The Arunachal Government will soon inaugurate the Hump
WW2 Museum, which will showcase remnants of an aircraft that crashed in
Arunachal Pradesh during World War II, said Chief Minister Pema Khandu.
This unique museum in East Sinag district’s Pasighat
will pay tributes to ‘Hump Operation’, one of the most remarkable feats of
aviation history, he said.
During World War II, the Allied Forces led by United
States flew supplies to Chinese forces against the Japanese during the war over
the Himalayas. The route was known as ‘The Hump’ because of the altitude of the
Eastern Himalayas.
However, many of their aircraft went missing in
Arunachal Pradesh and were never found in the remote jungles and mountains.
“The Hump route traverses regions of Arunachal
Pradesh, Assam, Tibet, Yunnan (China) and Myanmar, and it is estimated that
nearly 650 aircraft crashed in these areas during World War II due to the
extreme flying conditions,” said Khandu, after reviewing the progress of the
ongoing work.
“The Hump WW2 Museum’ will showcase the remnants of an
American aircraft that crashed in the State during World War II and other
important artefacts related to these events.
“The museum is nearing completion and will be
inaugurated soon,” informed the Chief Minister.
The museum is being set up at the initiative of Khandu
and the Arunachal Government is planning to invite United States ambassador to Bharat
for the inauguration, said an official.
In 1942, when the Japanese Army blocked the 1,150 km
Burma Road, a mountain highway connecting Lashio in present-day Myanmar and
Kunming in China, the US-led allied forces had to undertake one of the biggest
airlifts in aviation history.
The pilots of the Allied forces nicknamed the route “The
Hump” because their aircraft had to navigate deep gorges and then quickly fly
over mountains rising beyond 10,000 feet.
From 1942 to 1945, military aircraft transported
nearly 6,50,000 tonnes of supplies like fuel, food and ammunition from
airfields in Assam to those in Yunnan in China.
The mountains of Arunachal Pradesh often get
unpredictable weather within minutes, zero visibility within seconds and sudden
heavy winds, making it difficult for planes and choppers to fly even now.
According to a US Embassy handout in 2017,
investigators from the Defence POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) returned to Bharat
that year to continue the search for remains of US personnel missing since
World War II.
In 2016, the DPAA deployed a team to northeast Bharat for
30 days in search of remains of unaccounted-for US airmen. The 2017 was their
fifth mission to Bharat since 2013.
“There are approximately 400 US airmen missing in
India, most of whose remains are believed to be located in the Himalayan
Mountains in northeast India.
“During World War II, the United States provided
supplies to the Chinese Army by flying over the Himalayas, a route known as ‘The
Hump’. Many of these aircraft went missing and were never found in the
mountainous terrain,” the US embassy had said.
NE Watch Desk With PTI Inputs
