Centex China Burma India exhibits show how U.S. aviators succeeded in China during WWII.

Remembering the Forgotten Theater of World War II.

U.S. aviators performed epic roles that kept China involved during WWII. Their feats force the Japanese to divert critical resources from other theaters of the conflict in the Pacific.

Curtiss P-40 painted with famous "Flying Tiger" nose art.

Main Strategic Goals of The China Burma India Theater: 

1.) Force the Japanese to divert critical resources from other theaters of the conflict in the Pacific.
2.) Prepare for strategic destruction of mainland Japan by B-29 Super Fortress bombers from air bases in China.

China Burma Indian Theater timeline.

1941-1942 

Famous "Flying Tigers" Defend National Chinese cities and forces. 

Flying Tigers create new aerial warfare tactics that permit The Curtiss P-40  to succeed over superior Japanese aircraft.

1942-1943
Allied airlift transports critical supplies "Over the Hump." Allow allies to build Long Range Bombers bases.

C-46 and C-47 flying over 22,000 ft. peaks operate the first sustained airlift in history.

1944-1945
First B-29 Super Fortresses started bombing mainland Japan from four new Chinese air bases.

Four airbases were built and supplied by air in China for strategic bombing of the Japanese mainland military and urban targets.

Nostalgic Musical Tribute to the 1940's. 2 minutes

A video depicting some of the best known music of the era with songs like "don't sit under the apple tree" by the Andrew Sisters. Interestingly, the pin-up art shown in this video became inspirations for the famous WWII bomber nose art.

A critical situation in China before the U.S. enters WWII.
The Chinese theater, which was the on-going Second Sino-Japanese War, was important as a means of forcing Japan to devote many resources. Nonetheless, there was little fighting as the nationalist government under Chiang Kai-shek's Kuo-mingtang and the communist insurgents under Mao Zedong conserved their forces; they were as much at war with each other as they were with the Japanese, much to the frustration of the American commander in China, General Joseph Warren Stilwell. The Japanese army in China, however, was far too strong for the weak Chinese armies and never lost a battle to them.

Japanese intent on World Domination.

Vintage WWII film: "Why We Fight." 10 minutes.

Very interesting US Army film shows Japanese plans for world domination.

Vintage WWII film of Japan invasion while China adopts monumental defensive strategy. 10 minutes.

Vintage film shows Chinese strategy of buying time in face of brutal Japanese invasion while moving vital industries and people 2,000 miles west.

1941-1945 China Burma India Theater

Insignia for the China Burma India Theater.

CBI became the umbrella term, used by the United States military during World War II for the China and Southeast Asian or India-Burma (IBT) theaters.

China Burma India Theater covered a vast area.

Operational command of Allied forces (including US forces) in the CBI was officially the responsibility of the Supreme Commanders for South East Asia or China. However: US forces in practice were usually overseen by General Joseph Stilwell, the Deputy Allied Commander in China; the term "CBI" was significant in logistical, materiel and personnel matters and; it was and is commonly used within the US for these theaters.

Satellite photo showing the world's highest mountains between India and China to the east. The most forward Indian Airbase at Chabua, jump off point across the Hump is labeled.

Well-known US (or joint Allied) units in the CBI included the Flying Tigers, transport and bomber units flying the Hump, the 1st Air Commando Group, the engineers who built Ledo Road, and the 5307th Composite Unit (Provisional), popularly known as "Merrill's Marauders".

Chinese Nationalist soldier guarding P-40's at an air field.

In 1941, even before the Pearl Harbor attack, the U.S. made a series of decisions to support China in its war with Japan. Lend Lease funds began to flow because President Franklin D. Roosevelt announced the defense of China to be vital to the defense of the United States. Over the summer of 1941,as Japan moved south into French Indochina, the U.S., Britain and the Netherlands slapped an oil embargo on Japan, cutting off 90% of its supplies. Arguably, this act prompted the Japanese to attack the U.S. in December of 1941.

The totally new Ledo Road  to supply China would not be completed until 1945.
During the summer of 1941, Japan rather quickly managed to cut off overland supplies to China through Burma. China could be supplied only by flying over the Himalaya mountains ("The Hump") from India, or capturing territory in Burma and building a new road—the Ledo Road.

The Flying Tigers

A legend is born.

Even before the attack on Pearl Harbor signaling America's entry into WWII, The all volunteer group of "civilian" pilots captured the U.S. public's imagination and respect.

The Tigers' shark-faced fighters remain among the most recognizable of any individual combat aircraft and combat unit of World War II, and they demonstrated innovative tactical victories when the news in the U.S. was filled with little more than stories of defeat at the hands of the Japanese forces.

The American Public Adoration for The Flying tigers.

Major companies promote image.

Hollywood made this movie extolling U.S. aviators' success to Home Front during an otherwise gloomy 1942.

Trailer for "FLYING TIGERS" 1942 movie with John Wayne. 

Nominated for 3 Oscars. The Flying Tigers are a band of American volunteers called upon by China to help fight the Japanese two years before Pearl Harbor.

The American Volunteer Group was largely the creation of Claire L. Chennault, a retired U.S. Army Air Corps officer who had worked in China since August 1937, first as military aviation advisor to Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek in the early months of the Sino-Japanese War, then as director of a Chinese Air Force flight school centered in Kunming. Meanwhile, the Soviet Union supplied fighter and bomber squadrons to China, but these units were mostly withdrawn by the summer of 1940. Chiang then asked for American combat aircraft and pilots, sending Chennault to Washington as advisor to China's ambassador and Chiang's brother-in-law, T. V. Soong.

Since the U.S. was not at war, the "Special Air Unit" could not be organized overtly, but the request was approved by President Franklin D. Roosevelt himself.

Chennault spent the winter of 1940–1941 in Washington, supervising the purchase of 100 Curtiss P-40 fighters (diverted from a Royal Air Force order; the Royal Air Force at that time deemed the P-40 obsolete) and the recruiting of 100 pilots and some 200 ground crew and administrative personnel that would constitute the 1st AVG. He also laid the groundwork for a follow-on bomber group and a second fighter group, though these would be aborted after the Pearl Harbor attack.

Vintage WWII film, The Flying Tigers. 3 minutes.

Vintage documentary on the U.S. aviators in china flying P-40 Fighters.

The group first saw combat on 20 December 1941, 12 days after Pearl Harbor (local time). It achieved notable success during the lowest period of the war for U.S. and Allied Forces, giving hope to Americans that they would eventually succeed against the Japanese. While cross-referencing records after the war revealed their actual kill numbers were substantially lower, the Tigers were paid combat bonuses for destroying nearly 300 enemy aircraft, while losing only 14 pilots on combat missions. In July 1942, the AVG was replaced by the U.S. Army 23rd Fighter Group, which was later absorbed into the U.S. 14th Air Force with General Chennault as commander. The 23rd FG went on to achieve similar combat success, while retaining the nose art and fighting name of the volunteer unit.

The Chennault fighter doctrine.

Chennault preached a radically different approach to air combat based on his study of Japanese tactics and equipment, his observation of the tactics used by Soviet pilots in China, and his judgment of the strengths and weaknesses of his own aircraft and pilots.

 

The actual average strength of the AVG was never more than 62 combat-ready pilots and fighters. Chennault faced serious obstacles since many AVG pilots were inexperienced and a few quit at the first opportunity. However, he made a virtue out of these disadvantages, shifting unsuitable pilots to staff jobs and always ensuring that he had a squadron or two in reserve. (The AVG had no ranks, so no division between officers and enlisted soldiers existed.) 

Claire Chennault

Chennault and the Flying Tigers benefited from the country's warning network, called "the best air-raid warning system in existence":
Starting from areas in Free China, in hundreds of small villages, in lonely outposts, in hills and caves, stretching from near Canton through all Free China to the capital in Chungking and to Lanchow, far northwest, are a maze of alarm stations equipped with radios and telephones that give instant warning of the approach of Japanese planes.

When Japanese planes attacked, Chennault's doctrine called for pilots to take on enemy aircraft in teams from an altitude advantage, since their aircraft were not as maneuverable or as numerous as the Japanese fighters they would encounter. 

A Japanese captured P-40

He prohibited his pilots from entering into a turning fight with the nimble Japanese fighters, telling them to execute a diving or slashing attack and to dive away to set up for another attack. This "dive-and-zoom" technique was contrary to what the men had learned in U.S. service as well as what the Royal Air Force (RAF) pilots in Burma had been taught; it had been used successfully, however, by Russian units serving with the Chinese Air Force.

Profile view of a captured P-40 painted in Japanese markings.

Flying the "HUMP."

What started as a Chinese Forces resupply mission turned into a major B-29 strategic bombing operation.

The trans-Himalayan airlift, the "Hump," was the first sustained and most ambitious combat airlift operation in modern history. 

Map showing "The Hump" air route (the arc at the top) and area under Japanese control. the bright green is the new Ledo Road, which was not finished until 1945.

Flying the Hump, Vintage film-1943. 3 minutes.

Cobbled together with only a handful of airplanes and aircrews in early 1942, the operation grew to become the ultimate expression of American commitment to keeping China in the war and using its airfields to attack Japan. In all it delivered 740,000 tons of cargo, flying in some of the world's worst weather system and over its most rugged terrain, all the while under the threat of enemy attack.

Forward air base built in China, practically in the clouds.

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 Kai-shek and the units of the United States Army Air Forces based in China. Creating an airlift presented the USAAF a considerable challenge in 1942: it had no units trained or equipped for moving cargo, and no airfields existed in India for basing the large number of transports that would be required. 

The 1st Ferrying Group Operations building is located in the center of a tea plantation at Chabua, Assam, India. The thatched room serves two purposes - it keeps the interior cool and also serves as camouflage.
Flying over the Himalayas was extremely dangerous and made more difficult by a lack of reliable charts, an absence of radio navigation aids, and a dearth of information about the weather.The C-47 (or Dakota) was not designed for that duty. With a full cargo load we did well to get to 14,000 feet and mountains they flew past went between 15,000 and 29,000 feet!

C-47 Skytrains in China in WWII. 3 minutes.

Activities of 6th Army Group in WWII in the Pacific. Lot of footage of C-47 transports in China.

In 1943 U.S. Developed A New Strategic War Plan:

Get Forward Air Bases ready for the New B-29's.

China & India prepare for the coming of the B-29 and Strategic Bombing of Japan.

In addition to being an enabler, the airlift became the main driver of CBI strategy, as it was an expression of the broader air power orientation of the theater. This airlift required forward airbases that would soon assist the construction of larger bases that would accommodate the soon to arrive long-range B-29 Super Fortress bomber.
First B-29 Super Fortress bomber arrives July 1944. 

The B-29 went from a design concept to an operational weapon in five years. Less than three years separated their first flight and the Hiroshima mission.

Bombing of Japanese main islands began in July 1944 when the B-29 Super Fortress bomber entered service, first employed from China and thereafter from closer and more defensible bases in the Mariana Islands.

The idea of basing the Super-fortresses in China first surfaced at the Casablanca Conference in January 1943. While planners assessed this option, the Anglo-American Combined Chiefs of Staff, meeting in Quebec in August, authorized a central Pacific drive that included the seizure of the Mariana Islands. Not only were the Marianas closer to Tokyo, but once in Allied hands they could be supplied and defended more easily than other sites.

August 1943, Operation Matterhorn

Like its namesake, "Matterhorn" was one tough mountain to climb.

This map shows the New Strategic War Plan, to use the B-29 Super-fortress, to attack Japan from China.  

August, 1943, the Air Staff of Headquarters, Army Air Forces, prepared a plan to use a new weapon, the B-29 Super-fortress, from Chinese territory to attack Japan pending capture of Marianna islands bases nearer to strategic targets. Gen. "Hap" Arnold, Commanding General, AAF, wanted the first B-29's operational in China by April 15, 1944. The last of the initial batch of 150 B-29's were combat ready and on their way to China by that time to begin the bomber offensive. (A total of 3,898 B-29's were produced during World War II at an average cost of $639,188 each in 1944 dollars). 

Chinese Forces were to be viewed as military resources  in protecting vulnerable forward bases bases (Chng-tu in circle) from Japanese attack shown above with red arrows

Initial planning for the China-based B-29's envisioned a force of 780 B-29's supported by the ATC from India, across the "Hump," attacking Japanese targets in Manchuria and Japan. This plan was later revised to position the B-29's in forward Chinese bases from their permanent and secure bases in India. 

Logistical planning proves faulty. 

Under this plan, called "Operation Matterhorn," they anticipated that largely self-sufficient B-29's would carry their own fuel and bombs from India into China. Unfortunately, this did not work out. 

The B-29's could not carry all the bombs and fuel needed to support operations in China. Instead, they had to call on the Air Transport Command (ATC) to carry no less than 25%, and up to 100% of the monthly tonnage required by the B-29's. So, supplying them took considerable resources away from the 14th Air Force, which did not please Gen. Chennault. Subsequent analysis indicated that the XX Bomber Command was only free to use 14% of its B-29's against the Japanese. The others were used as ferry tankers keeping the B-29's supplied with fuel. 

The Lady Boomerang out of Paindota India, July 1944

Incredible effort and expense goes into constructing and maintaining the vast network needed to accommodate the B-29 operation. Ironically, the major use of the Bomber against Japan would not be from bases in China but rather from bases in the central Pacific. 

Much work goes into building the B-29 airbases in China.

China Builds Airfields For B-29's (1944.) 3 Minutes

70,000 Chinese laborers build an airfield in China.

The WWII's first B-29 raid. June 5, 1944 
The B-29's first flew in combat on June 5, 1944. Ninety-eight planes from bases in India raided the Makasan rail center in Bangkok. Less than 20 bombs fell on the target area.  

After much work, the publicity photo shoot for the first B-29 raid from China.
First B-29's Deploy To China (1944.) 1 1/2 Minute.

First B-29's of the XXth Air Force fly from India to bases in China where landing strips are built. They strike Yawata center of Steel production in Japan.

Finally, Yawata, Japan Bombed!

On the next raid, June 14, 1944, 68 planes (out of 92 that left India) took off from China and raided iron works at Yawata, Japan. This raid indicated the difficulty of operating from India to China, thence to Japanese targets, particularly as the B-29's were still immature systems. Gen. Arnold wanted 70 planes over the target, but only 47 actually made it to Yawata and only one plane hit the target with one 500-pound bomb. 

The Hump Honey out of Cheng-tu China. 

Through the end of 1944, XX Bomber Command flew an additional 33 major missions against targets in Japan, Manchuria, China and Southeast Asia. 

Several of these strikes were quite successful, especially the destruction of the dock area at Hankow by incendiaries. The success of the latter raid greatly influenced LeMay's subsequent raids on Japan. He recognized that targets in Japan were vulnerable to incendiary attack. So, the CBI operations by XX Bomber Command in 1944 was a learning experience. 

Vintage WWII B-29 bomber in china. 1 1/2 Minute.

The XX Bomber Command staggered on throughout 1944 leaving its bases in China by the end of January, 1945 in favor of basing in India before finally moving to the Marianas 
All in all, in had been a disappointment.
LeMay wrote: 

"Despite some modest successes and the lessons learned from the Hankow raid, we really didn't accomplish as much in China as we had hoped. That would come later when we moved the B-29 bases to the Marianas. In the meantime, I recommended that Arnold not send any more B-29's to India after November 1944, because we really couldn't supply them adequately at the bases in China. The Marianas would be the beginning of the end of the road to Tokyo." 

The Japanese leaders sacrificed the nation in a fight to the finish. That victory is a tribute to the B-29 crews and to those who supported them. The fact that they succeeded is the legacy of the troublesome gestation through 1944 in the CBI Theater and the Marianas which took an immature airplane and raw personnel to bring final victory over Japan. 

Those who served in the China-Burma-India Theater can take pride in the fact that they nurtured and supported the force that eventually made the final victory possible.

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