Currently, the airport has no scheduled commercial airline flights. In 2006, it was reported that the airport has been non-operational since it served during World War II.[1]
History
Chakulia Airfield was built by the British Construction Contractor Mr. Digar Pramotha Nath Mohanty by Das & Mohanty construction company in 1942 to conduct raids against the advancing Japanese in Burma and also for operations to transport aid to parts of China. It was originally designed for Consolidated B-24 Liberator use. It was initially assigned to United States Army Air ForcesTenth Air Force, with the 22nd Bombardment Squadron of 341st Bombardment Group arriving on 30 December 1942, equipped with B-25 Mitchells. Three of the Group's squadrons (22d, 491st Bombardment Squadron from Chakulia and 490th Bombardment Squadron from Kurmitola) flew missions from bases in India, chiefly against enemy transportation in central Burma. The group bombed bridges, locomotives, railroad yards, and other targets to delay movement of supplies to the Japanese troops fighting in northern Burma. The 341st Bombardment Group, and its 22nd and 491st Squadrons, transferred to 14th Air Force in December 1943 and moved to China in January 1944.
In December 1944, the 341st Bomb Group moved to China and the airfield was designated as a B-29 Superfortress Base for the planned deployment of the XX Bomber Command to India. Advance Army Air Forces echelons arrived in India in December 1943 to organize the upgrading of the airfield and thousands of Indians labored to upgrade the facility for Superfortress operations. It was one of four B-29 bases established by the Americans in India.
Emblem of the 40th Bombardment Group
Chakulia was designated to be the home of the 40th Bombardment Group, with initially five B-29 Squadrons (25th, 29th, 44th, 45th and 395th). The 40th arrived at the base on 2 April 1944 after completing B-29 transition training at Pratt AAF, Kansas. Support elements of the group included the 1st, 2d, 3d and 4th Bomb Maintenance Squadrons; the 11th Photo Lab, and the 28th Air Service Group.
It had taken nearly two weeks for the group to arrive at Chakulia from Kansas, deploying over the South Atlantic transport route. The deployment consisted of traveling to Morrison Field, Florida, then south through the Caribbean to Natal, Brazil. From Brazil the South Atlantic was crossed arriving in West Africa and re-assembling at Marrakesh, Morocco. The group then flew north and west from Morocco through Algeria and Egypt, before arriving at Karachi. By the time the group arrived at Chakulia, the month-long trip had taken its toll on the aircraft and personnel. Also, when the group arrived, the conditions at the base were poor, and the runways were still in the process of being lengthened when the first B-29s arrived.
In addition to the 40th, its command unit, the 58th Bombardment Wing temporarily took up residence at Chakulia on 2 April until its designated command base at Kalaikunda Airfield was ready. The 58th's headquarters was moved on 23d April.
Almost immediately upon arrival, the groups B-29s were grounded due to engine fires, which were caused by the engines not being designed to operate at ground temperatures higher than 115 degrees F, which were typically exceeded in India. Modifications had to be made to the engines and also to the cowl flaps. After these modifications, B-29 flights were resumed.
From India, the 40th Bomb Group planned to fly missions against Japan from airfields in China. Hsinching Airfield (A-1), located just to the southwest of Chengdu in south-central China was designated as the forward staging base for the group.
However, all the supplies of fuel, bombs, and spares needed to support operations from Kwanghan had to be flown 1,200 miles from India over "The Hump" (the name given by Allied pilots to the eastern end of the Himalayan Mountains), since Japanese control of the seas around the Chinese coast made seaborne supply of China impossible. Many of the supplies had to be delivered to China by the B-29s themselves. For this role, they were stripped of nearly all combat equipment and used as flying tankers and each carried seven tons of fuel for the six-hour (one way) flight, which itself was almost at the limit of the B-29's range. The Hump route was so dangerous and difficult that each time a B-29 flew from India to China it was counted as a combat mission. It took six round-trip flights by each Superfortress to Kwanghan in order to mount one combat mission from the forward base.
The first combat mission by the group took place on June 5, 1944, when squadrons of the 40th took off from India to attack the Makasan railroad yards at Bangkok, Thailand. This involved a 2261-mile round trip, the longest bombing mission yet attempted during the war.
On June 15 the group participated in the first American Air Force attack on the Japanese Home Islands since the Doolittle raid in 1942. Operating from bases in India, and at times staging through fields in China, the group struck such targets as transportation centers, naval installations, iron works, and aircraft plants in Burma, Thailand, China, Japan, Indonesia, and Formosa, receiving a Distinguished Unit Citation for bombing iron and steel works at Yawata, Japan, on August 20, 1944. From a staging field in Ceylon, the 40th mined waters near the port of Palembang, Sumatra, in August 1944.
The 40th evacuated staging fields in China in January 1945 due to the Japanese offensive in South China which threatened the forward staging bases, but continued operations from India, bombing targets in Thailand and mining waters around Singapore. However, by late 1944 it was becoming apparent that B-29 operations against Japan staged out of the bases in Chengtu were far too expensive in men and materials and would have to be stopped. In December 1944, the Joint Chiefs of Staff made the decision that Operation Matterhorn would be phased out, and the B-29s would be moved to newly captured bases in the Marianas in the central Pacific.
With the departure of the B-29s in March 1945 to the Marianas, Chakulia Airfield was returned to Tenth Air Force. It was kept, however, largely in reserve status, with the 28th Service Group performing caretaker activities, with the occasional aircraft transiting the airfield.
With the last Americans leaving in late 1945, the airfield was turned over to the British colonial government. The postwar history of the airfield is unclear, however it is used today as a civil airport. The large, sprawling wartime airfield is largely in disrepair, with abandoned hardstands and taxiways visible on aerial images.
The XX Bomber Command was a United States Army Air Forces bomber formation. Its last assignment was with Twentieth Air Force, based on Okinawa. It was inactivated on 16 July 1945.
The United States Air Force's 40th Air Expeditionary Wing was an Air expeditionary unit located at Diego Garcia, in the Indian Ocean, from 2002 to c. 2006. The 40 AEW's mission was to support combat forces in Afghanistan and other combat areas supporting Operation Enduring Freedom. Operations began in October 2001.
The 58th Air Division is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with Air Defense Command, based at Wright Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. It was inactivated on 1 February 1959.
The 444th Air Expeditionary Wing is a provisional unit of the United States Air Force assigned to Air Combat Command to activate or inactivate as needed. It was last activated in 2003.
The 468th Bombardment Group was a World War II United States Army Air Forces combat organization. The unit served primarily in the Pacific Ocean theater and China Burma India Theater of World War II as part of Twentieth Air Force. The 468th Bomb Group's aircraft engaged in very heavy bombardment Boeing B-29 Superfortress operations against Japan. After its reassignment to the Mariana Islands in 1945, its aircraft were identified by a "I" and a triangle painted on the tail. It was inactivated on 31 March 1946.
Kalaikunda Air Force Station (ICAO: VEDX) is an Indian Air Force Base in Kharagpur, located in the West Midnapur district of the state of West Bengal. It was the home of No. 18 Squadron IAF, the Flying Bullets. The squadron flew the Indian license-built Mikoyan MiG-27ML till its decommissioning in April 2016. A squadron of Su-30 MKIs is now at the base.
Dudhkundi Airfield is an abandoned airfield in India, located 12 miles (19.2 km) SE of Jhargram, in the Jhargram district in the Indian state of West Bengal.
Piardoba Airfield is an abandoned airfield in India, located 6.6 miles (10.7 km) S of Bishnupur, West Bengal, Bankura District in the state of West Bengal, India.
Xinjin Airport is an airport in Xinjin District, in the southwestern part of Chengdu, in Sichuan province of China. The airfield is located approximately 2 km east of the Xinjin District seat, just east of the China National Highway 108. A former military airfield, it is now used by Civil Aviation Flight University of China for pilot training.
The 768th Bombardment Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the 462d Strategic Aerospace Wing at Larson Air Force Base, Washington, where it was inactivated on 25 June 1966. The squadron was first activated in 1943, and became one of the earliest Boeing B-29 Superfortress units. It moved to the China Burma India Theater in April 1944 and participated in the first attack on the Japanese Home Islands since the 1942 Doolittle Raid on 15 June 1944. It earned three Distinguished Unit Citations. The squadron moved to Tinian with the rest of the 58th Bombardment Wing in April 1945 and continued its participation in the strategic bombing campaign against Japan until V-J Day. In November 1945, it returned to the United States, where it was inactivated in April 1946.
The 769th Bombardment Squadron is a former United States Army Air Forces unit. It was last assigned to the 462d Bombardment Group at MacDill Field, Florida, where it was inactivated on 31 March 1946. The squadron was first activated in 1943, and became one of the earliest Boeing B-29 Superfortress units. It moved to the China Burma India Theater in April 1944 and participated in the first attack on the Japanese Home Islands since the 1942 Doolittle Raid on 15 June 1944. It earned three Distinguished Unit Citations. The squadron moved to Tinian with the rest of the 58th Bombardment Wing in April 1945 and continued its participation in the strategic bombing campaign against Japan until V-J Day. In November 1945, it returned to the United States, where it was inactivated in April 1946.
The 770th Bombardment Squadron is a former United States Army Air Forces unit. It was last assigned to the 462d Bombardment Group at MacDill Field, Florida, where it was inactivated on 31 March 1946. The squadron was first activated in 1943, and became one of the earliest Boeing B-29 Superfortress units. It moved to the China Burma India Theater in April 1944 and participated in the first attack on the Japanese Home Islands since the 1942 Doolittle Raid in June 1944. It earned its three Distinguished Unit Citations. The squadron moved to Tinian with the rest of the 58th Bombardment Wing in April 1945 and continued its participation in the strategic bombing campaign against Japan until V-J Day. In November 1945, it returned to the United States, where it was inactivated.
The 771st Bombardment Squadron is a former United States Army Air Forces unit. The squadron was activated in 1943, and became one of the earliest Boeing B-29 Superfortress units. It moved to the China Burma India Theater in April 1944 and participated in the first attack on the Japanese Home Islands since the 1942 Doolittle Raid in June 1944. In August 1944, it earned a Distinguished Unit Citation. It was inactivated on 12 October 1944, when the Army Air Forces reorganized its very heavy bomber groups to consist of three, rather than four squadrons.
The 679th Bombardment Squadron is a disbanded unit of the United States Army Air Forces (AAF). It was last assigned to the 444th Bombardment Group at Dudhkundi Airfield, India where it was disbanded on 12 October 1944.
The 677th Bombardment Squadron is a former United States Army Air Forces unit. It was last assigned to the 444th Bombardment Group at Davis-Monthan Field, Arizona.
The 676th Bombardment Squadron is a former unit of the United States Army Air Forces, last assigned to the 444th Bombardment Group at Davis-Monthan Field, Arizona.
The 782nd Tactical Air Support Training Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. The squadron's most distinguished predecessor is the 792nd Bombardment Squadron, which was organized in 1943 as one of the first Boeing B-29 Superfortress units, The squadron participated in the strategic bombing campaign against Japan, earning three Distinguished Unit Citations. It returned to the United States following V-J Day and briefly became one of the first units in Strategic Air Command before inactivating at the end of March 1946.
The 793d Bombardment Squadron is a former United States Army Air Forces unit. The squadron was organized in 1943 as one of the first Boeing B-29 Superfortress units. After training in the United States, The squadron moved to India and participated in the strategic bombing campaign against Japan. When bases in the Mariana Islands became available, the squadron moved to Tinian, where it was able to strike targets in Japan without staging through forward bases. It earned three Distinguished Unit Citations during its combat tour. It returned to the United States following V-J Day and briefly became one of the first units in Strategic Air Command before inactivating at the end of March 1946.
The 795th Bombardment Squadron is a former United States Army Air Forces unit. The squadron was organized in 1943 as one of the first Boeing B-29 Superfortress units. After training in the United States, The squadron moved to India and participated in the strategic bombing campaign against Japan, earning a Distinguished Unit Citation before being disbanded on 12 October 1944 when the Army Air Forces reorganized its very heavy bomber groups to consist of only three squadrons.
West Field is a former World War II airfield on Tinian in the Mariana Islands. Today, West Field is used as the civilian Tinian International Airport.
Maurer, Maurer (1983). Air Force Combat Units Of World War II. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History. ISBN0-89201-092-4.
Ravenstein, Charles A. (1984). Air Force Combat Wings Lineage and Honors Histories 1947–1977. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History. ISBN0-912799-12-9.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
