4th Combat Cargo Group

4th Combat Cargo Group
Active	1944–1946
Country	United States
Branch	United States Army Air Forces
Role	Cargo/Troop Carrier
Part of	Tenth Air Force
Garrison/HQ	China Burma India Theater of World War II

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:

• To carry ground troops and auxiliary combat equipment to effective locations in a combat zone
• Maintain combat reinforcements, supply and resupply units in the combat zone
• Evacuate casualties and other personnel from such zones

Seeing that these new units were to be carrying cargo into the heart of the battle, the units were called Combat Cargo Groups.

History

Lineage

• Constituted as 4th Combat Cargo Group on 9 June 1944

Activated on 13 June

Inactivated on 9 February 1946

Disbanded on 8 October 1948

Assignments

• I Troop Carrier Command, 13 June-6 November 1944
• Army Air Forces, India-Burma Theater, 28 November 1944
• Combat Cargo Task Force, 15 December 1944
• Unknown (probably Army Air Forces, India-Burma Theater), 24 August 1945 – 9 February 1946

Components

• 13th Combat Cargo Squadron, 13 June 1944 – 29 December 1945
• 14th Combat Cargo Squadron, 13 June 1944 – 9 February 1945
• 15th Combat Cargo Squadron, 13 June 1944 – 29 December 1945
• 16th Combat Cargo Squadron, 13 June 1944 – 5 September 1945; October-29 December 1945

Aircraft flown

• Curtiss C-46 Commando, 1944–1945
• Douglas C-47 Skytrain, 1944

Stations

• Syracuse AAB, New York, 13 June 1944
• Bowman Field, Kentucky, 17 August-6 November 1944
• Sylhet Airfield, India, 28 November 1944
• Agartala Airfield, India, December 1944
• Chittagong Airfield, India, 5 January 1945
• Namponmao Airfield, Burma, June 1945
• Pandaveswar Airfield, India, November 1945
• Panagarh Airfield, India, 15 January-9 February 1946.

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.

See also

• Objective, Burma!

References

 This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency website http://www.afhra.af.mil/.

• Maurer, Maurer (1983). Air Force Combat Units Of World War II. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0-89201-092-4.

External links

• 4th Combat Cargo Group Website

USAAF Tenth Air Force in World War II
Airfields	Burma Bhamo Myitkyina Namponmao Sahmaw Tingkawk Sakan India Agartala Asansol Barrackpore Chakulia Chittagong Dinjan Dohazari Dudhkundi Dum Dum Fenny Guskhara Hailakandi Hathazari Kalaikunda Karachi Ledo Nagaghuli Nawadih Pandaveswar Panagarh Piardoba Sookerating Sylhet Tezgaon Tezpur Tulihal
Units	Groups Air Commando 1st Air Commando 2d Air Commando Bombardment 7th Bombardment 12th Bombardment 341st Bombardment Combat Cargo 1st Combat Cargo 3d Combat Cargo 4th Combat Cargo Fighter 23d Fighter 33d Fighter 51st Fighter 80th Fighter 81st Fighter 311th Fighter Reconnaissance 8th Reconnaissance Troop Carrier 443d Troop Carrier Squadrons 24th Combat Mapping 426th Night Fighter Squadron 427th Night Fighter Squadron
United States Army Air Forces First Second Third Fourth Fifth Sixth Seventh Eighth Ninth Tenth Eleventh Twelfth Thirteenth Fourteenth Fifteenth Twentieth

USAAF First Air Force in World War II
Airfields	First Air Force Group Training Stations First Air Force Replacement Training Stations First Air Force Tactical Airfields Freeman Army Airfield Godman Army Airfield Selfridge Field
Units	Commands I Bomber Command I Fighter Command I Ground Air Support Command Wings 25th Antisubmarine 50th Troop Carrier 52d Troop Carrier 53d Troop Carrier 60th Troop Carrier 61st Troop Carrier Boston Fighter New York Fighter Norfolk Fighter Philadelphia Fighter Groups Bombardment 2d Bombardment 13th Bombardment 22d Bombardment 34th Bombardment 43d Bombardment 45th Bombardment 301st Bombardment 302d Bombardment 400th Bombardment 402d Bombardment 455th Bombardment 459th Bombardment 460th Bombardment 471st Bombardment Combat Cargo 1st Combat Cargo 2d Combat Cargo 4th Combat Cargo Fighter 8th Fighter 31st Fighter 33d Fighter 52d Fighter 56th Fighter 57th Fighter 58th Fighter 59th Fighter 79th Fighter 80th Fighter 83d Fighter 87th Fighter 324th Fighter 325th Fighter 326th Fighter 327th Fighter 332d Fighter 348th Fighter 352d Fighter 353d Fighter 355th Fighter 356th Fighter 358th Fighter 359th Fighter 361st Fighter 362d Fighter 365th Fighter 366th Fighter 368th Fighter 370th Fighter 371st Fighter 373d Fighter 402d Fighter 413th Fighter 476th Fighter Reconnaissance 26th Reconnaissance 73d Reconnaissance Troop Carrier 10th Troop Carrier 60th Troop Carrier 61st Troop Carrier 62d Troop Carrier 63d Troop Carrier 89th Troop Carrier 313th Troop Carrier 314th Troop Carrier 315th Troop Carrier 316th Troop Carrier 317th Troop Carrier 349th Troop Carrier 375th Troop Carrier 403d Troop Carrier 433d Troop Carrier 434th Troop Carrier 435th Troop Carrier 436th Troop Carrier 437th Troop Carrier 438th Troop Carrier 439th Troop Carrier 440th Troop Carrier 441st Troop Carrier 442d Troop Carrier Other 1st Search Attack 477th Composite Incidents Freeman Field Mutiny
United States Army Air Forces First Second Third Fourth Fifth Sixth Seventh Eighth Ninth Tenth Eleventh Twelfth Thirteenth Fourteenth Fifteenth Twentieth