In April 1942, the Allied Forces established an airborne supply line that crossed the Eastern Himalayan Mountains. This airlift supplied the Chinese War effort against Japan from India and Burma to the Kunming area and beyond. The C-46 Curtiss Commando and the DC-3/ C-47 Douglas Skytrain in the China- Burma- India Theater of War (CBI), also dubbed as the Hump operations.
Other Cargo aircraft types that were also activated in this operation: the Douglas C-54 Skymaster, the Consolidated B-24 Liberator converted as a fuel transport C-109, and its Cargo version C-87 Liberator Express.
Credit: Third Party Reference
The Allied Forces supplied the Chinese Nationalists’ war effort first by road, later by air. They flew day-and-night missions from airfields in eastern India over the Himalayan Plateau known as the “Hump.” The 500‑mile air route to Kunming in China became known as the “aluminum trail”.
More than 1,600 airmen and some 700 transport planes got lost in the mountains or in the jungles on either side of that huge hurdle. Almost 1,200 men were fortunate to be rescued or walked out to safety.
The remarkable incident numbers were attributed to the breathtaking altitude and unique weather of the Himalaya, coupled with the extensive duration of the Hump operations.
From April 1942 to August 1945, a phenomenal 42 months of continuous and significant flight operations unfolded, marking the longest airlift in operational history. In terms of cargo transported, it was only outshone by the post-war Berlin Airlift in 1948.
By July 1945, on average, a whopping number of 332 aircraft a day flew over the Hump, a number five times bigger than the hard-pressed 62 aircraft on the route in January 1943. During its history, the Hump transport fleet carried 650,000 tons of gasoline, supplies, and men to China.
Credit: Third Party Reference
Part of the clandestine support to China also materialized in the famous American Volunteer Group (AVG) with their “Flying Tigers” Curtiss P-40 Warhawks. That daring initiative to fight the Japanese Imperial Army & Air Force in China with 100 pursuit aircraft and 300 American “volunteers” was masterminded by Claire L. Chennault, a retired USAAC officer.
The AVG, which later became part of the USAAF, required crews, pursuit planes, fuel, food, and spare parts. Additionally, the large supplies needed for the Chinese Army had to be transported by truck along the challenging Burma Road. Despite difficulties from the rough terrain, unpaved roads, and poor weather, this route was effective.
However, things changed when Allied access to the Burma Road was cut off. Consequently, an airlift operation was organized from Dinjan, Assam Province, with its airfield Chabua, to Kunming in China’s Yunnan Province, located between the upper Mekong and Yangtze Rivers.
Airlift operations over the Hump began in May 1942 with 27 aircraft, primarily C‑47 Skytrains and ex-PANAM DC-3s, later supplemented by C‑46 Commandos for higher altitude flights. Transports navigated 14,000 ft mountain passes, with flying times of four to six hours, operating from 13 bases in India and six in China, including the busy airport at Kunming.
Credit: Third Party Reference
The operation, considered forgotten, took place in the remote outback of the Highest Mountains, beginning in April 1942, when Calcutta was used for overseas shipping. Due to overloaded trains and inadequate rail infrastructure, an air bridge was created to transport goods to Chabua Airport.
Only the “second stage” airlift brought all goods to Kunming. For the transport of fuel, the converted B-24 Liberator (designated C-109) was able to fly nonstop from Calcutta directly to Kunming over the ‘Low Hump route’ farther south. This route was frequently patrolled by the Burma-based Zero Fighters.
Military commanders considered flights over the Hump to be more hazardous than bombing missions over Europe. For its efforts and sacrifices, the India-China Wing of the Air Transport Command was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation on January 29, 1944; the first such award made to a non-combat organization!
