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The 3rd Combat Cargo Group was a transport unit that was formed in India in 1944 and that operated over India and China for the rest of the war. The group was activated on 5 June 1944 and was almost immediately committed to action. The group suffered at first from a lack of support services in theatre, the number of operational units have grown quicker than the serving organizations.
Although the group was part of the Tenth Air Force, it was under the operational command of Third Tactical Air Force, where in the summer of 1944 it was operating alongside the 12th Bombardment Group and Nos.221 and 224 Groups, RAF.
The group was used to fly troops to the front and evacuate casualties back to hospitals in India. It was also used to fly a wide range of supplies into Burma, first to support the campaign in the north of the country and then the victorious advance on Mandalay and Rangoon.
In April 1945 the 11th Squadron was moved to China to help with the difficult supply situation in that vast country.
In May 1945, after the fall of Rangoon, the need for air transport in Burma was sharply reduced. The 3rd Combat Cargo Group was one of several groups that was transferred to the India-China Division, which had responsibility for the 'Hump' air transport route into China. The 3rd Combat Cargo Group moved to Myitkyina East, from where it helped fly a record amount of supplies across the Hump. The group was inactivated in China in April 1946.
Pending
1944 onwards: Douglas C-47 Skytrain
1 June 1944 | Constituted as 3rd Combat Cargo Group |
5 June 1944 | Activated in India |
June 1945 | To Burma |
Sept 1945 | Redesignated 513rd Troop Carrier Group |
Nov 1945 | To China |
15 April 1946 | Inactivated |
Col. Charles D Farr: 5
Jun 1944
Col Hiette S Williams Jr: 25 Oct
1944
Col G Robert Dodson: 21 Apr 1945
Col Hugh D Wallace: 17 Jun 1945
Lt Col
George H Van Deusan: unkn-1946.
Sylhet, India: 5 Jun 1944
Dinjan,
India: 2 Aug 1944
Myitkyina, Burma:
3 Jun.1945
Shanghai, China: 1 Nov 1945-15 Apr 1946
9th Combat Cargo Squadron: 1944-1946
10th Combat Cargo Squadron: 1944-1945
11th Combat Cargo Squadron: 1944-1946
12th Combat Cargo Squadron: 1944-1945
1944-1945: 10th Air Force