'Hump' pilots mark 65th reunion

  • Published
  • By Christin Navitsky
  • Joint Base Charleston Public Affairs
JOINT BASE CHARLESTON, S.C. --  During World War II, they flew C-47 Skytrains and B-24 Liberators, providing supplies to Chinese soldiers fighting the Japanese after the Burma Road was shut down. Their aircraft were often loaded with 10,000 pounds of gasoline, food, ammunition and bombs.

And they did all this flying across the Himalayan Mountains, the highest mountain range in the world.

The remaining five Army Air Corps "Hump" pilots visited here May 5 as part of their 65th reunion to commemorate their heroic actions during World War II.

Although their actions have gone down in history as some of the most heroic exploits of the war, they will be the first to look back at those days with humor and an insight that comes from years of wisdom.

"I enjoy these reunions," said 91 year-old Tex Rankin from Fort Worth, Texas. "Every time we meet, the Himalayan Mountains get higher and the weather gets worse. There are more Japanese fighters in the sky than there were in the whole fleet."

During World War II, the Japanese had cut off all supply lines to the Chinese fighters. The U.S. military devised a plan to fly over the Himalayan Mountains and help supply China with the necessary equipment and supplies needed to fight and survive.

They coined the term Hump pilots as a tribute to the hump of the treacherous Himalayan Mountains. The mountain peaks were dangerous, the winds were unpredictable and the World War II aircraft did not have the navigational equipment and avionics of today.

"We flew without global positioning; all we had was a radio compass," said 86-year-old Don Marshall from Scottsdale, Ariz.

A typical flight to China would take two hours due to 100-knot tailwinds. The flight home could take up to 10 hours as the planes got battered by extreme headwinds while they climbed to gain altitude to get over the mountains.

"We were inexperienced pilots and had never encountered a weather terrain like this before," Mr. Marshall said. "The Himalayas ran north to south and we flew east to west. This was the first we learned of vortex winds, the jet stream and the effect of headwinds."

Terrain and weather weren't the only obstacles. The C-47 many of the Hump pilots flew was a new aircraft, rushed into production. Most of the kinks were worked out flying actual missions as the crews encountered numerous problems in the air.

Bill McKarn, 88, from Bryan, Ohio, shared a story about one mission flown on Christmas day. While he was en-route, the base at which he was scheduled to land came under attack. Due to the air raid, it was impossible to safely land his plane loaded with valuable cargo. He was forced to remain airborne until night. Finally, low on fuel and completely exhausted, he had no choice except to land the plane in the dark, flying by total recall.

"It was so dark you, couldn't see anything but black," Mr. McKarn said.

The next morning, on the return flight, Mr. McKarn had to keep the plane at 12,000 feet just so he and his crew could breathe, but had to climb to 14,000 feet to avoid hitting the top of the mountain peaks. He described the trip as thrilling and exciting.

"We are the reason they coined the term 'flying by the seat of your pants'," Mr. McKarn said. "I have always compared it to the feeling of putting a cork in a washing machine."

During their reunion and visit to Joint Base Charleston, the Airmen, all in their 80s and 90s, had the chance to see the capabilities of today's Air Force.

"Real technological airplanes amaze me," said Bill Thomas, 91, from Charleston, S.C., while climbing down the cockpit stairs of the C-17 Globemaster III. "I have never seen such machines with such capabilities."

"A couple of these C-17s could have replaced all the work we did on those C-47 planes," Mr. Rankin added.

Speaking on behalf of the other reunion attendees, Mr. Thomas expressed their gratitude for the base tour.

"One thing has not changed since I arrived at Charleston Air Force Base in 1967, and that is the great relationship with the community," he said. "The support is wonderful."