, and a CNAC transport while damaging three others. Despite the doubling of U.S. fighter patrols, similar interceptions on 20, 23, and 27 October shot down five more C-46s. Japanese pilots referred to
2093-593: The Army Air Forces states: The Brahmaputra valley floor lies 90 feet (27 m) above sea level at Chabua . From this level the mountain wall surrounding the valley rises quickly to 10,000 feet (3,000 m) and higher. Flying eastward out of the valley, the pilot first topped the Patkai Range , then passed over the upper Chindwin River valley, bounded on the east by a 14,000-foot (4,300 m) ridge,
2184-564: The Assam Wing when it was activated the next month. Tunner, who was to become airlift commander following Hardin, anticipated that the end of the fighter threat would see a massive influx of C-54s into the India-China operation. Like Haynes, Alexander, and Tunner, Cannon had been a pioneer in the Air Transport Command, where as a protege of Tunner's he was base commander of Long Beach Army Air Field , where Tunner made his headquarters as commander of ATC's Ferry Division, and commanding officer of
2275-493: The Base Unit. To illustrate the various organizational changes affecting the India-China airlift, the unit at Chabua under 10AF deployed overseas as the 1st Ferrying Group . It was redesignated the 1st Transport Group on 1 December 1942 to denote that it was an ATC unit. Next it became Station No. 6 (APO 629 New York) on 1 December 1943 when for flexibility ATC no longer fielded groups or squadrons as units. Finally it became
2366-514: The British—and later the U.S. Army's Services of Supply—failed to complete construction of all-weather runways at Mohanbari and Sookerating, the activation of the 28th, 29th, and 30th Transport Groups proceeded, an attempt to expand the C-46's role to meet projected levels of tonnage. The severe shortage of crews led to pleas from Alexander for additional personnel. "Project 7" was set up by ATC at
2457-513: The Burma Road. To maintain the uninterrupted supply to China, U.S. and other allied leaders agreed to organize a continual aerial resupply effort directly between Assam and Kunming . Tenth Air Force was hampered by a constant diversion of men and aircraft to Egypt, where Nazi Germany was threatening to seize the Suez Canal . Its Air Service Command was still en route by ship from the United States, forcing it to get aircraft and personnel for
2548-532: The C-54s were limited for the time being to freight movement within India or flights between the CBI and the continental United States. Hardin advanced to command of the ICW on 21 March 1944 when Hoag was transferred to head ATC's European Wing. A month later, to give Hardin closer personal contact with his growing number of airbases, ICW changed its headquarters from New Delhi to Rishra , north of Calcutta. There, on
2639-622: The Chief of Air Staff, on a special mission to India to observe ICWATC operations and report back with recommendations. Similarly, Eddie Rickenbacker flew the Hump in a C-87 to reach China during his fact-finding mission to the Far East and the Soviet Union, and both he and Stratemeyer found ICW's performance seriously deficient. While ICW was carrying more tonnage by virtue of having nearly ten times as many aircraft as CNAC, half of them with
2730-523: The Historic Flight Foundation and began acquiring the foundation's aircraft in 2003. In 2006 the museum began planning the construction of the hangar at Paine Field that initially housed the foundation's aircraft collection. HFF's hangar opened its doors to the public in March 2010. The museum acquired a de Havilland DH.89 Dragon Rapide in May 2017. The airplane was damaged in an accident in 2018 that injured Sessions, and resulted in
2821-496: The ICW, to invigorate India-China operations. Alexander was replaced in command of the ICW by Brig. Gen. Earl S. Hoag on 15 October. In addition to the changes in command, George instituted the "Fireball", a weekly C-87 express flight (see External links for photo essay) by the 26th Transport Group carrying critical spare parts for the transports from the Air Service Command Depot at Fairfield, Ohio , to
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2912-401: The India-China Ferry from any available source. Ten former Pan American World Airways DC-3s and flight crews were sent from the trans-Africa ferry route to outfit the new operation. 25 other DC-3s requisitioned from American Airlines in the United States could not be moved to India due to lack of crews, and were later integrated into the complement of the first transport group committed to
3003-493: The India-China assignment, and navigators, engineers and radiomen from the USAAF technical training schools. For the remainder of 1942, the 62 C-47s of the 1st Ferrying Group were the backbone of the airlift, flying both branches of the operation from Karachi until August, when it began a three months' relocation to Assam. In the first two months of the airlift the USAAF delivered only 700 tons of cargo and CNAC only 112 tons, and tonnage fell for both June and July, mostly due to
3094-666: The India–China Wing of the ATC was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation on 29 January 1944 at the personal direction of President Franklin D. Roosevelt , the first such award made to a non-combat organization. Success of the " Europe first " strategy of the Allies entailed keeping China in the war, tying down more than a million Japanese troops who might otherwise threaten the Allied strategic offensive in
3185-512: The Mekong the terrain became decidedly less rugged, and the elevations more moderate as one approached the Kunming airfield, itself 6,200 feet (1,900 m) above sea level. Unfavorable weather conditions along the route were a major contributing factor to its difficulty: The Assam-Kunming route...[was situated]...in the middle of...three Eurasian air masses that were stirred and conflated by
3276-1006: The Pacific. The Japanese invasion of French Indochina closed all sea and rail access routes for supplying China with materiel except through Turkestan in the Soviet Union . That access ended following the signing of the Soviet–Japanese Neutrality Pact in April 1941, and the Burma Road became the only land route. The rapid success of Japanese military operations in Southeast Asia threatened this lifeline, prompting discussion of an air cargo service route from India as early as January 1942. Chiang's foreign minister, T. V. Soong , estimated that 12,000 tons of materiel could be delivered monthly by air from India if 100 C-47 Skytrain -type transports were committed to an airlift. Chinese Air Force Major General Mao Bangchu
3367-483: The Paine Field hangar, allowing the museum to store all of their aircraft indoors. At both locations, visitors could walk among the collection, watch mechanics maintain and restore aircraft, and watch aircraft takeoff and land on their respective airport's main runway. The collection also included aviation artifacts such as military uniforms and vintage flight suits, as well as several vintage cars and buses, including
3458-629: The South India Air Service Command Depot, it converted its B-24 Liberators into fuel transports to accomplish the task. The 308th used Chabua airfield was already crowded with more than 80 ICW transports, and its lightly constructed runway was soon "going to pieces" under the weight of the bombers. Jorhat had stronger runways but its taxiways were still unpaved, making it unsuitable for four-engined aircraft. Both Sookerating and Mohanbari were due to have strong concrete runways capable of handling all aircraft, but neither
3549-522: The Tenth Air Force. When the summer monsoon ended, the Japanese were expected to try to sever the last remaining connection to China, and although 10AF's CATF was adequate for the defense of the eastern end, little had been done to create an antiaircraft defense around the four Assam airfields. The 51st Fighter Group was nominally responsible for fighter protection, but two of its three squadrons had been stripped of their aircraft and personnel in July to equip
3640-512: The Trident goals led Arnold to dispatch another inspection team to India in September 1943, led by ATC commander Maj. Gen. Harold L. George . Accompanying George was Col. Thomas O. Hardin , an aggressive former airline executive who had already been overseas a year as head of ATC's Central African Sector. On 16 September, George immediately reassigned Hardin to command the new Eastern Sector of
3731-413: The USAAF had no previous airlift experience as a basis for planning, it assigned commanders who had been key figures in founding the ATC in 1941–1942 to build and direct the operation, which included former civilians with extensive executive experience operating civil air carriers. Originally referred to as the "India–China Ferry", the successive organizations responsible for carrying out the airlift were
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3822-587: The USAAF, augmented by British, British-Indian Army, Commonwealth forces, Burmese labor gangs and an air transport section of the Chinese National Aviation Corporation (CNAC). Final operations were flown in November 1945 to return personnel from China. The India–China airlift delivered approximately 650,000 tons of materiel to China at great cost in men and aircraft during its 42-month history. For its efforts and sacrifices,
3913-437: The United States at the port of Karachi to the airfields, as well as construction of the infrastructure required to support the operation, was the responsibility of the U.S. Army's Services of Supply , commanded in the CBI by Maj. Gen. Raymond A. Wheeler . The airlift was the final leg of a journey of 12,000 mi (19,000 km) from Los Angeles to China often taking four months. On 23 April 1942, Colonel Caleb V. Haynes ,
4004-536: The Western United States and Canada. HFF hosts educational programs throughout the year. This includes a STEM program for primary through high school students, historic airplane ground schools, and flight training in historic aircraft. Speakers from HFF's Speaker's Bureau regularly present educational programs about aviation topics and airplanes in the collection. HFF also restored historic aircraft back to flying condition. Some of this restoration work
4095-541: The aircraft were serviceable at any time. Dinjan was within range of Japanese fighters now based at Myitkyina , forcing all-night maintenance operations and pre-dawn takeoffs of the defenseless supply planes. The threat of interception also forced the ABC Ferry Command to fly a difficult 500-mile (800 km) route to China over the Eastern Himalayan Uplift , which came to be known as the "high hump", or more simply, "The Hump". The official history of
4186-447: The airlift. The command structure of the India-China Ferry was fractured after senior officers in India and Burma made competing claims for jurisdiction, with part of the authority given to Gen. Joseph Stilwell as CBI theater commander and part remaining with Tenth Air Force, which had also been ordered by Marshall to "co-operate when requested" with the British in defending India. Movement by ground transport of supplies arriving from
4277-551: The airport house the Historic Flight Foundation aviation museum. The museum was opened to the public in 2019 as a second location to the Historic Flight Foundation's Paine Field museum in Everett, Washington . The hump Taishō period Shōwa period Asia-Pacific Mediterranean and Middle East Other campaigns Coups The Hump was the name given by Allied pilots in
4368-554: The amputation of his foot. With the collection of aircraft outgrowing the space available at Paine Field, Historic Flight opened a second location at Felts Field in Spokane on December 17, 2019. The museum initially intended to maintain both their Mukilteo and Spokane locations, with the latter initially holding eight aircraft. However, with the museum unable to cope with the demands of then-new commercial air service at Paine Field, it elected to move all of its collection to Spokane during
4459-530: The attacks. Hardin altered operations by introducing night missions and refusing to cancel scheduled flights because of adverse weather or threat of interception. Although losses to accidents and enemy action increased, and replacements for the high number of C-46s lost ceased entirely for two months, tonnage delivered rose sharply. The operation finally surpassed its objective in December with over 12,500 tons delivered to Kunming after new C-46s loaded with much-needed C-46 spare parts began arriving in numbers. By
4550-448: The cloud mass was severe; pilots reported being flipped upside down by gusts, while many others were unable to report anything because they went missing. Hail, sleet, and torrential rains lashed the aircraft. Thunderstorms built suddenly...[into]...a whirling opaque world that not only meant no visibility but also frequently meant icing. The peaks of the Hump were waiting; the pilots called them " cumulo - granitus "... The point of view of
4641-403: The court ruled that additional aircraft could be sold. By April 2024, all of the museum's aircraft had been sold to pay off the owners legal debts. When Historic Flight was located in Mukilteo, its aircraft collection was housed in a working hangar at Paine Field, which is home to Boeing 's manufacturing plant for 747, 767, 777 and 787 aircraft. The hangar at Felts Field in Spokane is larger than
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#17327875782874732-400: The defenders had only twelve minutes warning. U.S. interceptors were unable to climb to the 18,000-foot (5,500 m) altitude of the bombers in time to prevent the bombing, but it only caused slight damage. The raiding force was pursued and attacked, then ran head-on into fighter patrols returning from northern Burma. Serious losses to the raiders apparently convinced the Japanese not to repeat
4823-558: The dry season, the entire fighter strength of the India Air task Force, amounting to less than 100 P-40s, was organized as the Assam American Air Base Command (later the 5320th Air Defense Wing, Provisional), specifically to protect the Assam airfields. The airlift was evaluated by the USAAF in October 1942 and the attitudes of Tenth Air Force's commanders regarding the feasibility of the operation were characterized as "defeatist". Living conditions for airlift flight crews and support personnel, particularly at Dinjan, were described as "by far
4914-406: The end of 1943, Hardin had 142 aircraft in operation: 93 C-46, 24 C-87, and 25 C-47. President Roosevelt directed that the Presidential Unit Citation be awarded to the India-China Wing in recognition of their service. Hardin was given a month's leave in the United States, promoted to brigadier general , and as the representative of the wing received the award from General Arnold on 29 January 1944,
5005-484: The end of June to fly nearly 2,000 men, 50 transports and 120 tons of materiel from Florida to India. Despite this, July's tonnage was less than half of its goal. The airfields were nowhere near completion, nearly all of the new pilots had been single-engine instructor pilots, specialized maintenance personnel and equipment had been sent by ship, and the complexities of the new C-46 ( see Transport shortcomings below ) had become evident. Scorching heat and torrential rains of
5096-445: The end of the year, mostly by strafers and P-40s using 1000-lb bombs ), and ICW moved its route to Kunming even farther north. Only two more C-46s were shot down during the remainder of 1943, both in December. 20 Japanese bombers escorted by 25 fighters bombed the Assam airfields on 13 December 1943 after several days of probing the early warning system without making an attack. Despite an increase in fighter patrols and an alarm issued,
5187-427: The failure of promised heavy equipment to arrive from the United States. Throughout the monsoon rains Dinjan remained the chief transport base. The dismal results of the India-China Ferry to this point led to a proposal in Washington to turn over control of the operation entirely to CNAC, which would place U.S. military personnel in a combat area under foreign civilian control. Stilwell vigorously and successfully opposed
5278-430: The first awarded to a non-combat unit. Hardin returned to the India China Wing in February 1944, just as the first of a trickle of four-engined Douglas C-54 Skymaster transports arrived in theater ( see Operations on the low hump and in China below ). With a maximum load ceiling of only 12,000 feet the C-54s were unable to hurdle the high Hump. Japanese interceptors blocked use of eastbound routes at lower altitudes and
5369-435: The full onset of the summer monsoon . In July, CNAC quadrupled its tonnage to 221 tons, but 10AF C-47s brought only 85 net tons of materiel and personnel into China. On 17 June 1942, Haynes continued on to China to take up an assignment as bomber commander of the China Air Task Force , Tenth Air Force's eastern appendage commanded by Brig. Gen. Claire L. Chennault . Scott was left in command for several days before he too
5460-412: The group's third squadron and round out the newly activated 23rd Fighter Group , both in China with the CATF. The 51st FG remained in Karachi awaiting aircraft and personnel. Requests for more antiaircraft guns, a weather squadron, and radios and landline communications equipment for an early warning system were immediately approved but went unfulfilled for a variety of reasons. The India Air Task Force,
5551-440: The hump "—the eastern end of the Himalayan Mountains—during World War II. Felts Field Felts Field ( IATA : SFF , ICAO : KSFF , FAA LID : SFF ) is a public airport in the Northwestern United States , located five miles (8 km) northeast of Downtown Spokane , in Spokane County, Washington . It is owned by Spokane City-County. The airport has two parallel runways. Now used for general aviation , Felts Field
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#17327875782875642-419: The operation. In the first 54 days of 1944, 47 transports were lost. One transport was being lost for every 218 flights, an accident rate of 1.968 planes lost per thousand hours, of one life for every 162 trips flown or 340 tons delivered. In June 1944, after the capture of the Japanese fighter base at Myitkyina and at the behest of Brig. Gen. William H. Tunner , Col. Andrew B. Cannon was assigned to command
5733-476: The operation. Eight days later it was instructed to do so effective 1 December 1942, and activated the India-China Wing ATC (ICWATC), commanded by Col. (later Brig. Gen.) Edward H. Alexander, who was Stilwell's air officer. Like Haynes, Alexander had been a founding member of ATC in 1941 as executive officer of the Ferrying Command. ICW reported directly to ATC's chief of staff in Washington, D.C., Col. (later Maj. Gen. and ATC deputy commander) Cyrus R. Smith (under
5824-411: The other squadron of the 51st FG to Sookerating, while the China Air Task Force was ordered to launch a series of attacks by B-25s against Lashio. While Chennault complied, he did not believe that the Japanese strikes originated there and the rift between him and Tenth Air Force grew wider. Whatever the case, the Japanese raids were not repeated in 1942. In June 1943, following small, sporadic raids during
5915-426: The pathway to China be kept open", and committed ten C-53 Skytrooper transports for lend-lease delivery to CNAC to build its capability to 25 aircraft. When the newly created Tenth Air Force opened its headquarters in New Delhi under the command of Maj. Gen. Lewis H. Brereton in March 1942, it was assigned the responsibility of developing an "India-China Ferry" using both U.S. and Chinese aircraft. Although he
6006-462: The peaks they flew over translated into English as "Elephant Head Gouge Mountain", because "when elephants use a game trail on its side, at one place they have to turn such a sharp corner that their tusks scrape grooves into the rock." ... Innumerable problems with the Indian railway system meant that aircraft assigned to the airlift often carried their cargo all the way from Karachi to China, while much cargo took as long to reach Assam from Karachi as
6097-409: The plan. He reinforced his position by insisting that CNAC lease its C-53s and crews participating in the airlift to the USAAF to assure that they would carry only essential cargo and not commercial activity. Losses of transports increased sharply, with the airlift's first loss to accident on 23 September 1942, presumably from icing. Protection of the aerial supply line became the primary mission of
6188-513: The presence of the Himalayas themselves. Moist warm air from the Indian Ocean to the south produced high pressure that swept north, while cold dry air from Siberia moved south. These lows and highs were extreme, producing violent winds...and when those winds hit the immovable mass that was the world's tallest mountain range, they shot upward at startling speeds until they cooled and then rushed downward in terrifying drafts that hurled airplanes...earthward at stupefying rates of descent...Turbulence inside
6279-403: The price of China's cooperation with Stilwell to reconquer Burma was a 500-plane air force and delivery by the airlift of 10,000 tons a month. In May 1943, at the Trident Conference , President Roosevelt ordered ATC to deliver 5,000 tons a month to China by July; 7,500 tons by August; and 10,000 tons by September 1943. This came about as Marshall and Arnold sent Maj. Gen. George E. Stratemeyer ,
6370-689: The service depots of the China-Burma-India Air Service Command at Panagarh , Agra, and Bangalore . Systems for identifying units and organizations assigned to the airlift changed several times between 1942 and 1945. The final change occurred on 1 August 1944 when the Air Transport Command discontinued the use of station numbers to identify its units and designated them as numbered " USAAF Base Units " with parenthetical modifiers describing their function. USAAF base units collectively identified all permanent party organizations, including flying units, at any particular non-combat base. The flying units were commonly denoted as lettered squadrons, i.e. "Squadron B", within
6461-404: The shooting down of vulnerable transport aircraft as tsuji-giri ("cutting down a casually met stranger") or akago no te wo hineru ("twisting a baby's arm"). On the last of the interceptions a formation of B-24s on a reverse Hump mission, mistaken for C-87s, claimed eight fighters shot down. Tenth Air Force immediately began attacks on Japanese airfields (Myitkyina was attacked 14 times before
6552-555: The spring of 2020, with the Mukilteo location reduced to maintenance and restoration duties. After being forced to close due to the COVID-19 pandemic , it was able to reopen in 2021. The museum's Spitfire was damaged in an accident in July 2023. A month later, the museum announced it would be temporarily closing due to a lawsuit involving its founder. However, by September the museum's B-25 had been sold by its receiver. In December,
6643-508: The summer monsoon completed the undermining of the ambitious goals. The long-delayed work on existing fields resulted in intervention by Marshall in which he ordered Wheeler to have the Services of Supply complete the work by 1 July and issued a deadline of 1 September 1943 to have three additional fields ready for operations, but airfield construction problems were not overcome for several months. At his meeting with Arnold, Chiang warned that
6734-604: The supervision of Headquarters USAAF), ending the division of authority under which the India-China Ferry Command had labored. The 1st Ferrying Group was returned to ATC and redesignated the 1st Transport Group. Its 76 C-47s were augmented in January 1943 by the addition of three Consolidated C-87 Liberator Express transports (a derivative of the B-24 Liberator ), which increased to 11 in March and
6825-492: The two-month journey by ship from the United States. India's highway and river systems were so undeveloped as to be unable to support the mission, leaving air as the only practicable way to supply China in anything resembling a timely fashion. The first crews and aircraft from the United States went to the 1st Ferrying Group , arriving on 17 May at their base at the New Malir Cantonment near Karachi. The group
6916-538: The use of the 1st Ferrying Group, the buildup of the airlift grew very slowly during the summer monsoon. Overuse of the small number of aircraft available, spotty maintenance, and a lack of spare parts led to numerous groundings until overhauls could be effected. In particular the lack of replacement tires and spare engines held down operations even after eight of the C-47s sent to the Middle East returned in August. For
7007-818: The western combat force of the Tenth Air Force, was activated on 3 October with nine squadrons, none fully operational. Haynes was promoted to brigadier general and placed in command. The 51st FG had been re-equipped with P-40s, but had trained pilots sufficient for only one squadron, which Haynes sent to Dinjan. The long-anticipated air attack by the Japanese took place late in the afternoon of 25 October. 100 bombers and fighters, bombing from 10,000 feet (3,000 m) and strafing from 100 feet (30 m), achieved complete surprise. The only defense provided came from three P-40s aloft on patrol, and six others which took off and gave pursuit. Dinjan and Chabua were heavily bombed, with nine transports and twenty fighters destroyed or badly damaged by low-level strafing. The next day Sookerating
7098-419: The worst in the entire theater", with primitive quarters, poor sanitation, bad food and mess facilities, pervasive disease, and lack of recreation. Apathy became widespread and morale dropped to a "dangerous point," with the feeling among the troops that as part of the Tenth Air Force, they were "illegitimate children". After reviewing the evaluation, the Air Transport Command on 13 October offered to take over
7189-543: Was Spokane's commercial airport before the opening of Spokane International Airport . The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2017–2021 categorized it as a regional reliever facility. Felts Field, Spokane's historic airfield, is on the south bank of the Spokane River east of Spokane. Aviation activities began in 1913. Then called the Parkwater airstrip , it
7280-488: Was activated in India in March without personnel or equipment and was assigned to the operational control of the Tenth Air Force over the objections of the commander of ATC, who feared that its planes and crews would be steered into combat units, which did in fact occur at times. Aircraft continued to arrive in small increments through October with flight crews consisting of airline pilots holding Air Corps Reserve commissions who had been called up for active duty specifically for
7371-594: Was designated a municipal flying field in 1920 at the instigation of the Spokane Chamber of Commerce. In 1926, the Department of Commerce recognized Parkwater as an airport, one of the first in the West. In September 1927, in conjunction with Spokane's National Air Races that Felts Field hosted, the airport was renamed Felts Field for James Buell Felts , a Washington Air National Guard aviator killed in
7462-577: Was done in-house at HFF's hangar where visitors can watch as the work is performed. Other restoration work was done by outside organizations that specialize in restoration of specific aircraft types. Two of Historic Flight's aircraft won awards for their restoration work at the National Aviation Heritage Invitational at the California Capital Airshow in September 2017. John T. Sessions founded
7553-434: Was forced to return to the United States, although like Naiden he delegated direction of airlift operations to Joplin. Effective 15 July 1942, the two branches of the India-China Ferry merged into the India-China Ferry Command , an organized component of the Tenth Air Force. Tate was immediately and severely handicapped when the best pilots and 12 aircraft of the airlift went west to Egypt with Brereton on 26 June. Despite
7644-471: Was minimal, it had no units of its own, and its few aircraft were committed to establishing air transport routes. By June, however, the ABC Ferry Command had begun a greatly expanded wartime restructuring, and became the Air Transport Command on 1 July. The first mission "over the hump" took place on 8 April 1942. Flying from the Royal Air Force airfield at Dinjan , Lt. Col. William D. Old used
7735-447: Was never given command authority over aircraft or personnel, the officer responsible for the India-China Ferry was Brereton's chief of staff Brig. Gen. Earl L. Naiden, who held that responsibility until mid-August. From its onset, the air route was predicated on operating two branches, unofficially deemed "commands": a "Trans-India Command" from India's western ports to Calcutta , where cargo would be transshipped by rail to Assam ; and
7826-472: Was now occupied by CNAC and Tenth Air Force's only P-40 group), but with a critical shortage in flight crews, even ATC's modest goal of 4,000 tons a month was impossible to attain. The 308th Bombardment Group reached its base at Kunming on 31 March 1943 and began two months of "reverse Hump" operations, flying round trips to India to acquire the gasoline, bombs, parts and other materiel it needed to stockpile before flying combat missions. Using kits developed by
7917-642: Was ordered to China to command the first U.S. fighter group in the CATF. On 22 June Col. Robert F. Tate (who like Haynes was a bombardment officer) was named to replace Haynes, but he was also in charge of the Trans-India Command in Karachi and remained in that capacity. Lt. Col. Julian M. Joplin, acting at the direction of Naiden, for all practical purposes commanded India-China operations until 18 August. Tate took actual command on 25 August, when Naiden
8008-478: Was previously located at Paine Field in Mukilteo, Washington , but relocated to Spokane during the spring of 2020 due to the presence of commercial air service at Paine Field. The museum aircraft had been fully restored to flying condition, and flew regularly at monthly summer Fly Days, HFF's September Vintage Aircraft Weekend, and Paine Field's Aviation Day in May. The aircraft also fly at air displays throughout
8099-484: Was strafed by 30 fighters, again without warning, but damage was confined to a single storage building containing food and medical supplies. A third raid struck Chabua on 28 October but missed the field entirely. The India Air Task Force had flown reconnaissance missions over the captured airfield at Myitkyina all summer, but the Japanese mounted the raids from Lashio or bases in southern Burma, equipping their fighters with external fuel tanks. Haynes responded by moving
8190-451: Was tasked with leading the exploration of suitable air-routes over the dangerous Himalayas in 1941, and CNAC pilot Xia Pu recorded the first flight from Dinjan , India, to Kunming, China, during November of that year in what was to become the route now known as "the Hump ". On 25 February 1942, President Roosevelt wrote to General George C. Marshall that "it is of the utmost urgency that
8281-453: Was yet paved and monsoon rains made them inoperable. The first of thirty Curtiss C-46 Commandos (an unproven cargo transport whose performance was significantly superior to the C-47's in cargo capacity and ceiling) arrived in India on 21 April 1943. In May the 22nd Ferrying Group began C-46 operations from the still uncompleted base at Jorhat , which had a concrete runway. In June, although
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