HUMP OVER HIMALAYAS

The great Himalayas have a hump too. And pilots from the time of commercial use of aircraft till today avoid flying over this hump, dreadful for flights. The “Hump” is the mountainous area at the eastern edge of the Himalayas bordering Chabua in Assam and Kunming in China. This was a notorious flight route during the Second World War used by the Allies to fly supplies into the West of China. It was vital in the war effort but is one of the most dangerous routes and only available option that time. There were heavy losses of both the men and the machines during the three- year operation.

To keep Allied forces fighting in China, US pilots had to fly a dangerous route over the Himalayas from Northeast India. “The Hump,” as the route was known, was incredibly dangerous, claiming more than 1,000 men and 600 planes during the war. “The Hump” was the nickname Allied pilots gave the airlift operation that crossed the Himalayas into China. It was the Army Air Force’s most dangerous airlift route, but it was also the only way to supply Chinese forces fighting Japan — and things weren’t going well for China. That time the US and China were part of allies against the Japan led Axis power.

World War II began in 1937 for Chiang Ki-Shek’s nationalist China leading to full scale war by two years. By the time the United States began running supplies to the Chinese forces fighting Japan, the Western part of the country was firmly controlled by the invading Japanese. The Japanese also controlled Burma, on Indo- China border, cutting off the last land route to the Chinese. Aid would have to come by air and American planes would have to come from the West — over the “Roof of the World.” But getting there was terribly frightening and fraught with unseen dangers.

The plan to bomb targets on the Japanese mainland involved flying B-29s loaded with fuel over the Hump from India into China. But when the planes landed at Shangdu ( in Yunnan province ) they would often have to take on fuel to ensure they could make the flight back home. Beyond the high risk of flying the Hump, it was incredibly dangerous. More than 1,000 men and 600 planes were lost over the 530-mile stretch of rugged terrain, and that’s a very conservative estimate. It was dubbed the “Skyway to Hell” for the number of planes that didn’t make it.

The American pilots were flying planes dubbed “The Flying Coffin” — at times. The mountain ranges of the Himalayas caused Jetstream-strength winds and dangerous weather at extreme altitudes. And when that doesn’t take you, a Japanese person will be there to catch. Pilots would plod along at ground speeds of around 30 miles per hour while the wind lifted their planes to 28,000 feet and then back to 6,000 shortly after. If pilots weren’t fighting ice storms or thunderstorms, they were fighting the Japanese.

That time the Army’s pilots were newly trained flying officers with little experience flying in extreme weather. Even Gen. Henry “Hap” Arnold — the only General of the Air Force ever bestowed such a title — got lost due to lack of oxygen flying the Hump. This may have added to the fatality rate on the route — a full one-third of the men flying it died there.

“The Hump,” as the route was known, was incredibly dangerous, claiming more than 1,000 men and 600 planes during the war. “The Hump” was the nickname Allied pilots gave the airlift operation that crossed the Himalayas into China.

Pilots traversing the route had to fly the Kali Gandaki River Gorge, a depression much wider and deeper than the Grand Canyon. The mountains surrounding the gorge were 10,000 feet higher than most of the planes could fly. The pass to escape the gorge was 15,000 high — but pilots couldn’t often see it. Specifically, this was between Assam in India and Kunming in China. Originally known as the “India China ferry,” it soon became referred to by the pilots that flew it as “The Hump.”

Pilots were issued fleece- lined jackets, boots, and gloves to keep their extremities from freezing during the flight. Lack of oxygen could cause pilots to veer off-course and into an almost certain death. C-46 cargo planes did not glide, their heavy engines causing an almost immediate dive. Once out of fuel, crews would have to bail out with minimal protection, cold weather gear, and nine rounds of a 45-caliber pistol.

Whether crashing or bailing out into the freezing cold or jumping into enemy-held territory, there would be no search and rescue mission coming for crews flying the Hump! A rescue crew would be subject to the same or more extreme cold weather and fuel issues as any other plane. In enemy territory, Japanese patrols would capture American pilots, torture them, then kill them. Part of the training regimen for Hump pilots included the right way to use the last bullet on oneself.

Besides the Hump, the geography in this part of the world bordering Northeastern India and southwestern China presents a lot of safety challenges for aircraft. If oxygen masks drop, the plane needs to descend to 10,000 feet quickly, otherwise, supplies of oxygen will run out. But dropping to 10,000 feet isn’t an option either over the Himalayas. The absence of available airports barring one in Kathmandu and the other in Lhasa making a hasty landing complicates the issue.

A further safety issue is the amount of clear air turbulence around the Himalayas. Clear air turbulence is hard to pick up on the radar, so difficult for pilots to spot, but high mountain ranges are breeding grounds for clear air turbulence. According to the Federal Aviation Administration, clear air turbulence is the number one cause of injuries to passengers and crew in non-fatal accidents.

Then there’s the problem of fuel freezes. The higher you fly, the colder the conditions. Jet fuel can freeze at -47 deg Celsius and high above the Himalayas, that’s a possibility. Normally, a plane would descend to a lower (and warmer) altitude to avert the problem. Obviously, overflying the Himalayas, this isn’t an option. Himalayan overflights do occur, not just very frequently.

The Himalayas also take in a politically sensitive border region. The Chinese heavily restrict commercial aircraft access over Tibet, generally only allowing Chinese airlines to overfly the region. Both the Chinese and Indian military conduct extensive exercises in and around the Himalayas, and there can be substantial military traffic in the area.

And flying over the hump was so rare that pilots and crew who succeeded and survived in flying over the bulge and survived had formed an exclusive association named Hump Pilot Association. The Hump Pilots Association was dissolved in 2005, but their legacy lives on.

Source: Himalayan News Chronicle