Myitkyina Airport is an airport in
Myitkyina,
Burma .
Airlines and destinations
History
Built before
World War II as
Myitkyina Airfield, the airfield was captured by the
Imperial Japanese Army on 8 May 1942 during the
Japanese conquest of Burma. During the occupation, it was used by the Japanese Air Force as a fighter base, attacking Allied aircraft flying "
the Hump" transport supply missions between
India and
China.
The airfield was attacked on numerous missions by
Tenth Air Force and
Royal Air Force fighter and bombers until being driven from the Myitkyina area by
Merrill's Marauders (officially named the 6th Ranger Battalion-5307th Composite Unit (provisional)) on 17 May 1944.
Once in Allied hands, the
3d Combat Cargo Group moved in with
C-47 Skytrains and used Myitkyina as a combat resupply airfield, air-dropping pallets of supplies and ammunition to the advancing Allied forces on the ground. In January 1945, the
80th Fighter Group flew
P-47 Thunderbolts from the field until 24 May 1945. The
1st Combat Cargo Group then moved in with C-47s and remained until August when elements of the
4th Combat Cargo Group replaced them. The 4th CCG operated supply and passenger flights between the airfield and China until December 1945 when American forces pulled out of the area at the end of the war.
References
- Maurer, Maurer. Air Force Combat Units Of World War II. Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama: Office of Air Force History, 1983. ISBN 0-89201-092-4
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