4th Combat Cargo Group The 4th Combat Cargo Group was a World War II United States Army Air Forces combat organization that served in Tenth Air Force as part of the China Burma India Theater of World War II . Overview . Combat Cargo Groups were to be self - contained groups , capable of being 100 % operational and always ready to go at a moments notice . The mission of the group was : Seeing that these new units were to be carrying cargo into the heart of the battle , the units were called Combat Cargo Groups . History . Operational history . Constituted as 4th Combat Cargo Group on 9 June 1944 and activated at Syracuse AAB , NY , on 13 June Initial aircraft assigned was the Douglas C - 47 . About the time training was completed in the C - 47s , the Group moved to Bowman Field , KY , and converted to the larger C - 46 aircraft . The Group deployed to CBI during November over the South Atlantic transport route starting at Morrison Field , Florida . Upon arriving at Sylhet Airfield , India on 28 November 1944 , initial flying consisted of air - lifting tar and other airport construction materials from the upper Assam Valley to recently recaptured Myitkyina in northern Burma . On 15 December the Group was formally assigned to the Combat Cargo Task Force . The goal of the Task Force , a first in the annals of combat , was to provide the total logistic support of ground fighting forces ; an army being completely dependent on air support for its continued existence . The 4th Group started moving supplies into Imphal , India , to develop stockpiles of materiel for the XIV Army imminent drive south . return trips consisted of transporting wounded and passengers to Calcutta or Commilla , India . Sylhet was not a British supply point so the air crews had to go first to Commilie to pick up the supplies destined for Imphal . At the end of December , the 4th Group moved to Agartala , a supply point south of Sylhet . During this period , the XIV Army had progressed south to the Kabaw Valley and supplies were air - lifted over the 10 , 000 foot mountains to dirt airstrips quickly hacked out of the jungle . When the XIV Army reached Kalewa , heavy Japanese resistance was encountered . The British forces prevailed and the bridge allowing access to the central Burmese plain was secured . The XIV Army ' s two Corps split at this time , the 33rd turned east , heading towards Mandalay , while the 4th Corps continued south following the Myittha River On 5 January 1945 , the 4th Group moved from Agartala to Chittagong , India . Chittagong , a large cosmopolitan city on the Bay of Bengal was a major port , rail and highway terminus . This move was accomplished without reduction of the cargo flights to Burma . During early February , the Task Force was supplying the 4th Corps as it moved south with Kan on the Myittha River being a major resupply point ; and the 33rd Corps further east at a constantly changing set of dirt strips . Operations included moving equipment and materials for the Ledo Road ; transporting men , mules , and boats when the Allies crossed the Irrawaddy River in February 1945 ; and dropping Gurkha paratroops during the assault on Rangoon in May 1945 . Moved to Burma in June 1945 and hauled ammunition , gasoline , mules , and men to China until the war ended . After the war ended , some elements of the 4th Group were moved to Shanghai , China . There they assisted in moving Chinese troops to areas in northern china where the communist were beginning to rebel . In February 1946 , the 4th combat cargo group was moved back to Panaagarh , India , where it was ultimately inactivated on 9 February 1946 .