ATC OPERATIONS

ON THE HUMP

WebMania! In the middle and late 1930's, CNAC, the Chinese National Airline Corporation, had pioneered routes through and over the Himalaya Mountains to India. With the Japanese invasion, CNAC became a materiel supply carrier. When the Japanese captured Rangoon, in Burma, and cut the Burma Road, CNAC began flying supplies over the mountains, the only remaining supply route. As more and more capacity became necessary, CNAC gave way to the 10th U.S. Airforce. But even the 10th could not efficiently meet the needs of their own bombers and fighters and the Chinese and British armies. In 1942, General of the Air Force, Henry H. "Hap" Arnold gave the Air Transport Command, formed from the old Ferrying Command, the mandate for carrying out the HUMP Operation and keeping supplies moving into China and Burma. Units of the 10th Air Force that had been doing the job were transferred to the ATC. Eventually, there were 13 primary ATC bases in the Assam valley in India, and three in China. Places like Mohanbari, Chabau, Sookerating, Tezpur, Misamari, Jorhat, and Chittagong had become home to over 84,000 pilots, co-pilots, flight crew members, and ground support personnel, and 722 aircraft by the time the war ended.

From the outset, there were problems. The Curtis C-46, then the largest two engine transport in the world, was beset with problems, particularly in the hydraulic systems. It was called a "plumbers nightmare". There were numerous accidents and crackups, mostly caused by the weather and maintenance problems on the aircraft. More than 600 aircraft were lost on the "rock pile" and a second nick name of "The Aluminum Trail" came into being. It was called the most dangerous flying in the world, and ATC losses on the HUMP were disproportionately higher than what the 8th Air Force encountered during the bombing raids on Berlin. Repairs and modifications were generally made in the theater. Morale on the HUMP was low.

In the summer of 1944, command of the ATC in the CBI was passed to Gen. William H. Tunner. Changes began to take place. Pilots who at one time despised the C-46 grew to love it. Tonnage over the HUMP increased dramatically, and accidents and crashes declined.

Gen. William H. Tunner

While the ATC was not the only division of the Army Air Corps to fly the HUMP, it was by far the most effective. When the Burma Road was cut and the supply routes were pushed to the north, the C-47 that Combat Cargo and Troop Carrier units continued to fly could not handle the high altitudes of the northern ranges of the Himalayas when fully loaded. The larger size , larger cargo capacity, and more powerful engines of the C-46 allowed it to manage the altitudes needed, but still not without some considerable risk. By the time the war ended, the ATC had moved 740,000 tons of supplies and had flown 165,285 round trip missions over the HUMP. This was far and away more tonnage delivered than by the Troop Carrier and Combat Cargo units combined.