The Wilmington morning star. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1909-1990, 1944-04-25
INDIAN INVASION
PLANNED AT MEET

WASHlNGlOIN, -ADTI A4-'HlT
The War Department disclosed to-
day that the airborne invasion of
Japanese-held Burma by British
forces and American airmen was
planned at the Quebec conference
Of President Roosevelt, Prime Min
lister Churchill and Anglo-Ameri.
can military leaders last August.
The official announcement of
the planning and carrying out of
the invasion last month served to
emphasize the long interval neces-
sary to blueprint, train and equip
the complicated operations of
World War lin this instance, al
most eight months.
The idea of having specially
trained "air commando force fly
the jungle fighters of Maj. Gen..
Orde C. Wingate over the heads
of the enemy and land them be-
hind the Japanese lines was in
spired by Wingate's earth-bound
expedition into Burma in the
spring of 1943, the department
said. Wingate's columns in that
operation were supplied by air
the new idea was to take them in
by air, supply them and literally
set up a beachhead in the interior,
rather than on the edge of enemy
territory.
General H. H. Arnold, AAF COM
mander, was given the go-ahead
by the Quebec conferees. His first
action was to appoint Col. Philip
C. Cochran and Col. John R. Ali
son, both already famous veter-
ans of air fighting, to organize the
mission and to issue this one terse
order:
'To hell with paperwork. Go out
and fight"
In Washington hotel room, the
two colonies began creating tn e
air commando force, then flew to
England to coordinate their i I
plans with Wingate's ideas.
The glider men were picked
from volunteers assembled at Sey,
mour Johnson field, Goldsboro, N
&c. Late in 1913, the nucleus o.
the air commando force left fol
India. There, for months, officers
and men sweated in heat n
soaked in rain preparing two fields
and assembling and training add
tional personnel.
Two landing targets were con-
sidered; one finally used.
The jump-off from India was a
6:12 pm. on March S. Twenty-si sis
lC-47 transports with multiple tows
of CG-4A elders were in the frs
wave. Of 81 elders dispatched
that night and not recalled, 81
landed at the selected spot, eigh
. came down in friendly territory
and nine in enemy-held areas.
The elders, carrying fighters
engineers and bulldozers, landed il
tn. rough opening in the Burmese
jungle in the dark.
Thirty men were killed and 5;
injured; almost all the gliders
were damaged or destroyed; foul
bulldozers were landed. but n {
was put out of commission in the
landing.
A radio was set up and order:
went back to stop second wave
of two planes and elders.
More than 500 men had b e 7
landed by the gliders. The engi
neers and the bulldozers went tt
work. By the following night ar
airfield had been built and 81 trip:
by big CAT transport planes hae
added hundreds of more men tt
the garrison. For seven days, thou
sands of men (the original plans
called for troops ''up to strength
of a division'') climbed out of ar
uninterrupted chain of planes shut
Ting from India to the j u n g {
|beachhead. A half-million pound:
of supplies, 1,183 mules and liz
| ponies were on the ground.
. The American air force had de
, livered Wingate's men, their weap
ons and their supplies in the enc
: my's back yard.