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Chakulia
Air Field
17 Miles From Jhargram (West Midnapore)
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Type |
Military Airfield |
Coordinates |
22°28′00.49″N 086°42′38.52″E
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Built |
1942 |
In use |
1942 -1945 |
Current condition |
Airports Authority of India (NAD)
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Battles/wars |
World War II |
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Chakulia Airport is an airport in India. It is located southwest of the city of Chakulia, a city and a notified area in Purbi Singhbhum district in the state of Jharkhand and 17 miles from Jhargram (West Medinipur District).
Currently, the airport has no scheduled commercial airline flights. A jet charter company operates Jet Charter and Air Charter Service to many destinations. Also, the Indian Government plans to use the airport as a cargo hub for the Calcutta International Airport.
40th BG B-29 42-6310 taking off from Chakulia Airfield, India, June, 1944
History
Chakulia Airfield was built by the British in 1942 to conduct raids against the advancing Japanese in Burma and also for operations to transport aid to parts of China. It was originally designed for Consolidated B-24 Liberator use. It was initially assigned to United States Army Air Forces Tenth Air Force, with the 341st Bombardment Group arriving on 30 December 1942, equipped with B-25 Mitchells. Its five bomb squadrons (10th, 11th, 22d, 490th and 491st) flew missions chiefly against enemy transportation in central Burma. The group bombed bridges, locomotives, railroad yards, and other targets to delay movement of supplies to the Japanese troops fighting in northern Burma.
In addition, the 9th Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron, assigned to Headquarters, Tenth Air Force, flew F-4/F-5 (P-38) Lighting photo recon missions over Burma between 30 November 1942-3 January 1943. A detachment of the 118th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron returned to the base, flying reconnaissance flights over Burma between March–June 1944
In June 1943, the 341st Bomb Group moved to Burma and the airfield was designated as a B-29 Superfortress Base for the planned deployment of the XX Bomber Command to India. Advance Army Air Forces echelons arrived in India in December 1943 to organize the upgrading of the airfield and thousands of Indians labored to upgrade the facility for Superfortress operations. It was one of four B-29 bases established by the Americans in India.
Chakulia was designated to be the home of the 40th Bombardment Group, with initially five B-29 Squadrons (25th, 29th, 44th, 45th and 395th) The 40th arrived at the base on 2 April 1944 after completing B-29 transition training at Pratt AAF, Kansas. Support elements of the group included the 1st, 2d, 3d and 4th Bomb Maintenance Squadrons; the 11th Photo Lab, and the 28th Air Service Group.
It had taken nearly two weeks for the group to arrive at Chakulia from Kansas, deploying over the South Atlantic transport route. The deployment consisted of traveling to Morrision Field, Florida, then south though the Caribbean to Natal, Brazil. From Brazil the South Atlantic was crossed arriving in West Africa and re-assembling at Marrakesh, Morocco. The group then flew north and west from Morocco through Algeria and Egypt, before arriving at Karachi. By the time the group arrived at Chakulia, the month-long trip had taken its toll on the aircraft and personnel. Also, when the group arrived, the conditions at the base was poor, and the runways were still in the process of being lengthened when the first B-29s arrived.
In addition to the 40th, its command unit, the 58th Bombardment Wing temporarily took up residence at Chakulia on 2 April until its designated command base at Kalaikunda Airfield was ready. The 58th's headquarters was moved on 23d April.
Almost immediately upon arrival, the groups B-29s were grounded due to engine fires, which were caused by the engines not being designed to operate at ground temperatures higher than 115 degrees F, which were typically exceeded in India. Modifications had to be made to the engines and also to the cowl flaps. After these modifications, B-29 flights were resumed
From India, the 40th Bomb Group planned to fly missions against Japan from airfields in China. Hsinching Airfield (A-1), located just to the southwest of Chendu in south-central China was designated as the forward staging base for the group.
However, all the supplies of fuel, bombs, and spares needed to support operations from Kwanghan had to be flown 1,200 miles from India over "The Hump" (the name given by Allied pilots to the eastern end of the Himalayan Mountains), since Japanese control of the seas around the Chinese coast made seaborne supply of China impossible. Many of the supplies had to be delivered to China by the B-29s themselves. For this role, they were stripped of nearly all combat equipment and used as flying tankers and each carried seven tons of fuel for the six hour (one way) flight, which itself was almost at the limit of the B-29's range. The Hump route was so dangerous and difficult that each time a B-29 flew from India to China it was counted as a combat mission. It took six round-trip flights by each Superfortress to Kwanghan in order to mount one combat mission from the forward base.
The first combat mission by the group took place on June 5, 1944 when squadrons of the 40th took off from India to attack the Makasan railroad yards at Bangkok, Thailand. This involved a 2261-mile round trip, the longest bombing mission yet attempted during the war.
On June 15 the group participated in the first American Air Force attack on the Japanese Home Islands since the Doolittle raid in 1942. Operating from bases in India, and at times staging through fields in China, the group struck such targets as transportation centers, naval installations, iron works, and aircraft plants in Burma, Thailand, China, Japan, Indonesia, and Formosa, receiving a Distinguished Unit Citation for bombing iron and steel works at Yawata, Japan, on August 20, 1944. From a staging field in Ceylon, the 40th mined waters near the port of Palembang, Sumatra, in August 1944.
The 40th evacuated staging fields in China in January 1945 due to the Japanese offensive in South China which threatened the forward staging bases, but continued operations from India, bombing targets in Thailand and mining waters around Singapore. However, by late 1944 it was becoming apparent that B-29 operations against Japan staged out of the bases in Chengtu were far too expensive in men and materials and would have to be stopped. In December 1944, the Joint Chiefs of Staff made the decision that Operation Matterhorn would be phased out, and the B-29s would be moved to newly-captured bases in the Marianas in the central Pacific.
On 25 February 1945, the 40th Bombardment Group flew south to Ceylon, then southeast across the Indian Ocean to Perth in Western Australia. Flying north through New Guinea, it reached its new home at West Field, Tinian, in the Mariana Islands on 4 April where it and its parent 58th Bombardment Wing came under the command of the new XXI Bomber Command.
With the departure of the B-29s in March 1945 to the Marianas, Chakulia Airfield was returned to Tenth Air Force. It was kept, however, largely in reserve status, with the 28th Service Group performing caretaker activities, with the occasional aircraft transiting the airfield.
With the last Americans leaving in late 1945, the airfield was turned over to the British colonial government. The postwar history of the airfield is unclear, however it is used today as a civil airport. The large, sprawling wartime airfield is largely in disrepair, with abandoned hardstands and taxiways visible on aerial images. |
Major Roberts Says . . . Japs Couldn't Down "Last Resort"
By SUPER-FORT Writer APO 631 (Chakulia, India)
Maj. Donald W. Roberts now has a Silver Star, awarded for "gallantry in action," but he won't need a medal to remember the Last Resort - his Jap-defying Superfort.
"She was a great girl," he beamed when the name of his former plane was mentioned. "Wanna see her?"
Though he had just returned from a mercy mission into Burma, was without sleep for nearly four days, and had a thick growth of beard, Maj. Roberts jumped into a Jeep and headed for the base salvage yard.
"There she is," he pointed as the guard was opening the gate. The nose, bearing the painted Indian woman and the faded name - Last Resort - was all that was left. Walking up to the remaining part of his once-proud plane, he defensively emphasized:
"The Japs didn't put her here. They couldn't. She was caught in the explosion (one B-29 exploded here Jan. 14 and corrugated the fuselage of the Last Resort so badly it had to be salvaged.)
Explaining that the Last Resort was short-lived, had only gone on nine missions - all piloted by himself Maj. Roberts said, "She was a sad ship when we got her, but we put her in good condition. She was a fine plane."
"The Japs just couldn't down her," he continued, adding that the Last Resort was "shot up four times within a period of one month."
On the Omura mission of Nov. 21, for which he was awarded the Silver Star, Maj. Roberts said the Japs
really gave his girl hell. Fighters swarmed about the B-29, riddling it with tracers. Two engines were knocked out and a third was badly damaged.
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Crew Chiefs Decorated
Proudly displaying the Bronze Star medal awarded to them for their outstanding proficiency in maintaining B-29 Superfortresses operating in the India-Burma and China Theaters are these three crew chiefs of the XX Bomber Command. Left to right are M/Sgt. Kenneth Day, M/Sgt. William Kolynych, and M/Sgt. Bruce Mahler. These men are typical of the grease-stained mechanics who have labored tirelessly through burning Indian heat, monsoon torrents and bitter cold weather in China to keep the Superforts in prime condition for the grueling flights to blast Jap war industries and military installations from Manchuria in the north to the island of Sumatra in the south. |
Statistics show that the XX Bomber Command during its first eight months in a combat theater has improved its maintenance proficiency at a rate which is probably greater than that achieved by any other Air Force anywhere in the world. Men like these are responsible. |
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"But the Last Resort kept going," he proudly said, "blazing hot lead all about the sky. We knocked Jap fighters all over, but only saw a couple actually crash." (Official XX Bomber Command reports revealed that three enemy fighters were destroyed, two were probably destroyed and others were damaged.)
Though attacked enroute to the target, the Last Resort successfully dropped its bomb load with good results, and - in a running fight - slugged its way to a Command base.
"That plane couldn't be downed by the Japs," he repeated walking back to his Jeep. "If you want to hear more about her, drop in again. I got to get some sleep now."
All of Maj. Robert's crew were awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for their meritorious work on the Omura mission. And, incidentally, their new plane will - in all probability - be named the Last Resort, Jr.
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St. Pats Day Memo
Not that anyone gives a damn, but St. Patrick's Day is only a few days away as the costume of June Haver, 20th Century Fox star of "Irish Eyes Are Smiling" indicates. She has blonde hair (as you can see), blue eyes (which you could see if this were Technicolor), is 18, and Life magazine says: "sings with a fresh voice."
...................................................................... Original issue of SUPER-FORT shared by Earl and Diana (Duty) Ingram
Copyright © 2007 Carl Warren Weidenburner
01/29/2008 00:33:31 |
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| SHARKS ATTACK B-29 CREWMEN
Three Men Lost After Crew 'Chutes From Burning Plane
APO 631 (Chakulia, India)
Cool waters of Martaban bay were nothing to the fire-scorched flesh of Lt. Mills Bales, co-pilot of a B-29 photo-reconnaissance Superfortress.
As he bobbled with the waves, futilely searching for the other 11 members of the crew, he relived the "flying hell" from which he had escaped a few minutes before. The future held little more promise . . . closest land, Jap occupied, was 80 miles away . . . home base was 1100 miles distant, 600 over enemy waters . . . the Bay was shark-infested.
"It was all like a dream - a nightmare."
Piloted by Capt. James E. Lyons who, with Lt. Frank Thorpe, flight engineer, is still confined to a
Calcutta hospital, the Superfort was homeward bound. It had taken reconnaissance photographs of Singapore, two days after a recent bombing mission by the XX Bomber Command.
"All was well, and the 'milk run' was about over." A Jap fighter was sighted in the distance - bearing in. The B-29 gunners blazed the sky with tracers, but the fighter kept coming in, making six passes in all.
"Evidently our guns were not working properly," Lt. bales reported later, "as the fighter was not shot down. Ordinarily we would have gotten him before he ever started his pass, but no such luck."
"On his second pass, the sonabitch really loaded us. A 20mm shell exploded in the cockpit and severed our hydraulic lines and ignited them all at the same time. The cockpit was a mass of flames immediately."
Soon afterward - the fighter kept riddling the huge bomber - the B-29 was crippled almost beyond the flying state. Everything seemed to happen all at once. An engine went out, the automatic pilot had been shot up, most of the Superfort was ablaze, and the bomber was in a "very steep spiral."
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Shows Shark Bites
It now has been more than a month since Lt. Mills Bale was attacked by several sharks in the Bay of Martaban, but the teeth marks on his foot still are visible. T/Sgt. John Topolski, who was rescued by a British submarine, examines the healing wounds. |
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Fished From Sea
Life is sweet again for T/Sgt. Louis Sandrick, left, and Cpl. Anthony Peleckis after their harrowing experiences in the bay of Martaban. 'Chuting into the bay after their B-29 was shot down by an enemy fighter, they were "fished from the sea" by British PBY crewman |
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In three minutes, the plane had dropped from 24,000 to 12,000 feet. Lt. Bales righted the B-29, then made a quick check of the crew. At the same time, another B-29 recon ship had come to the rescue and chased off the fighter.
"The Engineer had several spots on his hands with no skin; the Captain had worse burns on his hands and face and was in a bad state of shock, his eyes being very glassy; the Bombardier - a human torch immediately after the 20mm shell exploded - was in a much worse state as he had had all his clothes burned off so that he was a very terrible sight . . . I didn't have any skin on my nose, and my right hand was a big blister."
All efforts were made to get the plane home. The cockpit fire was extinguished by the captain and engineer, the bomb bay tanks were salvoed - with much difficulty - and the plane was completely stripped by the enlisted men in
the rear. But the B-29 was too crippled.
"It would be almost certain death to our boys in the back if we ditched, besides the possibility of the plane blowing up on contact with the water."
Bailing out presented its problems too. rescue chances were slim, the Bombardier wouldn't have a chance, and many of the others needed immediate medical attention. Japanese occupied land was but 80 miles distant, but that was out of the question.
The Bombardier heard me mention the possibility of killing the crew in the aft to try to ditch so we'd have him where we could take care of him. He turned to us and looking up, he said: 'Listen, if you're going to risk your lives to try to save me, let's get the hell out of here.'"
After the rest of the crew had bailed out, Lt. Bales searched the ship, then "hit the silk." Less than one minute later, the Superfortress exploded.
The other B-29 circled the hapless crew several times, tossed over a life raft, then had to leave for home because of gasoline shortage.
"I could never explain my feelings when that B-29 went out of sight over the horizon."
After he had been in the water about two hours, Lt. Bales noticed some "10 or 15 tell-tale fins in the water." Sharls. They glided toward him at a tremendous rate of speed. They attacked.
"The first shark came in and went between my legs. Hw hit me so hard it nearly up-ended me and my legs flew apart . . . It wasn't long till he was back again. I had taken off my shoes as soon as I hit the water, but kept my socks on. The second time he snapped my left foot and left a set of teeth marks on my foot . . . He came by once more on the surface about four inches from my right elbow. I hit him a swat and that was the last I saw of him.
"The rest stalked me for several hours, roaming about 50 feet away. I have a very great dread of being pulled apart hunk by hunk, so I unbuckled my 'mae west.' If they had come in again, I was going under."
After some 20 hours in the water, with a leaking 'mae west,' Lt. Bakes was surprised to see a British
PBY taxi near him. He was the first "fished" from the water. The PBY also picked up Capt. Lyons, Lt. Thorpe, T/Sgt. Louis Sandrick, left gunner, and Cpl. Anthony Peleckis, and flew them to Calcutta, where they were hospitalized.
Some eight hours after the initial rescue, the three crewmen who had swum to the life raft, Lt. Vernon W. Lester, radioman specialist, Lt. Nathan Teplick, navigator, and Sgt. Joseph Dimock, radio operator, were picked up by a British submarine, and later flown to Calcutta in a PBY. T/Sgt. John Topolski, over whose head the initial PBY had flown several hours earlier, also was picked up by the submarine.
All of their stories were similar to the one told by Lt. Bales. They saw sharks - Capt. Lyons was nipped a few times by one - heard Japanese barges crawling up and down the water and lived a regular "life of hell" until rescued.
Three crew members haven't been found,
although all of their 'chutes were seen to open when they bailed out. They are Lt. William Kintis, bombardier, Sgt. John Carney, tail gunner, and Pfc. James Moffit, center gunner. |
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| Pilots Lose Props In Mid-Air
APO 631 (Chakulia, India)
It isn't uncommon for Superfortresses to fly long distances and safely land on three - or even two - engines. One case is on record where a XX Bomber Command bomber landed without any functioning engines.
To bring a B-29 home sans propellers is different; recently two from this base lost propellers in mid-air, but proceeded safely to another base.
Capt. Carter McGregor, pilot of "Eddie Allen." was the first to lose a prop. While flying a photo reconnaissance mission to Singapore, his Superfort was jumped by six Jap fighters. The enemy made two striking hits, putting holes in the oil and gasoline tanks of the No. 1 engine.
Lost Props Mid-Air
They laugh about it now, but recently when a propeller whirled off
an engine of their respective Superfortresses, Capt. Carter McGregor, left, pilot of the 'Eddie Allen,' and Capt. Charles Taylor did plenty of "sweating." |
"The propeller wouldn't feather," Capt. McGregor said, "and it windmilled for six and one-half hours. It made a terrific drag (equal to a flat disc with the same circumference) on the plane and had us all "sweating."
If the propeller, which suddenly shot about 100 feet above the plane, had smashed into the nose of the B-29, it would have wrecked the huge bomber, Capt. McGregor said.
"Our speed was increased 30 miles an hour and we landed at another field."
Nine days later, Capt. McGregor ran into "too damn much" enemy fire and his plane sustained major damage.
While plastering bombs on the Empire Docks at Singapore, Capt. Charles Taylor's B-29 was hit by enemy gunfire. An inboard engine was knocked out and wouldn't feather. About six hours from the target, the propeller whirled off. Out of gasoline, he was forced to land at another base.
Another B-29 from this base is known to have lost a propeller mid-air, but it was lost over enemy territory.
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| 491st Bombardment Squadron
Chakulia Airfield , India , December 30, 1942 – June 1943
The 491st Bombardment Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last was assigned to the 341st Bombardment Wing, stationed at Dyess Air Force Base, Texas. It was inactivated on 25 June 1961.
Constructed and maintained facilities, February-December 1918. Apparently never active during period 1924-1942 when allotted to the reserve with assignment to Ninth Corps Area and designated station at Seattle, Wash.
Re-established as a B-25 Mitchell medium bomber squadron in mid-1942, trained by Third Air Force in the southeastern United States. Deployed to India in December 1942, operating under Tenth Air Force, supporting British ground forces in Burma during 1943. Reassigned to Fourtheenth Air Force in China, 1944, supporting Chinese ground forces until the end of the war. Personnel demobilized in India, squadron returned to the United States and incactivated as a paper unit.
Activated as an A-26 Invader squadron in the postwar Air Force reserves in 1947; inactivated in 1949 due to budget reductions.
The squadron was activated in 1958 as a result of Strategic Air Command phasing out the B-47, and additional squadrons were activated as part of the consolation of Stratojet wings, and the replacement of the B-47 by B-52 Stratofortresses. In March 1961, President John F. Kennedy directed that the phaseout of the B-47 be accelerated. and the squadron was inactivated on 25 June 1961 as part of the drawdown of the USAF B-47 force, with the aircraft were sent to AMARC storage at Davis-Monthan.
Emblem of the 491st Bombardment Squadron |
Assignments
Unknown, 15 August-December 1917
Seventh Aviation Instruction Center, December 1917-December 1918
Unknown, December 1918-31 January 1919
341st Bombardment Group, 15 September 1942-2 November 1945; 5 June 1947-27 June 1949
341st Bombardment Wing, 1 November 1958-25 June 1961.
Active : ------ 1917-1961
Country : --- United States
Branch : ---- United States Air Force
Type : -------- Bombardment
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341st Missile Wing
Chakulia Airfield , India , December 30, 1942 – June 1943
The United States Air Force's 341st Missile Wing (341 MW) is an intercontinental ballistic missile unit headquartered at Malmstrom AFB, Montana. Until July 1, 2008, it was designated as the 341st Space Wing.
Established as a World War II Tenth Air Force B-25 Mitchell bomb group in India, the unit served as part of Strategic Air Command during the early part of the Cold War as a B-47 Stratojet wing, before becoming a Intercontinental ballistic missile unit in 1962. Today, the 341st is one of three remaining United States Air Force wings that maintain and operate the Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile.
Mission
The 341st Missile Wing reports directly to Twentieth Air Force, F.E. Warren Air Force Base, Wyoming., and is part of Air Force Global Strike Command, headquartered at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana.
The mission of the 341st Missile Wing is to keep America free and strong by providing combat-ready people and aerospace forces.
Subordinate units
- 10th Missile Squadron (1961–present)
- 12th Missile Squadron (1961–present)
- 490th Missile Squadron (1942–1943, 1945, 1947–1949, 1955–1961, 1962–present)
- 564th Missile Squadron (1967–2008)
History
The 341st Missile Wing has its origins in the China-Burma-India Theater of World War II, being activated in India on 15 September 1942. The unit was one of the first bomber units in the CBI; being equipped with B-25 Mitchell medium bombers which were shipped from the United States to Karachi. The aircraft were readied for flight operations by Air Technical Service Command at Karachi Air Depot and dispatched to Chakulia Airfield, now in Bangladesh in December. The group was formed with five bomb squadrons (10th, 11th, 22d, 490th and 491st) flew missions chiefly against enemy transportation in central Burma. The group bombed bridges, locomotives, railroad yards, and other targets to delay movement of supplies to the Japanese troops fighting in northern Burma.
The group entered combat early in 1943 and operated chiefly against enemy transportation in central Burma until 1944. Bombed bridges, locomotives, railroad yards, and other targets to delay movement of supplies to the Japanese troops fighting in northern Burma.
Most CBI Army Air Force units were highly mobile, and the 341st would shift locations frequently to keep Japanese forces off guard to their location and planned missions. The 341st Bomb Group usually functioned as if it were two groups and for a time as three. Soon after its activation in September 1942, 341st Bomb Group Headquarters and three of its squadrons the 22nd, 490th and 491st, and were stationed and operating in India under direction of the Tenth Air Force, while the 11th squadron was stationed and operating in China under direction of the "China Air Task Force", which was later reorganized and reinforced to become the Fourteenth Air Force.
Fourteen months later the Group Headquarters along with 22nd and the 491st squadrons joined the 11th squadron under the command of the Fourteenth Air Force. However most of the 490th "Burma Bridge Busters" remained under the command of Major-General Howard Davidson's Tenth Air Force. Still later the 11th Squadron and a detachment of the 491st operated for a time under the East China Task Force.[1]
From several airfields in China the group engaged primarily in sea sweeps and attacks against inland shipping. Also bombed and strafed such targets as trains, harbors, and railroads in French Indochina and the Canton-Hong Kong area of China. Received a DUC for developing and using a special (glip) bombing technique against enemy bridges in French Indochina.
The group moved to the US in October 1945. Inactivated on November 2, 1945.
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Active 19xx–Present
Country United States
Branch United States Air Force
Part of Air Force Global Strike Command
Garrison/HQ Malmstrom Air Force Base
Motto PAX ORBIS PER ARMA AERIA - World Peace Through Air Strength
Engagements Burma Campaign 1944-1945
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9th Air Refueling Squadron
Chakulia Airfield , India , 30 Nov 1942
The 9th Air Refueling Squadron (9th ARS) was initially activated in 1951, although its history can be traced back to the 9th Photographic Squadron of World War II. The 9th ARS has had many deployments to worldwide locations, and is still performing a global mission (some to remote forward operating location), during wartime, humanitarian operations, and exercises.
History
Established under First Air Force as a photo-reconnaissance squadron at Mitchell Field, New York. Operated over the Northeast United States flying reconnaissance missions over the Atlantic coast and Newfoundland shipping lanes, primarily operating early-model F-4 (P-51B) Mustangs.
Deployed to the China-Burma-India Theater of Operations (CBI) during the summer of 1943; being assigned to Headquarters, Tenth Air Force. Flights of F-5 (P-51D) photo-reconnaissance aircraft operated over a wide area of Burma; Thailand and China until the Japanese Capitulation in August 1945 obtaining aerial photos and reconnaissance of enemy positions and targets for heavy bomber attacks. Flew tactical reconnaissance missions to support United States and British ground forces in Burma.
Returned to the United States during the fall of 1945, inactivated in December.
Unit transferred their mission to worldwide air refueling, and with a name change to the 9th Air Refueling Squadron, Medium, received KB-29 tanker aircraft. They then began refueling operations from August 1951 to December 1965, January 1970 to January 1982, and from August 1982 through today, including support during the rescue of US nationals from Grenada in 1983, support for deployments to Southwest Asia from 1990 to 1991, and humanitarian airlift missions to Somalia in support of Operation Restore Hope during 1992–1993.
Following the events of 9/11 supported Operation Noble Eagle. Starting in October 2001 and continuing present day deployed in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. Starting in March 2003 and continuing present day deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
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Country United States
Branch United States Air Force
Size over 140 combat-ready personnel
Part of Air Mobility Command
Eighteenth Air Force
60th Air Mobility Wing
60th Operations Group
Garrison/HQ Travis Air Force Base
Motto "UNIVERSAL"
Equipment (12x) KC-10A Extender
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40th Air Expeditionary Wing
Chakulia AB , India, 2 April 1944 – 25 February 1945
The United States Air Force's 40th Air Expeditionary Wing (40 AEW) was an Air expeditionary unit located at Diego Garcia, in the Indian Ocean, from 2001 to c. 2006.
Its predecessor unit, the United States Army Air Force 40th Bombardment Group (40th BG) was part of Twentieth Air Force during World War II. The unit served primarily in the Pacific Ocean theater and China Burma India Theater of World War II. The 40th Bomb Group's aircraft engaged in very heavy bombardment B-29 Superfortress operations against Japan. . It's aircraft were identified by Triange "S".
In the postwar era, the 40th Bombardment Group was one of the original ten USAAF bombardment groups assigned to Strategic Air Command on 21 March 1946, however it was inactivated due to budget constraints on 1 August 1946. The unit was reactivated and elevated to Wing status in 1952 as a SAC B-47 Stratojet organization until the phaseout of the aircraft in 1964. Reactivated as a USAFE wing to be the host unit at Aviano Air Base, Italy in 1966 to provide support to Tactical Air Command deployed rotational elements until 1992.
World War II
The 40th Bombardment Group was constituted in Puerto Rico on 22 November 1940 and activated on 1 April 1941. The unit's operational squadrons (29th, 44th and 45th) were equipped with early B-17 Flying Fortresses and B-26 Marauder aircraft to train and patrol the Caribbean area, later to provide air defense of the Panama Canal after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.
With the diminished need for a Caribbean defense, the 40th was reassigned back to the United States and redesignated the 40th Bombardment Group (Very Heavy) in November 1943, being assigned to Pratt Army Airfield, Kansas and to the first B-29 Superfortress wing, the 58th Bombardment Wing. At Pratt, the group's squadrons (25th 44th, 45th, and 395th) engaged in transition training on the new aircraft and its new mission.
In March 1944, the group left the United States and deployed to a former B-24 Liberator airfield at Chakulia, India. In India, the group was assigned to the XX Bombardment Command of the new Twentieth Air Force. During the week of 15–22 April, no less than five 58th Bomb Wing B-29s crashed near Karachi all from overheated engines. The entire Wing had to be grounded en route until the cause was found. The cause was traced to the fact that the B-29's R-3350 engine had not been designed to operate at ground temperatures higher than 115 degrees F, which were typically exceeded in India. Modifications had also to be made to the aircraft and after these modifications, B-29 flights to India were resumed.
From India, the 40th Bomb Group planned to fly missions against Japan from airfields in China. However, all the supplies of fuel, bombs, and spares needed to support the forward bases in China had to be flown in from India over "The Hump" (the name given by Allied pilots to the eastern end of the Himalayan Mountains), since Japanese control of the seas around the Chinese coast made seaborne supply of China impossible. Many of the supplies had to be delivered to China by the B-29s themselves. For this role, they were stripped of nearly all combat equipment and used as flying tankers and each carried seven tons of fuel. The Hump route was so dangerous and difficult that each time a B-29 flew from India to China it was counted as a combat mission,
The first combat mission by the group took place on 5 June 1944 when squadrons of the 40th took off from India to attack the Makasan railroad yards at Bangkok, Thailand. This involved a 2261-mile round trip, the longest bombing mission yet attempted during the war.
On 15 June the group participated in the first American Air Force attack on the Japanese Home Islands since the Doolittle raid in 1942 when it took part in the bombing of Yawata. Operating from bases in India, and at times staging through fields in China, the group struck such targets as transportation centers, naval installations, iron works, and aircraft plants in Burma, Thailand, China, Japan, Indonesia, and Formosa, receiving a Distinguished Unit Citation for bombing iron and steel works at Yawata, Japan, on 20 August 1944. From a staging field in Ceylon, the 40th mined waters near the port of Palembang, Sumatra, in August 1944.
The group was reassigned to Tinian, in the Marianas February–April 1945, for further operations against Japan with the XXI Bomb Command. The 40th made daylight attacks from high altitude on strategic targets, participated in incendiary raids on urban areas, and dropped mines in Japanese shipping lanes. Received a Distinguished Unit Citation for attacking naval aircraft factories at Kure, oil storage facilities at Oshima, and the industrial area of Nagoya, in May 1945. Raided light metal industries in Osaka in July 1945, being awarded another DUC for this mission.
After V-J Day, the group dropped food and supplies to Allied prisoners in Japan, Korea, and Formosa, and took part in show-of-force missions.
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Active 22 November 1940–1964
2001-6
Country United States
Branch United States Air Force
Engagements World War II
American Campaign (1941–1944)
Asiatic-Pacific Campaign
(1944–1945)
Global War On Terrorism
Afghanistan Service (Dates TBA)
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58th Air Division
Chakulia AB , India , April 2–23, 1944
The 58th Air Division (58th AD) is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with Air Defense Command, based at Wright Patterson AFB, Ohio. It was inactivated on February 1, 1959.
Operations in India After much effort, The headquarters of the XX Bomber Command had been established at a former RAF airfield near Kharagpur, India on March 28, 1944 under the command of General Wolfe. The first B-29 reached its base in India on April 2, 1944. In India, existing airfields at Kharagpur, Chakulia, Piardoba and Dudkhundi had been converted for B-29 use. All of these bases were located in southern Bengal and were not far from port facilities at Calcutta. All of these bases had originally been established in 1942 – 43 for Tenth Air Force B-24 Liberators. The conditions at these bases were poor, and the runways were still in the process of being lengthened when the first B-29s arrived. The Headquarters of the 58th BW, together with the four squadrons of the 40th Bombardment Group (the 25th 44th, 45th, and 395th) were assigned to the airfield at Chakulia, the first planes arriving there on April 2, 1944. The Headquarters was moved to Kharagpur airfield on April 23. The 444th Bombardment Group (676th, 677th, 678th and 679th Squadrons) went to Charra, arriving there on April 11. The 462d Bombardment Group (768th, 769th, 770th, and 771st squadrons) to Piardoba, arriving there on April 7. The 468th Bombardment Group (792nd, 793rd, 794th and 795th Squadrons) arrived at Kharagpur on April 13. The 444th Bombardment Group later moved to a permanent airfield at Dudhkundi, leaving Charra to become a transport base for the C-87s and C-46s which would support the effort.
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Active April 22, 1943 – October 12, 1944;
February 1, 1945 – October 16, 1948;
May 3, 1955 – February 1, 1959
Country United States
Branch Air Force
Engagements World War II
Asiatic-Pacific Campaign
(1944–1945)
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Hellbird Herald |
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NEWS PUBLICATION OF THE XX BOMBER COMMAND |
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