They were all to become members of the 23rd fighter group. Memoir, page 3 in 1940 charles evans was a college student fascinated with flying, so he signed up for an air cadet program. Creating an airlift presented the aaf a considerable challenge in 1942. Established on 5 march 1943 at kunming, china, 14 af was a united states army air forces combat air force activated in the asiaticpacific theater of world war ii. The transports would take off from airfields in india loaded with food, weapons, and fuel, and fly across the foothills of the himalayas. So many crashes marked the 550 miles of the hump that by the end of the war, crews were calling it the aluminum trail. Hap arnold, americas air arm became the largest and most potent air force in history. He also volunteered his talents as an entertainer for numerous air force shows. World war ii 1st american volunteer group with the united states entry into world war ii against the empire of japan in december 1941, claire chennault, the commander of the american volunteer group avg known as the flying tigers of the chinese air force was called to chungking, china, on march 29, 1942, for a conference to decide the fate of the avg. His most recent article for air force magazine, in pursuit of pancho villa, appeared in the february 1991 issue. Bill thomas sits in the cockpit of a static c17 globemaster iii, may 5, 2011 at joint base charleston, s.
Courtesy flying tigers guilin heritage park and museum by robert l. But after the bombing of pearl harbor when goutiere applied to the army air corps, he was turned away. To mark the 60th anniversary of the army air corps the museum commissioned and opened a memorial at the museum to the 5,127 soldiers who had died in the service of the british army flying. The avgs success in burma and china led to its integration into the u. The main cargo was aviation fuel in 55gallon drums. Hump and berlin airlift operations would take root. Hump pilot experienced history, tragedy hometown heroes radio. What follows is information bill shared with us over the nearly four years that we met across the internet. Spencer wrote, all the pilots on the base wished it had wrecked the whole fleet. Here is how to find what each part of a wwii army serial number.
Here you will find a collection of class books, manuals and pictures about the united states army air forces aaf during world war ii. It contains books, photographs, audiovisual materials, oversize graphic materials, artifacts, memorabilia, microfilm, and organizational records donated by. Oct 01, 2009 flying from chabua was like flying out of a hole in the mountains, said otha c. In december, 1941, he graduates from army air corps flight school and is assigned to a fighter squadron. This is jim segels fascinating story of adventures in the air and on the ground in the early days of the worlds first air lift. Afcc and office of the chief of the air corps abolished in the general reorganization of the army, effective march 9, 1942, by circular 59, war department, march 2, 1942, implementing eo. Washington, dcon thursday, september 23rd, congresswoman jackie speier dsan franciscosan mateo presented a congressional record certificate to a delegation from the flying tiger historical organization to honor the heroics of the former soldiers, under the direction of general claire chennault, who formed the first american volunteer group of the chinese air force twelve days after. But fate and pearl harbor intervene, and he is assigned ammisca, the first air corps transports to fly the treacherous hump from india to china the cbi theatre.
May 11, 2011 by christin navitsky, joint base charleston public affairs published may 11, 2011. Army air forces flew supplies over the hump from india to china. They began to muster planes and pilots to fly over the worlds highest mountain. The us army air corps did as well, under the direction of a claire chennault and going by the name, flying tigers. As world war ii unfolded in europe during the late 1930s and early 1940s, u. Wwiis forgotten theater, experiencing war, stories from the veterans history project, library of congress it was a time for me of urgent effort, sometimes terror, at other times utter boredom, and occasionally unmatched exhilaration.
Tenth air force airlift flights originated in karachi and staged for the hump leg of. Doolittle raider, hump pilot, air commando volume 1 american military experience part of. A toast to the host of the men we boast, the army air corps. Professionally converted for accurate flowingtext e book format reproduction, this military publication tells the story of airlift and airborne operations by the u. A book with the title the aluminum trail, selfpublished in 1989 by chick marrs quinn, the widow of one of the pilots lost, records the details of 696 fatal crashes along the route. Goutiere flew across the hump, 680 times before the war ended. Chinaburmaindia remembering the forgotten theater of. In china, the aircrews could get milk and fresh eggs, even fried chicken and steak, all of which were luxury fare in assam, where the mess halls served spam and krations. A tale of coming of age in world war ii, this memoir follows a hump pilot with the 14th airforce flying perilous transport missions over the himalayan mountains. After world war ii fourteenth air force subsequently served air defense command, continental air command, and the air force reserve afr.
A retired air force colonel, he is a freelance writer and the author of many books. Army air corps to fly mail routes across the united states. Flew 25 combat missions in the china, burma, india theater of war and received the air medal with three oak leaf clusters and the distinguished flying cross. This book will be an important addition to the libraries of the general reader as.
For a complete list of web sites and individuals who contributed to this web site, see the references and credits section. Flight officerservice pilot roger caron joined the army air force even though he was too old to be drafted. The berlin airlift was a milestone in the history of military aviation and the history of the cold war. Mar 11, 2003 randolph air force base, texas afpn they were not paid much, their opportunities for promotion were limited, and they were treated harshly in training, but that did not stop three generations of enlisted aviators from becoming pilots in the army air corps. The flying tigers fought the japanese in the air over china and burma. Army air corps air transport command, flying supplies over the himalayan mountains in support of chinese forces fighting the japanese. Army engineers built the ledo road to open up a land supply route. It was soon obvious, however, that most of the veterans of the flying tigers wanted either to go home, or to rejoin their original branch of the service. Steven king entered the united states army air corps in 1943 and began flying a pt17 stearman. This is an evergrowing collection of information about army air fields and training facilities, including pilot, navigator, bombardier, radio and gunnery schools. See more ideas about wwii, world war ii, world war. The hump was a pioneering aviation operation that had just about everything.
Cnac hump pilots china national aviation corporation association flying the hump excellent site to learn more about the hump flying tigers historical organization honoring the past air forces and aircraft cbi order of battle unit lineages and history u. Johnston photos with autographs, from cuero field 44g classbook. In his book flying the hump, exchinaburmaindia pilot otha c. Pilots and their crews who served in the cbi, flying bombing and transport missions from india to burma or china, faced enormous obstacles, starting with the himalayas, the worlds tallest mountain chain. King was born in 1921 and grew up in plainfield, nh. Spencer who flew the hump and wrote a book about his experiences. July 4th was the date set for the avg pilots to transfer into the regular army air corps. Merrills marauders and the mars task force fought through the jungles of burma. Before a bombardment group can go on a single mission in its b24 liberators, it must fly the hump four times to build up its supplies. The army air forces in wwii vol 6 department of defense. Dodging bullets, missing mountains and navigating one of the most dangerous air routes in the world he survives many dangerous missions only to be forced to bail out and become one in.
He simply couldnt pass up the opportunity to fly military aircraft. Records of the army air forces aaf national archives. Flying blind is a novel of one mans hazardous journey in south asia during the second world war. During ww ii on average, we were losing more than 300 dead every day. After almost six months of continuous combat duty in china with the fourteenth air force, sergeant hobart jones, the nosegunner and engineer of a consolidated b24j named tough titti, was no stranger to surprises.
It is filled with his insights about the place of the cbi in the larger context of the war in the pacific. The shortages of delivery over the hump caused another dilemma for stilwell. The c17 pilots tell us they are a lot easier to fly, marshall said. Colonel thomas was a world war ii hump pilot who flew with the u. It was the first sustained, aroundtheclock, allweather, longrange military aerial. Army air forces on 6 july 1942 as the china air task force. Accordingly, the 10th air force, based in india, took responsibility for substantial air cargo flights and began operations over the hump in april 1942. Once the planes reached burma, the jungle offered its own challenges for navigating and landing. A c87 liberator transport must consume three and a half tons of 100octane gasoline flying the hump over the himalaya mountains between india and kunming to get four tons through to the fourteenth air force. From april 1942 to august 1945, american transport planes from the 10 th air force and later air transport command made daily flights over the eastern himalayan mountains from india to china, a perilous route that american pilots soon nicknamed the hump. World war ii hump pilots meet for final reunion reuters. The two men remain in touch and are featured in chinas wings, gregory crouchs excellent book on this piece of world war 2 and aviation history.
Army flying museum, middle wallop, stockbridge, hampshire, so20 8fb 01264 781086. Sep 02, 2016 to avoid this, many aircraft commanders detoured to the north, flying a distance of 720 miles and crossing the hump at the northwestern end of its lowest peaks at some 16,000 feet. The hump was the name given by allied pilots in 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 kaishek and the units of the united states army air forces aaf based in china. Air transport command airlift during wwii gazing skyward tv. He is one of only two cnac pilots still alive, the other is 108year old moon chen, who flew 500 hump flights. While my father was to be part of the invasion of japan, i am pleased to have been allowed to be born and thank the men of the army air corps that helped end the war so i could live.
For more photos, visit the hometown heroes facebook page. Flying the hump during world war ii lyon air museum. His pilot training culminated upon earning his wings at columbus army. After training at sequoia field in visalia, ca and earning his wings in stockton, ca, ed was assigned as an instructor at gardner field in taft, ca, teaching prospective pilots in t6 texans. This is the story of the air war over the himalaya mountains, in world war ii, when. The allies came back with a response unprecedented in scope and magnitude. Stuart arnold, former australian hump pilot and retired pilot with transaustralian airlines. This is his notebook, with notations of routes and. May 06, 2020 i have to say that even experienced army air corps pilots rotating overseas experienced throat gripping fear, realizing that flying the hump in the cbi theater was where they could end up. Us military efforts in china, burma and india cbi are some of the lesser known episodes of world war ii.
That is because, before the start of the war, the army air corps had never put. Glines usaf march 1, 1991 in middecember 1941, in the wake of japans massive land, sea, and air offensive in the far east and its attack on pearl harbor, the allies had no doubts about the need to support china fully to keep it in the war. Army air corps rushed the bigger and more powerful curtiswright c46 into production to help out with hump ops, but the new planes engines had a tendency to ice up. Apr 6, 2020 to our greatest generation for whom we owe so much. Army air forces in world war ii in honor of the members of the air corp. Scott is best known for his memoir, god is my copilot 1943, about his exploits in world war ii with the flying tigers and the united states army air forces in china and burma. Many lessons learned during the hump and cbi theatre that are being relearned the hard way today in the world and in aviation.
The hump was the nickname allied pilots gave the airlift operation that crossed the himalayan foothills into china. Buzz buggy, a tribute to the airmen who assisted china in world war ii, arrived in guilin last november, flying the flags of its volunteer crew. The last douglas c47 to fly the hump is enshrined in a chinese city park. Those terrified copilots got little respect during the war but made sure the world heard about their exploits afterward. One experience he later vividly recalled happened in midsummer 1944, while he and his unit, the 375th bomb squadron, 308th bomb group, were leaving the target area, 18,000 feet over.
The hump was one of the deadliest cargo flights in history. See more ideas about hump, military outfit, flying jacket. Christine negroni old and bold, ww2 hump pilot turns 106. On friday, the hump pilots will visit charleston air force base to tour the c17s that supply troops in afghanistan.
Reading mary clarks description of her father flying the hump in landing in my present brought back many of my own memories. Claire chennault, recalled to active duty as a brigadier general, commanded the new unit. Claire chennaults flying tigers crossed the hump to outgun the japanese zeros. The men who flew the hump were near the bottom of the army air force food chain. It was the arrival of the douglas c54 skymaster in february 1944 that turned the hump operation into the largest, most efficient airline in the world. These are the sacrifices that retired major general james t. One year after enlisting in the army air corps, was commissioned as a 2nd lieutenant bombardier at victorville air force base in california.
When the books were closed after the war, the army reported 509 plane crashes, 1,314. Quite simply, had the united states air force not met the. Ghqaf renamed air force combat command and placed with air corps under newly established army air forces by revision to army regulation 955, june 20, 1941. One can easily comprehend the thinking pattern to end the war. You may know that cnac was not the only entity flying the hump route during the war. Weather conditions made the mountain crossing the most treacherous army air forces operation of the war. Flying from the royal air force airfield at dinjan, lt.
Hap arnold decided to put the atc in command of all hump operations, and 10th air force units on hump assignments were transferred to the. He graduated from west lebanon high school and entered the university of new hampshire in 1940. Landing in my present, by travel author mary walker clark. Claire lee chennault and the flying tigers vantage point. The eighth air force archive documents both the fighter and bomber groups that served in europe and africa during world war ii and the eighth air force veterans organizations nationwide. The first supply mission over the hump occurred in april 1942, when the u. Army 10th air force in india contracted with the african division of.
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