大象传媒

OVER THE MOUNTAINS TO CHINA Thomas Fraser
LAC 1076099, 159 Squadron, C Flight

When the Japanese overran Burma and the famous Burma road was cut off as a means of supplying China it was necessary to find some other way of assisting our Ally. With all land routes closed and the sea lanes dominated by Japanese war ships, supplies had to be flown in by air. The U.S.A.A.F. who had more resources available than the R.A.F, began a high priority air service from Johat in the Assam valley to run Kunming in China. This service was later augmented by transport planes flying directly from the Calcutta area.

Whichever route the planes took they had to cross the mountains between Assam or Burma and China. They vary in height from 10,000 feet to over 20,000 feet and are usually referred to as 鈥淭he Hump鈥�. The uncertainty of the weather over these mountains was the chief danger to successful flying. A clear blue sky changed into a mass of clouds in a very short time. Planes were forced to fly at high altitudes to avoid bad weather and the danger of ice forming which caused them to lose height and possible crash on the mountains. It was on the 27th February 1945 that I got the chance to fly across 鈥淭he Hump鈥� to China.

It was 鈥淐鈥� Flights term of duty crew at Digri in Bengal when a visiting Liberator landed. The outside of the plane was covered with dust, not the red powdery dust of Bengal but light coloured dust, such as we hadn鈥檛 seen in our travels from the jungle of Ceylon to the dreary sunbaked plains of North East India. The air crew were members of our Squadron, this made us wonder where they had come from. We were told to get the aircraft read by flying the following day and fill all fuel tanks to capacity. In the bomb-bay of the aircraft there were four fuel tanks, which was unusual. Two were quite common as these aircraft had often to fly for fully 20 hours when on bombing operations. All the guns and gun mountings, also anything unnecessary for flying had been removed.

In the evening our flight sergeant entered the billet where I was sitting writing, he asked me if I would like to fly to China with the Liberator that had arrived that day. Two engine mechanics L.A.Cs Fairley and Mitchell were going but they needed an airframe mechanic too. We were required to service the aircraft at Kunming as they were flying petrol over the Hump for R.A.F planes operating over the Jap held territory. It was a chance to see China so I agreed to go.

The three of us were ready before daybreak, dressed in our Air Force blue in place or our usual khaki drill. We packed our kits and blankets in the plane, then got it ready for the arrival of the aircrew. When we were already, we took our places on the flight deck. Soon we were taxiing towards the runway. With the nose of the aircraft heading into the wind, the Pilot gave the engines the final run up. Then the control tower gave the signal to take off.

The pilot opened up the throttles and the four powerful engines roared, the plane seemed slow in gathering speed. Halfway along the runway it seemed as if she was too slow to rise off the ground, but the engines kept roaring as the propellers threshed the air. We would soon know if she would rise, a few hundred yards from the end of the tar-macadam strip, we felt her lifting slightly. We knew that it was now or never. The control column was pulled back slightly by the Pilot to place the elevators a few degrees above the tail plane. This was cause the air stream to force down the rear of the aircraft. The pull of the engines lifted up the nose, she wavered then began to rise. The wheels were clear of the ground and we were airborne.

We had to take a route that would not require flying more than about 14,000 thousand feet above sea level, as the three of us had been unable to get oxygen masks or parachutes at such short notice. We flew south of Imphal where the Japs had hemmed in the 14th army. The famous 14th were now on the road to Mandalay, which Rudyard Kipling had written about many years before. We were within range of Jap fighters but the only means of defence we had were the aircrew's revolvers and jungle knives.

As we flew on we saw many scattered villages surrounded by paddy fields. We flew over the Brahmaputra, Chindwin and Irrawady rivers, winding their various ways through the jungles and mountains of Burma to the sea. Through the breaks in the clouds we saw the towns of Katha and Bhamo and the Burma Road, twisting and turning its way over the mountains to China. Flying conditions had been quite good for the first part of the journey but a change was taking place, the clouds began to gather and they grew larger and blacker as we flew on. We felt cold despite all the clothes we had on. We unrolled our blankets and wrapped them around us, the clouds closed in, they got lower. If we had climbed a few thousand feet we might have got above the clouds but three of us were without oxygen masks.

We headed for a bank of clouds as we couldn鈥檛 get round them, neither could we get under them, as we might hit the mountains. Then what a pilot dreads, happened, our aircraft started to ice up, just gradually at first it formed around the engines and on the leading edge of the main planes and tail unit. Our de-icing equipment had been removed as with the majority of liberators in South East Asia Command.

The clouds prevented us from seeing the outside of the aircraft, we shivered. The plane lost height, the indicator needle dropped, we couldn鈥檛 afford to lose even a few hundred feet in height, even though our instruments were recording about 14,000 feet above sea level. About 1,000 feet below were the mountains. A break in the clouds let us see the main planes. The ice had grown thicker the clouds closed in again. The observer came up from his place in the nose of the plane and spoke to the Pilot. They studied the maps and glanced at the height indicator. My two ground crew mates and myself were without parachutes. Securely tied to one of the aircrew we should have a chance but 1,000 feet or so didn鈥檛 give a parachute much chance to open out and deposit us gently on Burma鈥檚 rugged mountains, especially with a double load.

We watched the instruments. The plane shivered and rocked, the needle fell back again. We had struck an air pocket, then the plane steadied herself again and regained the few hundred feet we had dropped. The clouds became thinner, we saw the main planes again and the ice had started to melt. The clouds grew whiter. Then they opened out as if to make room for us. We saw ice disappearing from the aircraft, we saw the mountains beneath us. We saw the black clouds above us, while ahead, we saw patches of clear blue sky.

The map indicated we were nearing the border of China, so we had a drink of coffee from the thermos flask and a sandwich. We kept a lookout for a stretch of water which was near to Kunming. We spotted it, then saw the town below and headed for the airfield. The wireless operator received the signal from the U.S.A.A.F. to land. The undercarriage was lowered as the aircraft made the customary circuit.

Her nose dipped towards the earth. The earth seemed to rise towards her nose, the Pilot and Co-pilot gripped their control columns firmly with both hands as they kept the rudder bar in position with their feet. The fuel laden aircraft wasn鈥檛 going to be easy to handle in the cross wind that was blowing. The starboard wing dipped but she levelled out again. Only a few hundred feet to go, the runway seemed to be rising to meet us. We took a grip of what was nearest to us and braced ourselves for the shock. She shook! She had touched down and was now racing along the runway. The engine slowed down and the pilot applied the brakes, then taxied the plane towards the petrol storage tanks.

We were very cold as Kunming was 6,000 feet above sea level. While the petrol was pumped out of the aircraft tanks we watched other planes landing. A U.S.A.A.F. Liberator approached with a stationery propeller and straps hanging from the bomb bay. That meant an engine had failed and they had jettisoned their bomb bay tanks. It was on the same job as we were on. Then a Dakota with the R.A.F markings landed. They gave us the customary thumbs up as they taxied past.

Later another U.S.A.A.F. plane landed, then the Americans gathered in groups to discuss something. We were told later that it was the rations plane, it lost height rapidly and the aircrew had to jettison that week鈥檚 beer supply!!

When our tanks had been emptied, with the exception of several hundred gallons needed to fly the plan over to Johat the next day the O.K. in charge of the petrol storage was questioned by his officer for giving us credit for more petrol than we had flown in but the O.K. assured him that even though it was a record, the figures were genuine.

We went by 鈥楯eep鈥� to a bungalow on the outskirts of Kunming, later the crew of the Dakota arrived. They told us they had flown over at 22,000 feet and wondered how we managed to get safely over at 13,000 to 14,000 feet. The ground crew got the same food as the officers and N.C.O.s. We had taken the rough with them and now we could take the smooth. The next day we were up early to get the aircraft ready to fly to Assam for more petrol. They took off with just enough fuel to take them there. About noon the R.A.F Dakota took off accompanied by a U.S.A.A.F. plane, they were on special duties over Jap held territory.

After dinner we walked into the town to see the shops, the prices were several times as much as they were in India. When we changed ten Rupee notes into Chinese money we got a handful of dollar notes in exchange, inflation had struck China. In the main street we saw posters which read 鈥榃elcome to the first convoys over the Burma Road鈥�, the Chinese were sincere, the road was not long opened. We went to the drome after tea to wait for our aircraft arriving, after an hour or two it didn鈥檛 seem very hopeful. They sky got cloudy and before long the Hump was closed for flying, as it was too dangerous. We watched the sky until it was dark. They didn鈥檛 appear! We counted up their fuel and the mileage, it was touch and go.

Next morning an Army Officer arrived at the bungalow to collect the kit of the Dakota aircrew. They wouldn鈥檛 cross the Hump again. The U.S.A.A.F. plane returned owing to bad weather, the R.A.F flew on. 鈥楶er Ardua Ad Astra鈥�. We heard later that it had been brought down.

We were still waiting on news of our aircraft. Later in the day we were told that they would arrive the following day, weather permitting. When they landed they told us that they had had only sufficient petrol to take them to Johat. They had to climb over 22,000 feet, then struck a head wind, this used up extra petrol. When they checked their fuel gauges and compared it with the amount required to reach Johat, they donned their parachutes. They reached the airfield and were permitted to land in an emergency instead of the usual method of circling and dropping one or two thousand feet on each circuit, similar to going down a spiral staircase. When they dipped their tanks only 20 gallons remained for a four engine aircraft.

They continued flying to Johat and back each day for fully a week and brought in much needed petrol. The ground crew had to examine the plane after each trip and get it ready to fly the next day. We had trouble with engines, hydraulics and wheels and had to get new parts from the U.S.A.A.F. stores. We got practical experience of Lease Lend, as all parts had to be signed for on forms stating these terms.

About a week after we had arrived we were told that we would have to vacate the bungalow as Lord Louis Mountbatten C.inC. S.E.A. was visiting Kunming and the bungalow was needed for his staff. As the aircraft was due a minor inspection, we decided to return to India.

We had a better trip on our return journey and got a good view of the Burma Road, the ragged mountains and the huge stretches of jungle as we flew over Burma. We arrived at Alipore, Calcutta then took off for Jessore, where the aircraft would be overhauled before we returned to China.

漏 Copyright of content contributed to this Archive rests with the author. Find out how you can use this.