WWII Hump Airlift Operation demonstrates the power — and peril — of U.S. military air transport support

SSG Carlos Madden — Fri, 03 Sep 2021 12:55:28 -0400

Ending the war in Afghanistan on Aug. 30 required a historic U.S. military airlift from that country of more than 123,000 civilians, including American citizens, third-country nationals and at-risk Afghans. More than 5,000 U.S. service members facilitated the operation, 13 of whom were killed during the evacuation.

About 82 years ago almost to the date, on Sept. 1, 1939, a world war was beginning. Adolph Hitler’s Germany invaded Poland, marking the start of World War II.

Eventually, that war saw the American military engaged in another highly dangerous airlift, this time conducting transport and bombing runs into China to help fight the Japanese.

The Hump Airlift Operation, lasting from 1942-1945, was an early demonstration of the power — and peril — of U.S. military air transport support in wartime. It’s a story almost lost to history, according to “Experiencing War: Stories from the Veterans History Project,” a Library of Congress (LOC) project, and referenced in “The Burma Road,” a book by Donovan Webster. (The country of Burma is now called Myanmar.)

The Hump refers the Himalayan mountain ranges. The WWII pilots of the China-Burma-India Theater — those lucky enough to get their freezing, weighted down planes up and over them — faced chaos, with skies patrolled by Japanese Zeroes, no air traffic control and bumpy landings in jungle terrain, according to an LOC presentation from Nov. 6, 2007, and to Webster, who spoke about his book in a 2003 talk recorded on C-SPAN.

Land and sea access to China cut off

It was 1942, and the United States wanted to step up support to China in the Pacific Theater. Yet after invading and winning subsequent battles against Chinese forces, Japan had successfully closed off China’s seaports and shuttered a supply road to Burma, Webster said.

“Pretty much the only way to supply all of China was by air from India,” Webster said. “Which doesn’t sound like that big a deal today. But they (the Hump pilots) were flying over 19,000 Himalayan peaks and in planes that when they were … unloaded could only go 21,000 feet.”

The Hump pilots are just one aspect of the WWII fight in the China-Burma-India Theater, which also included the so-called “Merrill’s Marauders.” This U.S. Army unit became known for outfighting greater numbers of Japanese military in the jungle terrain, in part with a contingent of service members from the then-secret Japanese-American Military Intelligence Service (read more about the MIS at https://www.rallypoint.com/command-post/small-group-of-japanese-american-soldiers-has-big-impact-in-battle-for-iwo-jima).

Webster said Hump pilots came from Air Transport Command squadrons (which assumed responsibility for the operation on Oct. 21, 1942), and the 10th and 14th Air Force and even from commercial aviation, in response to a personal call for volunteers issued by President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

They piloted mostly C-46 and C-47 cargo planes, taking off sometimes three times a day and flying often into pitch-black skies above Burma and Thailand. As they reached the highest peaks of the Himalayas, the cockpit temperature could drop to 40 degrees below zero, he said.

Winds could reach 250 miles per hour and, six months of the year, drenching monsoons generated turbulence, according to a book written by the Air Force Logistics Management Agency, “The Logistics of War: A Historical Perspective.”

George J. Laben, a lieutenant colonel with the 10th Air Force, was one such pilot. Stationed in India and Burma, he flew 245 missions in a C-47 transport plane over 17 months, never losing a plane or crew member, according to the LOC.

Enormous losses, enduring lessons

Overall, however, the Hump pilots suffered grave losses. “Our squadron turned over in the time that I was there roughly — now this is losses from combat — we turned over about four times,” Laben said in an audio recording.

According to “6 incredible facts about ‘Flying the Hump’ in World War II,” an article posted by the website, We Are The Mighty, losses during operation are estimated to be 1,000 men and 600 planes — and that’s likely an underestimate.

“It was dubbed the ‘Skyway to Hell’ and the ‘Aluminum Trail’ for the number of planes that didn’t make it,” according to the article, which adds that most of the Hump pilot deaths were the result of extreme weather versus enemy fire.

By the end of the war, the Air Force book said, Hump pilots were flying out of 13 bases in India and six in China, “a marked expansion” compared to the start of the operation, when there was “a single airdrome on each side.”

All told, the Air Force said, the Hump pilots flew 180,000 missions, delivering 650,000 tons of war materiel to China.

“The airlift contributed directly to the Allied war effort,” according to the book, “and taught Americans enduring lessons about the capabilities of airlift.”

Learn more

Find more information and audio recordings about the Hump pilots and events of the China-Burma-India Theater at the LOC: https://www.loc.gov/vets/stories/ex-war-cbi.html.

Read more about the Hump Airlift Operation: https://books.google.com/books?id=IA20xVTl-nEC&pg=PA110#v=onepage&q&f=false.

View Webster’s C-SPAN talk about his book, “The Burma Road: The Epic Story of the China-Burma-India Theater in World War II”: https://www.c-span.org/video/?178832-6/the-burma-road.

RallyPoint

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made Sep 3 at 2021 12:56 PM

SGT Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 03 Sep 2021 12:56:54 -0400

That was a great operation which is seldom recognized.

Response by CPT Lawrence Cable made Sep 3 at 2021 2:42 PM

CPT Lawrence Cable — Fri, 03 Sep 2021 14:42:29 -0400

My father spent the entire war, from April 1942 until after the Japanese surrendered, in CBI. Didn't go into a lot of specifics until I joined the Army. The big takeaway from it all was the flyers and crews had an operation tempo and length that was unheard of in the other theaters and under worse conditions. The second was that the casualty rate and aircraft lose was so high that the Air Corp and Government kept the real numbers secret for fear of losing public support of the Air Bridge. Some of the recent books have claimed that they lost more than the 8th Air Force bombing Germany.

Response by SGT Scott Adie made Sep 3 at 2021 5:30 PM

SGT Scott Adie — Fri, 03 Sep 2021 17:30:26 -0400

Wow, what amazing courage to undertake such missions. Once would have been too many times but to fly the Hump repeatedly seems almost insane. My father used to recall flying B24's into N. Africa with gasoline bladders in them to supply fuel for the war effort there. More than once he said planes simply blew up in route as the fumes ignited. I wouldn't have liked those missions either.

Response by SP5 Private RallyPoint Member made Sep 3 at 2021 6:27 PM

SP5 Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 03 Sep 2021 18:27:21 -0400

SSG Carlos Madden Look up also references to GenWm. H. Tunner - commanded the action for some time. Knew of him when he was CG USAFE in 1955

Response by MAJ Dale E. Wilson, Ph.D. made Sep 4 at 2021 5:35 AM

MAJ Dale E. Wilson, Ph.D. — Sat, 04 Sep 2021 05:35:22 -0400

Flying "The Hump" in a C-46 is no time to lose an engine!

Response by MAJ Dale E. Wilson, Ph.D. made Sep 4 at 2021 5:36 AM

MAJ Dale E. Wilson, Ph.D. — Sat, 04 Sep 2021 05:36:23 -0400

26th FS, 51st FG P-40s meet a C-46 transport after it flew over the Himalayas from India to serve as escorts to Kunming, China, 1943.

Response by MAJ Dale E. Wilson, Ph.D. made Sep 4 at 2021 5:37 AM

MAJ Dale E. Wilson, Ph.D. — Sat, 04 Sep 2021 05:37:11 -0400

C-46 encounters thunderstorms over the Himalayas.

Response by MAJ Dale E. Wilson, Ph.D. made Sep 4 at 2021 5:38 AM

MAJ Dale E. Wilson, Ph.D. — Sat, 04 Sep 2021 05:38:09 -0400

A C-46 begins its descent after flying over the '"Hump."

Response by MAJ Dale E. Wilson, Ph.D. made Sep 4 at 2021 5:39 AM

MAJ Dale E. Wilson, Ph.D. — Sat, 04 Sep 2021 05:39:21 -0400

A C-47 wends its way through the Himalayas from India to Burma.

Response by MAJ Dale E. Wilson, Ph.D. made Sep 4 at 2021 5:40 AM

MAJ Dale E. Wilson, Ph.D. — Sat, 04 Sep 2021 05:40:27 -0400

Ki-43-II Oscars attack a C-47 transport flying over "the Hump" into Burma, 1944.

Response by MAJ Dale E. Wilson, Ph.D. made Sep 4 at 2021 5:43 AM

MAJ Dale E. Wilson, Ph.D. — Sat, 04 Sep 2021 05:43:22 -0400

794th BS, 468th BG B-29 "Esso Express" employed as a fuel tanker hauling avgas over "the Hump" from India to China in 1944.

Response by PVT Mark Zehner made Sep 4 at 2021 1:43 PM

PVT Mark Zehner — Sat, 04 Sep 2021 13:43:04 -0400

Thank you for the information!

Response by 1st Lt Padre Dave Poedel made Sep 6 at 2021 10:47 AM

1st Lt Padre Dave Poedel — Mon, 06 Sep 2021 10:47:05 -0400

When I was serving a congregation in Phoenix, I had a member who was a pilot for these operations in WWII. He was amazing! I could and did listen to his stories for hours when he was alive. His son got him an Honor Flight before he died, and our parish did a “send off” to separate his heroic service!

Response by MCPO Roger Collins made Sep 7 at 2021 4:58 PM

MCPO Roger Collins — Tue, 07 Sep 2021 16:58:27 -0400

What a real successful airlift looks like.