Chabua Air Force Station  | |||||||||||
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 The base in 1944 | |||||||||||
| Summary | |||||||||||
| Airport type | Military | ||||||||||
| Operator | Indian Air Force | ||||||||||
| Location | Chabua,Assam,India | ||||||||||
| Elevation AMSL | 367 ft / 112 m | ||||||||||
| Coordinates | 27°27′44″N095°07′05″E / 27.46222°N 95.11806°E /27.46222; 95.11806 | ||||||||||
| Map | |||||||||||
  VECA Location of Chabua Air Force Station, India Show map of Assam VECA VECA (India) Show map of India | |||||||||||
| Runways | |||||||||||
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Chabua Air Force Station (ICAO:VECA) is anIndian Air Force base located atChabua ofDibrugarh district in thestate ofAssam,India.
This Base was built in 1939. DuringWorld War II it was a major supply point for the ferrying of supplies to GeneralissimoChiang Kai-shek's forces in and aroundKunming, China. This was known as "Flying the Hump".
TheJapanese occupation of Burma in 1942 had cut off theBurma Road, the last land route by which the Allies could deliver aid to the Chinese Government of Chiang Kai-shek. Until theBurma Road could be retaken and theLedo Road completed, the only supply route available was the costly and dangerous route for transport planes over the Himalayas between India'sAssam Valley and Kunming, China. This route became known as theHimalayan Hump or simplyThe Hump.
Operated initially by theUnited States Army Air Forces Ferrying Command (laterAir Transport Command) China Ferrying Command (later ATC India China Wing). The 1st Ferrying (later Transport) Group operated three squadrons ofC-47 Skytrain andC-46 Commando aircraft from Chabua. The airfield was also an important layover stop of the ATCKarachi-Kunming air transport route. Flights operated west toAgra Airport,Willingdon Airfield (New Delhi),Gaya Airport,Assam (Borjhar Airport) and east intoDali Airport, andKunming (Wujiaba Airport) inChina
While the route kept the transports relatively free from enemy attack (Enemy action destroyed only seven aircraft, killing 13 men) it led over rugged terrain, through violent storms, with snow and ice at the higher altitudes the planes flew over the mountains. Flying the Himalayan Hump would turn out to be some of the most dangerous flying in the world. Over the course of action there were 460 aircraft and 792 men lost. Still, the operations were a success. There were 167,285 trips that moved 740,000 tons of material to support Chinese troops and other Allied forces.
In addition to the ATC transport units, elements of theTenth Air Force380th Bombardment Group,375th Bombardment Squadron operatedB-24 Liberators from the airfield, flying long range bombardment missions intoBurma, southChina,Thailand (Bangkok) and well asFrench Indochina (Haiphong). A total of 8 B-24s were lost. Also the B-24s were used to ferry aircraft fuel into China.
The airfield was abandoned after World War II. IAF commenced operations from this airfield in 1962 amid increased tensions with China and following theannexation of Tibet by the People's Republic of China. Initially Dakotas and Vampires, later Hunters, Otters and Mi-4 helicopters commenced air operations from Chabua air base. In the mid-seventies, subsequent to the runway upgradation and renovation.
No. 14 Wing
This article incorporatespublic domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
Media related toChabua Air Force Station at Wikimedia Commons
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