3rd Combat Cargo Group (USAAF)

History - Books - Aircraft - Time Line - Commanders - Main Bases - Component Units - Assigned To

History

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.

Books

Pending

Aircraft

1944 onwards: Douglas C-47 Skytrain

Timeline

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

Commanders (with date of appointment)

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.

Main Bases

Sylhet, India: 5 Jun 1944
Dinjan, India: 2 Aug 1944
Myitkyina, Burma: 3 Jun.1945
Shanghai, China: 1 Nov 1945-15 Apr 1946

Component Units

9th Combat Cargo Squadron: 1944-1946
10th Combat Cargo Squadron: 1944-1945
11th Combat Cargo Squadron: 1944-1946
12th Combat Cargo Squadron: 1944-1945

Assigned To

1944-1945: 10th Air Force

How to cite this article: Rickard, J (4 December 2015), 3rd Combat Cargo Group, http://www.historyofwar.org/air/units/USAAF/3rd_Combat_Cargo_Group.html

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