When I was in Chungking, I often needed to travel to the British military headquarters in India for official business. At that time, all sea routes from Chungking to the outside world had been blocked by the Japanese army. The only way was to take an American transport plane from Wujiaba Airport in Kunming to fly over the Himalayas to Dinjan in northern India. Because the C-46 and C-47 transport planes used at that time had limited flight altitude, they could not fly directly over the mountaintops and could only circle around one valley after another, hence the name "The Hump".
This was an extremely dangerous route. Due to the treacherous terrain, unpredictable weather, and frequent attacks by Japanese aircraft, more than 500 aircraft were lost and more than 1,500 aircrew members were killed on this route during the entire war. As a result, this route had a nickname: "Aluminum Valley"! The entire route was filled with aluminum fragments from crashed planes, which would gleam in the sunlight on clear days. Pilots could even use the reflections as navigational markers to fly to their destination.
(Figure 5-5-1) When the captain was on leave, Paul Draken would fly the Hump route with a rookie co-pilot.
Because I frequently traveled the Hump, I became quite familiar with the U.S. Army Air Forces and China National Aviation Corporation personnel who flew this route. They revered me as the founding father of China's civil aviation industry, and this was no empty title. I founded "Hong Kong Dragonair" and "Shanghai Dragonair" in 1928, before China National Aviation Corporation was even established!
Once, while waiting for my plane to take off at the airport, there was no movement. I went to find the pilot, who said that the co-pilot was temporarily sick and unable to work, and the control tower would not allow him to take off alone. He also said that if I was willing to serve as co-pilot, the control tower would let me go. Because I was in a hurry to get to India, I agreed. After that, it became a routine. Whenever I boarded a plane, I could leave at any time without prior application, because they did not treat me as a passenger but as a flight crew member!
I can't remember how many times I've flown over the Hump. Some times it was even more outrageous that the pilot took leave at the last minute, and the co-pilot was a newbie who had just joined the team and was too afraid to fly. In the end, I actually flew the entire flight as the pilot.
We encountered attacks from Japanese aircraft, which riddled our fuselages and wings with dozens of bullet holes. I even heard of someone whose entire tail section was shot off, yet still managed to fly back to base. The Hump airlift was unprotected by fighter escorts, and the transport planes themselves were unarmed; encountering enemy aircraft meant they were on their own. For Japanese fighters to attack the Hump was also a severe challenge, as small, single-piloted fighter planes faced greater risks in that environment than larger transport planes. Most of them were Ki-43 "Hayabusa" fighters, which Allied pilots called "Oscar," taking off from Burmese airfields.
To prevent Japanese aircraft from following the radio waves, radio use was strictly restricted, and navigation radios were frequently shut down suddenly. On one occasion, more than a dozen aircraft went missing as a result. As for mechanical failures in ice and snow or getting lost in dense fog, that was commonplace, because there was a slogan at the time: "There are no weather restrictions for flying the Hump route."
(Figure 5-5-2) Japanese fighter attack a Chinese airline C-46 transport plane flying over the Hump. This is simply unbelievable by today's aviation safety standards, but from 1942 to 1945, all of the Chinese government's imported supplies, munitions, gasoline, and personnel traveling for training were transported in and out using this method. Without the "Hump," the Chinese government might not have been able to survive by the end of 1942.
The cost of the "Hump" airlift was very high. For every gallon of gasoline transported, the plane itself consumed a gallon of fuel. Therefore, a popular saying in Chungking at the time, "A drop of gasoline is a drop of blood!", was no exaggeration. The Hump consumed valuable Allied air transport resources, causing the European theater's offensive to stall due to a lack of transport aircraft. This unsettled Chief of the General Staff Marshall, who demanded that the Chinese army find a way to open up the Burma route and reduce its dependence on the Hump. However, this was not an easy task to achieve in the conflict-ridden China-India-Burma theater. Because the supplies were transported by air, Chennault had the advantage of proximity, with his Fourteenth Air Force monopolizing the vast majority of the resources. This displeased General Stilwell, Chief of Staff of the China Theater, who felt it infringed upon his allocation rights. The two even went to President Roosevelt to argue whether the Army or the Air Force should have priority. As is well known, President Roosevelt was the least supportive of the Army, and Stilwell was not as eloquent as Chennault, so the final outcome was predictable. I've known Joseph Stilwell since I came to China in 1927. At that time, he was a battalion commander in the 15th Infantry Regiment of the U.S. Army stationed in Tiantsin. Having lived in China for many years, he could speak Mandarin and was considered a China expert among the U.S. Army. He was very diligent and dedicated, but his personality was a bit stubborn and difficult to communicate with. At that time, he already had a grudge against Chiang Kai-shek, and now he had also become an enemy of Chennault. Chennault seized the opportunity and joined forces with Chiang to complain to Roosevelt, and Stilwell was finally replaced. However, Chennault also offended many army generals as a result, and after the war, he could only rely on Chiang Kai-shek and his wife to develop his career in China.
(Figure 5-5-3) Stilwell expressed his views on the distribution of supplies transported by the Hump to Paul Draken.
I've known Stilwell and Chennault for many years; I even introduced Chennault to China. I could sense their antagonism to some extent, but out of a sense of propriety, they both avoided expressing their opinions in front of me, a "foreigner." Only once did Stilwell reveal to me that he believed the supplies transported by the Hump should also be allocated to the Communist troops in Yan'an.
"The benefits of airlifting supplies from the Hump to the Communist forces in the war of resistance far outweigh those to the corrupt Kuomintang forces!" Stilwell said. "I am the Chief of Staff of the China Theater, not the Chief of Staff of the Kuomintang forces, much less Chiang Kai-shek's personal Chief of Staff! I have the right and the obligation to allocate Hump supplies in the direction most beneficial to the China Theater."
Stilwell stood up and walked to the window, looking at the sky outside: "What does that Chennault know? Does he really think that the air force alone can defeat the Japanese? That the Kuomintang troops alone can defeat the Japanese? In the end, it will be the infantry with bayonets fixed and advancing over the corpses of their comrades and the enemy that will achieve victory! I have only seen this kind of spirit in the Communist army."
I looked at Stilwell and thought this was the most persuasive speech I'd ever heard him give, but in my heart I was thinking, "What a Vinegar Joe! You've been in China for so long and you still don't understand Chiang Kai-shek? You want to fight him for military power and then use the funds to equip the Communist army? I don't think you'll be able to stay in China any longer!"
Sure enough, Stilwell was dismissed and returned home in disgrace not long after.
I believe that the "Hump" far surpassed the post-war Berlin airlift in terms of importance, difficulty, scale, and duration. It is unfair that it did not receive much attention from Western society simply because it occurred in the Far East. As for my experience of participating in the war between 1943 and 1945, witnessing the cooperation between China and the United States in maintaining the existence of the China Theater at a huge cost and achieving final victory, as a fellow pilot, I should pay the highest respect to the 1,500 aircrew members who died in "Aluminum Valley".
(Figure 5-5-4) A C-47 transport plane on the Hump route takes off from Kunming Wujiaba Airport. Many countries' airlines were established after the war by purchasing C-47/DC-3 aircraft from surplus military supplies; even now, a small number of DC-3s are still active in the jungles of Central and South America and Southeast Asia, but most of them are involved in smuggling and drug trafficking.
(Figure 5-5-5) The C-46 transport aircraft, with its large payload capacity, became the mainstay of the Hump.
(Figure 5-5-6) Paul Draken's private C-47 aircraft "China Pearl II" is painted with a yellow band and a dragon emblem on the nose.
My experience flying the "Hump" also had a great impact on my postwar career. It was because of this opportunity that I bought a C-47 after the war and joined Chennault's civil aviation fleet as a shareholder. This airline, which had close ties with the CIA, participated in guerrilla and opium transport missions during the Indochina War in the 1950s and It was renamed Air America, but has no relation to today's American Airlines.
My C-47 was acquired cheaply by the US military through a sale of postwar surplus materials. It was quite unique in Chennault's civilian air transport fleet. I wanted to reference Annie's "China Pearl" livery, but a completely bright yellow was difficult. So, I opted for a yellow with a blue dragon vying for a red pearl, a Ch'ing Dynasty imperial design, making it particularly eye-catching in the fleet. The moment it rolled off the production line, I was overwhelmed with emotion, as if I were back 20 years earlier, standing with Annie at the Kiangnan Shipyard, smashing bottles to christen the "China Pearl"—what a magnificent era, unforgettable. Later, the CAT's "Mandarin Flight" livery also referenced this concept.
I flew the "China Pearl II" all over mainland China, and I was one of the last planes to leave Peiping in the heavy snow, witnessing the fading of Western influence in China after a century of dominance. In the late 1950s, after being transferred to the Indochina Peninsula, due to the war zone, it had to be repainted in dark green, but the name and call sign remained "China Pearl"!
After the "China Pearl II" was retired in the 1970s, I restored it to its original bright yellow paint scheme, reminiscent of the blue dragon competing with the red pearl, and gave it to Annie's family. The "China Pearl II" is still on display in their family's private aviation museum.
The main purpose of traveling to India via the Hump was to hold coordination meetings with intelligence organizations there, exchange official documents, and bring back important supplies and equipment. In addition, India was also a good place for a vacation. Away from the dullness of Chungking, there was no threat of air raids, and the British enjoyed India's abundant food supply. Moreover, at that time, the British still enjoyed a superior status in India and could afford expensive leisure activities, such as hunting in the jungle by elephant.
On one occasion, during a trip to India, I made a special detour to the Ahmednagar detention center to meet with the Austrian mountaineer Heinrich Harrer, who was imprisoned there. I had met him in 1934 in the office of Reinhard Heydrich, the head of Nazi intelligence in Berlin, Germany, when he was commissioned by Heinrich Himmler to plan a trip to India to climb the Himalayas in search of the mysterious land of "Shangri-La," in order to construct a myth of Aryan origins for the Nazis.
After years of preparation and astronomical expenses, Harrer arrived in India in August 1939. We already knew his purpose, but couldn't think of any reason to stop him. Coincidentally, Germany invaded Poland on September 1st, and MI6 immediately notified the Indian authorities to arrest Harrer and his party as citizens of an enemy country. In fact, Britain and France declared war on Germany on September 3rd, but since the war had already begun, no one cared about the difference of two days. Harrer and his party were imprisoned in a detention camp, not a prisoner-of-war camp, and should have been repatriated soon. However, MI6 issued a strict order "no repatriation," so they have been detained ever since.
In early 1944, the war situation was becoming clearer, and the Harre problem would have to be resolved sooner or later. This matter was originally none of my business, but because I had met him in my early years, and also because of my relationship with Prime Minister Churchill, this task ultimately fell to me. The reason dates back to February 1941, when Chiang Kai-shek and his wife visited India. At that time, the Governor-General of India invited Chiang to visit, only wanting Chiang to send troops to help stop the Japanese army from invading India, because most of the British troops stationed in India had been withdrawn to Europe to help defend the British Isles from the German invasion. However, after Chiang Kai-shek arrived in India, he insisted on meeting with Gandhi, the leader of the non-cooperation movement, and even sent a telegram to US President Roosevelt expressing his support for India's post-war independence. This greatly angered Churchill, but because he still needed Chiang Kai-shek to help him block the Japanese army in the Burma battlefield, he could not show it. He complained to me privately during the Cairo Conference.
"What business is it of Chiang Kai-shek's of India? Who gives him the right to interfere?" Churchill said angrily, puffing out puffs of cigar smoke. "It's like us going to Yan'an to support Mao Tsetung in overthrowing Chiang Kai-shek's regime."
I blurted out, "If Chiang Kai-shek could advocate for Indian independence, then you could advocate for Tibetan independence too!"
I was just joking, but Churchill's eyes lit up and he said, "Yes! Why not?"
Britain actually had a long-standing interest in Tibet, but due to its delicate relationship with China, it maintained a low profile. Britain wasn't without competitors in Tibet, such as the emerging Nazi Germany... Wait, why not utilize Harre?
I explained Harre's background to Churchill and suggested that Harre act as our front man, going into Tibet to persuade the higher-ups to side with Britain, so that China could not blame its ally for betrayal.
"That's a great idea! Go back and find that Harrer, persuade him to join us, and I will draft a letter appointing you as my representative, in full charge of this matter!" Churchill said.
However, I was unable to complete this task personally because I returned home immediately after the Cairo Conference and remained there until the end of the war. Nevertheless, I managed the matter remotely from headquarters in London. I instructed our people to tell Harrer, "The war is about to end. If you return home, you will likely be tried for war crimes. Even if you escape, defeated Germany will have no chance. Why not let us help you go to Tibet to fulfill your unfinished dream?"
I know that Harrer is a proud, ambitious, and restless man who is eager to achieve personal success. He was already bored to death after being imprisoned for four years. If he were to return home and continue to live in obscurity, it would be worse than death for him. When he heard that the British were giving him the opportunity to go to Tibet to make his mark, he was naturally excited. However, Harrer was still worried that his relationship with the Nazis would become a handle for us. He argued that he was just an Austrian mountaineer. The interrogator said, "Commander Draken asked me to give you his regards. He said that he was also present at the meeting in Heydrich's office in Berlin ten years ago."
Upon hearing this, Harrer immediately agreed to cooperate with British intelligence. In May 1944, we arranged for the detention camp to be deliberately less secure, allowing Harrer and his party to escape smoothly. Moreover, we prevented him from entering Tibet directly from India, but instead made him go through Burma and pass through Japanese-controlled areas. This made it seem as if it was an Axis conspiracy, allowing Britain to remotely control the situation from behind the scenes without causing a rift with China.
During his seven years in Tibet, Harrer served as the Dalai Lama's English and mathematics tutor and developed a deep friendship with him. I met with Harrer several times on the Indian border to relay orders from higher command. After India's independence in 1947, British influence gradually waned. By then, I was working for the CIA and introduced them to CIA resources, marking the beginning of American involvement with the Tibetan resistance.
Harrer left Tibet in 1951 and did not participate in the 1959 battle. After returning home, he published a book called "Seven Years in Tibet," which became a bestseller and was made into a film in 1997. To say that Harrer had a great influence on Tibetan independence is probably an exaggeration; he was merely a pawn of MI6.
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