Flying the Hump: The Deadliest Airlift Nobody Remembers (Illustrated Ebook)
Before the Berlin Airlift there was the Hump. From 1942 to 1945, cargo planes flew fuel, ammunition and supplies from India over the Himalayas to China, because there was no other way in.
A 25-page illustrated history of the first great strategic airlift. It covers:
- Why the Burma Road closed and China had to be supplied by air
- The route, the weather, and the "aluminum trail" of wrecked aircraft
- The C-47, C-46, C-87 and C-109, and why some of them were feared
- CNAC, the airline that flew the route first
- How William H. Tunner cut the accident rate while tonnage soared, and took those lessons to Berlin
It includes archival public-domain photographs and records, original AI-generated aircraft illustrations (labeled in their captions, shown without markings), an original route map and tonnage chart, a timeline, a "by the numbers" page, and a full list of sources. Where wartime statistics disagree, it shows the range and names each source.
Pairs with our Berlin Airlift ebook.
Format: PDF, 7x10 in, 25 pages, about 3.8 MB. Digital download; nothing ships. Personal use.
How it was made: the text was drafted with AI assistance, then fact-checked against the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force, the U.S. Army Center of Military History, Air Force Magazine histories and the India-China Division's 1945 report. Spot an error? Tell us and we'll fix it in the next edition (free update).
Unofficial. Logbook Press is an independent history imprint, not affiliated with or endorsed by the Department of War (Department of Defense) or any military service. No endorsement is implied.
