Arunachal Pradesh: New Museum to Showcase WWII-Era US Aircraft Wreckage

TAWANG: Arunachal Pradesh is gearing up to unveil 'The Hump Museum,' an exhibition featuring the wreckage of Allied Forces aircraft that crashed in the region during World War II, alongside related artifacts.

Chief Minister Pema Khandu initiated this museum project in Pasighat, and the state government intends to extend an invitation to the US Ambassador to India for the inauguration. "The museum is now ready, and it will be officially inaugurated next month," stated Chief Minister Khandu in an interview with a news agency.

During World War II, in 1942, the Japanese army blocked the 1,150-kilometer Burma Road, a vital mountain highway linking present-day Myanmar's Lashio to Kunming in China. This compelled the Allied Forces to undertake one of the most extensive airlift operations in aviation history.

The pilots of the Allied Forces affectionately dubbed this perilous route "The Hump" due to the treacherous terrain that forced their aircraft to navigate deep gorges and then rapidly ascend over mountains exceeding 10,000 feet.

"The Hump" spanned across areas of Arunachal Pradesh, Tibet, and Myanmar, where nearly 650 aircraft are believed to have crashed during World War II, primarily because of challenging flying conditions.

From 1942 to 1945, military aircraft transported nearly 650,000 tons of essential supplies, including fuel, food, and ammunition, from airfields in Assam to those in Yunnan, China.

Even today, the region's mountainous terrain presents unpredictable weather, with visibility abruptly dropping to zero within seconds and sudden heavy winds. This poses a significant challenge for aircraft and helicopters.

In 2017, investigators from the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) revisited India to continue the search for the remains of missing US personnel dating back to World War II. In 2016, the DPAA deployed a team to northeast India for 30 days on a quest to locate unaccounted-for US airmen's remains. It marked the agency's fifth mission to India since 2013.

The US Embassy disclosed that approximately 400 US airmen remain missing in India, with most believed to be situated in the Himalayan mountains of northeast India. During World War II, the United States delivered supplies to the Chinese army by flying over the Himalayas via the renowned 'Hump' route. Many of these aircraft went missing and were never recovered in the rugged mountainous terrain, the US Embassy noted.

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