Flying the Hump: In World War II Color

by Jeff Ethell, Don Downie

The capture of the Burma Road by the Japanese during World War II forced U.S. airmen to fly hundreds of missions a day into China in an airlift of epic proportions. Having to fly over the towering Himalayan Mountains, the pilots came to know this route as 'flying the hump'. The Hump was a pioneering aviation operation that had just about everything working against the forbidding mountains, the worst flying weather in the world, deadly Japanese fighters, the crudest of navigational aids, unproven aircraft, and inexperienced flight and maintenance crews. Military commanders considered a flight over the Hump to be more hazardous than a bombing mission over Europe. More than 1,300 pilots and crew members were lost and more than 500 transport planes crashed trying to make it. Flying the Hump contains more than 170 original color photographs depicting the lives of the pilots and their planes during this dangerous operation. Many Hump pilots shared their personal recollections of rare photos and many untold stories to comprise this book of seat-of-the-pants flying.

168 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 1995

Reviews

[A Cheung · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some rare photos of when the US united with China to fight the Japanese. The photos detail how pilots braved the Hump, a dangerous, turbulent air passageway from Kashmir through the Himalayas to bring all sorts of supplies into China. An important part of war history less known to the world.

[Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

During the war all types of materials had to be flown from India to China before the Stillwell Road was opened.