Over the Hump: Remembering WWII's Most Perilous Air Route
This story is another tribute to Rosie and Ed's contribution to the quality of WW2 equipment.
Few regions on earth match the formidable peaks of the Himalayas. Now imagine flying overloaded cargo planes through those mountains in unpredictable weather, your only path a narrow air corridor plagued by extreme turbulence, ice, and winding valleys. Along a narrow skyway about 50 miles wide that could extend 1,000 miles in length, Hump planes flew over scenes that would have been familiar to Ghengis Khan.
This was the dire challenge faced by Allied pilots during World War II airlifting supplies from India to China over terrain dubbed "The Hump." Braving the world's highest mountains, pilots confronted near-constant danger on flights that killed over 1,500 crew and passengers.
Maj Gen William H. Tunner, who led the operation, described the route as one where weather changed "from minute to minute, from mile to mile." Planes might rapidly descend thousands of feet into the hot jungle only to swiftly rise to subzero heights. Thunderclouds concealed turbulence and winds so violent they flipped aircraft upside down.
As Ted White, a journalist who flew the route, recounted, planes were frequently blown hundreds of miles off course, crashing into peaks pilots didn't even know were nearby. One plane iced up in a storm with Chinese soldiers lacking parachutes onboard. The crew had no choice but to attempt a hazardous crash landing. Radio operators fielded endless mayday calls from aircraft in mortal distress. Nine planes once fell in a single storm, a brutal testimony to the unforgiving route.
Yet through skill and sacrifice, flight crews kept The Hump open, hauling 650,000 tons of cargo that proved pivotal in the Allies war effort. Newly-trained American and Chinese aviators took to American-built planes day and night to supply distant allies. They battled not just the enemy but the relentless mountains themselves.
A transport aircraft originally designed for commercial use, the Curtiss C-46 Commando played a significant role in World War II. The C-46 had powerful engines and a long-range, making it suitable for operations over vast distances, including over the "Hump" in the China-Burma-India theater. A few performance issues plagued the C-46, designed initially as a commercial plane. As a tribute to Rosie and American ingenuity, the C-46 was modified and improved in response to these challenges. More robust airframes, better engines, and upgraded systems enhanced its reliability and performance. The C-46 Commando is remembered for its significant contributions during World War II, especially in the China-Burma-India theater. It was a critical asset in airlifting supplies over the Himalayas, a dangerous and vital mission. The aircraft's legacy is marked by its role in these challenging operations, overcoming early quality issues to become a dependable workhorse in extreme conditions.
The Hump flights represent both humanity's ability to achieve the impossible and the steep price nature can exact for such hubris. However, one of the stories behind this story is a tale of Rosie the Riveter and America's wartime industrial revolution of creating high-quality jeeps, tanks, and airplanes.
