Over The Hump: Airlift to China

The Hump was the name given by Allied pilots in World War II to the eastern end of the Himalayan Mountains over which they flew military transport aircraft from India to China to resupply the units of the United States Army Air Forces and the Chinese war effort of Chiang Kai-shek. This type of airlift was a considerable challenge in 1942 as the USAAF had no units trained or equipped for moving cargo, and no airfields in India for the large number of transports required. The Americans in the China-Burma-India theater were able to accomplish this assignment, which had significance beyond the end of the war. Because of the experience, it was possible to operate the Berlin airlift in 1948 and when the Korean war required large scale emergency air movements, the techniques were already available.… (more)