Avengers Cross “the Hump”
Lt. Col Irving L. (“Twig”) Branch, in command of the 1st Bomb Group, was a favorite among the men who served under him. R. L. Logan Collection, courtesy of Katherine A. Logan.
Maj. Gen. Claire Lee Chennault’s Chinese-American Composite Wing (Provisional) was the only one of its kind in the world.
His purpose was to rehabilitate the Chinese Air Force fighting under Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek, head of the Republic of China, and to provide good will and understanding between the Chinese and Americans for the future. Formally activated on October 1, 1943, at Malir, just northeast of Karachi, India (now part of Pakistan), it was made up of one bomb group and two fighter groups, with four squadrons each. The CACW’s personnel comprised Chinese and American at every level of organization, from cooks to commanding officers. Its operational units, fighter and bombardment, were jointly commanded by both American and Chinese Air Force officers, and its aircraft were jointly manned by American and Chinese pilots and aircrewmen.
The first squadron that began training with the 1st Bombardment Group (P) after its organization was designated at completion as the 2nd Bombardment Squadron (P). Information that came in from numerous sources as the squadron's training neared an end forewarned that additional air strength would be required in China very soon. The Japanese occupation of the Asian mainland continued to move forward, and threats on all fronts appeared increasingly ominous.
Enemy reinforcements had arrived in the Canton-Hong Kong area and in Indochina, while a sudden increase in activity around Hankow and farther north was also observed. In Burma and western China, Japanese reinforcements were making themselves felt in a twin drive from Myitkyina and Teng-chung toward the north and east. Should the Japanese launch offensives simultaneously in all these sectors, the 14th Air Force would be hard pressed to cling to its limited sphere of operation. If the Japanese were to launch drives south toward Changsha, northwest from Canton-Hong Kong, and northeast from Indochina, the eastern airbases might be jeopardized, and if a drive across the Salween River succeeded or if a northwestern drive from Indochina materialized, Kunming itself would be in peril. Although enemy land offensives had been checked in the past, the small air strength of the Americans would be spread too thin if several of them should come at the same time, and Chinese armies would be incapable of stopping any determined Japanese drives.
The 2nd Bombardment Squadron (“Avengers") of the 1st Bombardment Group and the 28th and 32nd Fighter Squadrons of the 3rd Fighter Group received movement orders on October 17, 1943, and became the Wing's first increment to move to China. They flew their planes over “the Hump”—the name given by Allied pilots to the eastern end of the Himalayan Mountains—to provide air support for Chiang Kai-shek's ground forces in accordance with Chennault's plan. The 2nd Bomb Squadron’s six B-25s, under the command of Maj. Tom Foley, became the first CACW unit to reach China, arriving at Yangkai in South China on October 25, 1943.
When the first of the CACW's planes made their way across the “Hump,” one of the C-47 transport planes went down. Lost were 1st Lt. Adrian P. Stroud, five American enlisted men, five Chinese pilots, and five Chinese enlisted men (personnel of the 28th Fighter Squadron, 3rd Fighter Group), as well as a Chinese major general and his aide. Their bodies were recovered and buried by Chinese villagers, according to post-war reports.
Flying one of the 2nd squadron’s Mitchells, 2Lt. Mark T. Seacrest attempted the crossing on October 25 but was forced to turn back to change out an engine. With a minimal crew that included Sgt. William T. Earley Jr., he successfully reached Kunming the following day. Both men later transferred to the 3rd Bomb Squadron when it was activated. Seacrest, promoted to major, served as a flight leader, operations officer, and briefly commander of the squadron, and Earley was its first sergeant.
Hazardous conditions caused some of the 2nd Bomb Squadron's B-25s to delay crossing until conditions improved. Within a few days of the first attempt, the next contingent of three bombers led by group commander Lt. Col. Irving L. ("Twig") Branch followed, and finally the remaining three.
Lt. William L. Daniels, who later assisted in training of 3rd squadron Chinese airmen, was the pilot of one of the last three 2nd squadron planes to make the move. He recorded the experience in his personal flight log/diary on November 3: "We took off from Chabua at 1000 this morning to cross the 'Hump' and for what counts as our first combat mission. The Japs patrol this section and have shot down a few transports. We climbed to 17,500 feet and then just missed some of the high ridges. The mountain ranges run north and south and it is the most rugged country in the world.” The compass of the lead plane stuck, taking them fifty miles off course. "About halfway over my right engine began to foul up and smoke. I stayed with the formation until we arrived over Kunming. Then my engine quit and I went in on one engine. The field is 6000 ft high and I landed down wind to avoid circling. Made it okay. . . . I will have to have an engine change here."
Other CACW squadrons did not remain long at Malir after training but moved on to China according to Chennault's schedule. The 1st Bomb Squadron completed training and crossed “the Hump” to join the 2nd Bomb Squadron in mid-January 1944. With its B-25s flew P-40s assigned to the 7th and 8th Fighter Squadrons, 3rd Fighter Group. The 4th Bomb Squadron, with the 26th and 29th Fighter Squadrons of the recently-activated 5th Fighter Group, was the next to complete training and make the move on March 17. The 3rd Bomb Squadron, preceded by the 17th and 27th Fighter Squadrons, was the final CACW to make the move to China, touching down at Kweilin (Guilin) between early and mid- September 1944.
Read more of this amazing story in The Spray and Pray Squadron: 3rd Bomb Squadron, 1st Bomb Group, Chinese-American Composite Wing in World War II!