The Adventures of the Beechcraft Staggerwing

The Adventures of the Beechcraft
Staggerwing “VT–AKK”
in India During WWII
At this time there are no
logs or records of VTAKK’s actual activities in
India while with Indian
National Airways, Ltd., but
one only can imagine the
adventures it might have
had in this part of the
world at this time in
history. Perhaps it went
something like this:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------The year is 1943; the world is at war. The Japanese control the
seas of Indo China. The Burma Road has fallen, a twisting muddy hell
that stretches from Rangoon north 400 miles to Mandalay and then east
northeast to Kunming, China. China is isolated from the world, suffering
under the cruel invasion of a militaristic Japanese with the desire to
control the orient.
Burma has become a battlefield involving the allies in a guerilla
action against the Japanese. The crusty general “Vinegar Joe” Stilwell has
been struggling to make a difference in the stifling jungles. The American
volunteer group, known as the “Flying Tigers,” work hard to maintain
their battered Curtis P40 fighters in Kunming, China.
It is imperative that the allies maintain a presence in China. It will
occupy the attention of tens of thousands of Japanese troops and
hopefully provide a staging point for an eventual offensive against Japan.
The only way for this presence to be maintained at this point is to
consider an airlift of critical supplies from India to China across the most
rugged mountains in the world, the Himalayas, nicknamed “The Hump.”
This theatre of war would become the CBI war zone or
China/Burma/India Theatre of Operations.
At this time, civil/commercial aviation in India consisted primarily
of several small airlines. The largest, Imperial Airways, Ltd., of Great
Brittan, had pioneered routes
to Europe, the Middle East,
Africa, India, Southeast Asia
and Australia from England.
The presence of their
majestic airliners and the
Royal Crown Service had
brought civilizations much
closer.
(Handley Page HP42)
One of the small airlines was Indian National Airways, Ltd. Based
in New Delhi, it consisted of aircraft which served the villages and
communities shuttling government officials and business people and
delivering mail across the vast interior of India. Typical of the aircraft
used was the unique golden age cabin-class biplane, the Beechcraft
“Staggerwing.” This aircraft Model E-17B, Serial 233, had been given the
Indian registration number of VT-AKK. It was built in 1938 in Wichita,
Kansas and exported to India September 14, 1938 on the merchant
vessel SS City of Perth, along
with two other identical
“Staggerwings.” VT-AKK was
immediately put into service
and flown by the young Indian
pilot, Raj Khan.
Raj was a fortunate
young man. As a young boy he
gazed upon the many great
Imperial Airways airliners as
they rumbled over the hot hazy
Indian countryside, and would
dream of nothing else but the chance for himself to fly one day. The big
Handley Page Transports blazed airways across the British Empire. They
represented a
luxurious form of
transportation
that very few
could indulge in.
Raj was able to get a job
cleaning the airliners at the maintenance
terminal in New Delhi. He proved
himself so mechanically inclined and
adept to solving mechanical problems
that he was soon in charge of all
maintenance responsibilities. Yet he
yearned to fly the big airliners. After
badgering the company officials he was
given the opportunity to train as a flight maintenance engineer. This gave
him invaluable experience on the handling and operations of the big biwing transports. His big break finally came when he was accepted at the
pilot training school for Indian National Airways, Ltd.
This was it. His dream was here. He was flying. With completion
of the pilot training he began flying all the local air routes of India,
getting to know the lay of the land. This dream-come-true of flight time
proved to be hours of invaluable experience that would be needed in the
near future. Events in the world were changing radically and the need for
India’s assistance in the war effort soon changed his life forever.
December 7, 1941, the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor and
forced America into the terrible violence which was engulfing the world.
Simultaneously, the Japanese invaded the Philippines, Indonesia, China
and Burma. Fortunately though, India was an ally who could provide
needed supplies.
The experience Imperial Airways had in flying the routes
throughout this area was priceless as the allied nations were reeling from
defeat. Supply lines and relief evacuation efforts became the priority of all
airlines. All aircraft were commandeered to fly in the war effort. And Raj
was not left out. He was soon assigned to fly Beechcraft VT-AKK in
logistical
missions in East
India. His
station: Calcutta.
It was
soon apparent
that the
necessary
supplies to keep
the war effort
going in China
would have to be
flown in from
India.
By this time the Burma Road had fallen to the Japanese
advances. With the threat so near and the main supply line fallen, the
ATC or Air Transport Command was formed. Soon C-46 and C-47
Transports were
heading east out
of airfields in
India. And they
were heading
into some of the
worst weather
and terrain on
the planet: that
of the Himalayas.
The Himalayas form a huge
mountain barrier running east and
west, north of India, separating India
from Nepal and Tibet. The tallest
mountain on the planet, Mt. Everest,
rises from the Himalayas 29,000 feet
above sea level. As the mountain
range approaches East India it turns
southward into multiple ranges and
deep canyons, separating India from
Burma and China. The majority of
peaks quickly climb into the
atmosphere going from sea level up to
16,000 feet, forming a wall of
mountains 300 miles across. The
seemingly insurmountable blockade of the “Hump” taunted all who would
dare cross over.
Into this terrain,
massive atmospheric
weather systems collide.
Low pressure from the
west funnels eastward
along the main range of
the Himalayas, creating
monsoon winds and
storms as it meets the
southern section of the
Himalayas. Warm, wet
high pressure systems
from the Bay of Bengal
head north into the mix to collide with frigid low pressure systems coming
down from Siberia. The heat rising from the jungles of Burma intensifies
the already severe weather. Normally, during the monsoon summer,
Assam receives over 100 inches of rain each month of June, July and
August, with a total of 425- 500 inches annually. Visibilities would get so
low that the end of the runway would be obscured. The 500 mile journey
from the Brahmaputra Valley in East India to Kunming, China, was a
windswept region of violent turbulence, downdrafts, thunderstorms, icing
and jet stream 100 mph winds. Many Transports and crew would be lost.
There was much need among the isolated villages as the war
effort redirected the resources which had earlier been supplying them.
Raj was one of few who knew the many airstrips that provided
accessibility into those regions; and it was an honor for him to fly into
those remote areas and serve the people.
Many villagers regarded him as a hero as he flew food, medicine
and the sick in and out on marginal airstrips in his trusty Staggerwing.
The Beechcraft was an ideal aircraft for these missions. It was very
maneuverable and able to
take off and land on short
undeveloped airstrips and
negotiate through the
mountain passes. It could
carry a 1200 pound payload
of freight or four
passengers and could
cruise at 160 mph. Its
simple operating systems
allowed it to be maintained
in adverse conditions. The
285 HP Jacobs engine could efficiently run on low octane fuel. Navigation
by radio beams in those rugged mountains was impossible, so the pilot
had to rely solely on his knowledge of the mountain passes and village
fields for orientation.
It became apparent that the brutal route over the Hump would
claim many aircraft, so a system of search and rescue was soon
developed. Indian National Airways (INA) was called upon to help in this
important mission. With Raj’s experience in the surrounding mountains,
his assistance would be vital.
In July, 1942, the first meager loads of freight were being hauled
over the Hump by the Douglas C-47 aircraft. The incredible logistics of
the operation
would take
some time to
organize. And
until that
organization
could be in
place,
mistakes
would
undoubtedly
be made.
Before long, the call came in to the operations office of INA that
of a flight of three C-47s, only two had arrived at their destination in
Burma. Raj was assigned a search and rescue mission to locate the
missing transports.
As he contemplated the mission he knew the secret of survival
flying, within these mountains, was to always have a back door of
escape, to keep from being
trapped. He would always have a
plan that would allow him to
retreat to a safe haven whenever
the weather might deteriorate or
daylight fade to quickly.
His flight began with
loading emergency supplies that
could be airdropped; checking his
own survival gear; checking what
meager information was available
of the weather conditions; and pre-flighting the airplane. He personally
topped off his three fuel tanks to full capacity. The 77 gallons would allow
him barely 4 ½ hours of flight time. He reviewed the course which the
transports had planned to fly. He knew that many circumstances could
have altered their course and caused them to stray from their route.
The take off:
0600, July 27. His
observer/medic that
accompanied him was a
trained US Army Air
Corps Air Search and
Rescue specialist. The
mission was to locate
surviving crews, drop
them supplies and note
their locations on a chart.
If their situation was
extremely perilous, the
observer would parachute
from the plane and offer the medical assistance necessary. He would
communicate with the airplane by radio. The interconnected trails which
linked many of the mountain villages could then be scouted by air and
then traveled upon by rescue teams on donkeys in an effort to reach the
survivors.
As they climbed out of the murky haze of the Brahmaputra valley,
the first of the mountain ranges, the Patki Range, loomed ahead of them,
rising to 10,000 ft. and higher. They started to wind their way up the
valleys towards the peaks. Along the way they dropped notes over
villages that announced their route in case they needed to be rescued
themselves. The mountains were unusually clear that day and navigation
was easy. The winds, which usually buffeted them, were relatively mild
and could be endured. Many times the extreme turbulence had caused
them to turn around. But for this flight, the weather was rather good.
They pressed on.
As they
crossed the Patki
Range they emerged
into the Upper
Chindwin River Valley.
Beyond the Chindwin
lay the 14,000 ft.
ridges of the Kumon
Mountain Range. The
last reported position of the transports was in the foothills of the Kumon
Mountains.
Raj knew of an alternate route through the mountains that many
transports pilots had
been using. If loaded
with airframe ice the
pilots would turn
southward and try
reaching the town of
Myitkyina. But the
problem was that the
Japanese fighters
would range up the
Irawaddy River from
Rangoon, fly north of
Mandaly over the
Burma Road, and
plague the transports
that crossed through the area. Raj focused the search within this more
dangerous alternate route.
Cruising at 8,500 ft. along the western slope of the Kumon, he
spotted the reflection of aluminum on a clearing on the side of the
mountain. Yet he didn’t get too excited at the sight of it. The appearance
of aircraft aluminum
along this route was
not rare. Aluminum
was scattered over
every route that
crossed the Hump,
and Raj didn’t have
time to waste
looking at old crash
sites that had
already been
searched.
Fortunately,
the Air Transport
Command had been identifying and mapping all known crash sites as the
crash toll became greater. So Raj double-checked the map to see if this
reflection was listed. It wasn’t on the map; it wasn’t among the
catalogued sites! He quickly circled the Beechcraft tight around for a
closer look.
Just then, a small black cloud of smoke began to emerged from
the wreckage. A signal fire! There were survivors. Raj circled in closer.
In the past, wreck survivors often were forced to struggle for
weeks to find safety, despite injuries, burns and disease. The terrain was
so rugged that survivors would spend an entire day traveling 1 or 2 miles.
But, thanks to Raj, these survivors had were found in three days.
As they circled Raj noticed only 5 or 6 airmen were gathered
around the wrecked C-47, yet the manifest for the transport stated 17
souls on board. The aircraft had apparently flown into a cloud that
obscured the mountain peak. It clipped a wing and cart-wheeled several
times before coming to rest near the base of a slope. There wasn’t a
straight part left on the aircraft.
The threat of death seemed more vivid than ever to Raj; it was
right below his wings. One mistake could send him to the grave. Yet he
didn’t have time to think it over. The survivors needed help.
The medic strapped on his parachute and prepared the survival
box and cargo chute for the drop. Slowing the Staggerwing down to 80
mph, Raj flew over the crash site at 1500 ft. Forcing the door open, the
medic kicked out the box on Raj’s call. They circled to watch the chute
land 100 ft. from the crash site. Again, circling around and crossing over
the target area, Raj signaled to the medic to jump. And out he went! Raj
watched as the parachute opened and descended towards the wreckage.
It was a perfect jump! The medic landed 100 yards from the grounded
airmen.
The radio was quickly activated and communication was
established. The medic called it in: 10 Fatalities, 7 Survivors, 3 Severely
Injured. The search was over. But now the rescue had just begun. They
needed to get these men to safety, and in time to save the injured.
It was now up to Raj to precisely establish his position and plan a
rescue route. He back tracked his way to Myitkyina, drew the route on
the chart, landed there and helped organize the rescue party, which were
on their way by the afternoon. Over the next few days Raj continued to
fly back to the crash site to drop supplies and communicate with the
medic. They were finally reached by the rescue team who, with the help
of several donkeys, loaded up the survivors and started to head back.
The injured survivors were going to survive. The rescue was a success.
It was time for Raj to return to base in the valley. He flew his
trusty bird on a straight course back to Brahmaputra. The Staggerwing
rumbled over the hazy landscape as they followed the Ganges River
home. Raj reflected on the events of the week and wondered what
adventures the future held for him and his Staggerwing, and for him as a
pilot once the war was over. He had flown the Beechcraft 750 hours all
across northern India. That kind of experience would surely be needed in
the future. What would airline travel be like in the future? The progress of
aviation, thanks to necessary military improvements, was great. Perhaps,
someday, he would find himself the well-paid pilot of a large Indian
Airliner.
Historical-----------------------------------------------By late 1944, the Hump accident rate
had declined because of strict
maintenance and training emphasis.
An effort to increase tonnage carried
over the Hump peaked in July 1945
when 71,000 tons of cargo were
carried. On August 1, 1945, the ATC
(Air Transport Command) had flown
on that day alone 1,118 round trips,
with a cargo plane landing every
minute and twelve seconds!
Eventually, Indian National
Airways, Ltd., along with 7 other small
Indian airlines were nationalized into one
entity in 1953. The assortment of aircraft
became known as
Indian Airlines,
which continues to
this day as the
primary national air
carrier for the
nation of India.
Beechcraft Staggerwing VT-AKK--------------------------VT-AKK most likely suffered a
hard existence in the hot humid
environment of India. The fragile wood
and fabric structure could not hold up
for too long in those conditions. By the
end of the war it was retired from
airline service and soon, sadly, became
a derelict. For several years it
languished at an aircraft mechanic
training school where inexperienced
hands further ruined its integrity.
As in war-time, the
Staggerwing planes in India also
suffered heavy casualties.
VT-AKK was the sole survivor
of the 5 Staggerwings that had
been exported to India in 1938.
Yet fate was on the side of
this bird. In the 1970s,
VT-AKK found its way
back to America, and
eventually into the loving
expert hands of Chuck
Hamilton of Portland,
Oregon. Chuck carefully
cleaned and painted the
tubing structure, and
replaced the wooden
stringers and bulkheads
on the fuselage. Yet, as a
busy man, time became unavailable for the Staggerwing. By 2005 a
visionary man of action, Jim Parish, acquired the basket case, formed his
company Phoenix Restorations, and began the long expensive project of
restoring the “Indiaman.”
Big Sky Stearman, an
antique aircraft restoration
company, lead by John Pike, was
chosen to complete the aircraft.
Lead mechanic Jeremy Harris and
technician Brian Pipher proceeded to
replace every screw and part in the
plane. Expert wood worker Kevin
Pearson built new spruce wings. And
after 2½ years of careful precision
work, the aircraft was reborn.
On September 16, 2007 (63 years after it was grounded in India),
the Staggerwing VT-AKK once again took to the air. It was a long wait,
but it has finally found the sky again. Perhaps someday it might return to
India and fly through those familiar skies, over the routes it knew so well.
Like a ghost returning to its hot hazy air where it probably preformed
such great deeds for mankind, I bet this Staggerwing would know its
way.
Written by John Pike (2007)