The Japanese occupation of Burma in 1942 had cut off the Burma Road, the last land route by which the Allies could deliver aid to the Chinese Government of Chiang Kai-shek. Until the Burma Road could be retaken and the Ledo Road completed, the only supply route available was the costly and dangerous route for transport planes over the Himalayas between India's Assam Valley and Kunming, China. This route became known as the Himalayan Hump or simply The Hump.
While the route kept the transports relatively free from enemy attack (Enemy action destroyed only seven aircraft, killing 13 men) it led over rugged terrain, through violent storms, with snow and ice at the higher altitudes the planes flew over the mountains. Flying the Himalayan Hump would turn out to be some of the most dangerous flying in the world. Over the course of action there were 460 aircraft and 792 men lost. Still, the operations were a success. There were 167,285 trips that moved 740,000 tons of material to support Chinese troops and other Allied forces.
The airfield was abandoned after World War II. IAF commenced operations from this airfield in 1962 amid increased tensions with China and following the annexation of Tibet by the People's Republic of China. Initially Dakotas and Vampires, later Hunters, Otters and Mi-4 helicopters commenced air operations from Chabua air base. In the mid-seventies, subsequent to the runway upgradation and renovation.
This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
Maurer, Maurer (1983). Air Force Combat Units of World War II. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History. ISBN0-89201-092-4.
Airport information for VECA at Great Circle Mapper.
External linksedit
Media related to Chabua Air Force Station at Wikimedia Commons
Chabua Air Force Base at GlobalSecurity.org
May 04, 2024
chabua, force, station, icao, veca, indian, force, base, located, chabua, dibrugarh, district, state, assam, india, base, 1944iata, noneicao, vecasummaryairport, typemilitaryoperatorindian, forcelocationchabua, assam, indiaelevation, amsl367, mcoordinates27, 4. Chabua Air Force Station ICAO VECA is an Indian Air Force base located at Chabua of Dibrugarh district in the state of Assam India Chabua Air Force StationThe base in 1944IATA noneICAO VECASummaryAirport typeMilitaryOperatorIndian Air ForceLocationChabua Assam IndiaElevation AMSL367 ft 112 mCoordinates27 27 44 N 095 07 05 E 27 46222 N 95 11806 E 27 46222 95 11806MapVECALocation of Chabua Air Force Station IndiaShow map of AssamVECAVECA India Show map of IndiaRunwaysDirection Length Surface m ft 05 23 2 744 9 003 Asphalt 8km5milesChabua Air Force Station Chabua Air Force Station near Arunachal Pradesh Contents 1 History 1 1 US Air Force 2 Indian Air Force 2 1 Squadrons 3 See also 4 References 5 External linksHistory editUS Air Force edit This Base was built in 1939 During World War II it was a major supply point for the ferrying of supplies to Generalissimo Chiang Kai shek s forces in and around Kunming China This was known as Flying the Hump The Japanese occupation of Burma in 1942 had cut off the Burma Road the last land route by which the Allies could deliver aid to the Chinese Government of Chiang Kai shek Until the Burma Road could be retaken and the Ledo Road completed the only supply route available was the costly and dangerous route for transport planes over the Himalayas between India s Assam Valley and Kunming China This route became known as the Himalayan Hump or simply The Hump Operated initially by the United States Army Air Forces Ferrying Command later Air Transport Command China Ferrying Command later ATC India China Wing The 1st Ferrying later Transport Group operated three squadrons of C 47 Skytrain and C 46 Commando aircraft from Chabua The airfield was also an important layover stop of the ATC Karachi Kunming air transport route Flights operated west to Agra Airport Willingdon Airfield New Delhi Gaya Airport Assam Borjhar Airport and east into Dali Airport and Kunming Wujiaba Airport in ChinaWhile the route kept the transports relatively free from enemy attack Enemy action destroyed only seven aircraft killing 13 men it led over rugged terrain through violent storms with snow and ice at the higher altitudes the planes flew over the mountains Flying the Himalayan Hump would turn out to be some of the most dangerous flying in the world Over the course of action there were 460 aircraft and 792 men lost Still the operations were a success There were 167 285 trips that moved 740 000 tons of material to support Chinese troops and other Allied forces In addition to the ATC transport units elements of the Tenth Air Force 380th Bombardment Group 375th Bombardment Squadron operated B 24 Liberators from the airfield flying long range bombardment missions into Burma south China Thailand Bangkok and well as French Indochina Haiphong A total of 8 B 24s were lost Also the B 24s were used to ferry aircraft fuel into China Indian Air Force editThe airfield was abandoned after World War II IAF commenced operations from this airfield in 1962 amid increased tensions with China and following the annexation of Tibet by the People s Republic of China Initially Dakotas and Vampires later Hunters Otters and Mi 4 helicopters commenced air operations from Chabua air base In the mid seventies subsequent to the runway upgradation and renovation Squadrons edit No 102 Squadron IAFNo 14 WingSee also editAir Transport CommandReferences edit nbsp This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency Maurer Maurer 1983 Air Force Combat Units of World War II Maxwell AFB Alabama Office of Air Force History ISBN 0 89201 092 4 Airport information for VECA at Great Circle Mapper External links edit nbsp Media related to Chabua Air Force Station at Wikimedia Commons Chabua Air Force Base at GlobalSecurity org https web archive org web 20070910030113 http www usaaf net ww2 airlift airliftpg7 htm https web archive org web 20070730081323 http warren421 home comcast net history html Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Chabua Air Force Station amp oldid 1205742035, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
