H03-1486. 1st (First) Air Commando Group
Records, 1943-2003. 14.50 linear ft.
Abstract
The collection of materials of the 1st Air Commando Group document a period of history of World War II as it developed in the China-Burma-India Theater in 1943 and 1944. It includes a substantial amount of material from the period, such as original rosters, official orders, and photographs of personnel and materials involved in the operation. Much of the material dates from the 1970s when the men involved in the operation began having reunions, and continues to the present. Much of the collection is correspondence generated by the secretaries of the organization. Many of the photographs were taken during these reunions. Probably the section of the collection that holds the most interest is the collection of war stories written by these men as reminiscences. These are first person accounts of their experiences as they remembered them. There is also a fairly complete collection of the newsletter published by the organization from the 1970s to the present, called the Basha Blabber, which contains a great deal of information about the operations and the men involved in them.
| Accession No.: | H03-1486 |
Provenance: | 1st Air Commando Group |
Donor: | 1st Air Commando Group (Custody Agreement) |
Photographs: | in Boxes 6, 7, and 9 |
Processed by: | Lee Witteveen, April 2003 |
History
In 1943, at the first Quebec Conference, Major General Orde G. Wingate requested consideration be given to furnishing him with a Light Plane Force to be used to evacuate wounded and sick men from the interior of Burma, from operations then being planned. During the late summer of the same year, Lord Louis Mountbatten, Commander of Allied Forces in the CBI Theater, discussed the details of such a project with General Arnold, Chief of U. S. Army Air Forces. It was at this time that tentative plans were made to form this unit, which was to include light planes, transports, and fighters. General Arnold selected Lt. Col. Philip Cochran and Lt. Col. John Alison to head this project.
In September 1943 the decision was made to include CG4a Gliders and to include glider-snatching equipment on the C-47s. Every available L-1 in the U.S. was requisitioned, new L-5s, C-47s, CG4as, TG5as, and helicopters were shipped. Finally, men were reporting into Goldsboro, North Carolina, where final preparations were made prior to being shipped to Karachi. On February 3, 1944, the first official fighter mission was run to orient the pilots that would later be involved in attacks. On February 12, the B-25s made their initial raid by bombing railroad bridges and firing at targets of opportunity.
Operations continued during the year 1944 until the rains came and made further action impossible. During this time bombing raids were made on the Japanese forces, troops were flown into the area by transport planes and gliders, and wounded soldiers were evacuated to base hospitals by the light planes.
Scope and Content
The collection of materials of the 1st Air Commando Group document a period of history of World War II as it developed in the China-Burma-India Theater in 1943 and 1944. It includes a substantial amount of material from the period, such as original rosters, official orders, and photographs of personnel and materials involved in the operation. Much of the material dates from the 1970s when the men involved in the operation began having reunions, and continues to the present.
Much of the collection is correspondence generated by the secretaries of the organization. Many of the photographs were taken during these reunions. Probably the section of the collection that holds the most interest is the collection of war stories written by these men as reminiscences. These are first person accounts of their experiences as they remembered them. There is also a fairly complete collection of the newsletter published by the organization from the 1970s to the present, called the Basha Blabber, which contains a great deal of information about the operations and the men involved in them.
Container List
Box 1
Air Corps Field Manuals, 1940-1942
Art Work - Basha Blabber, 1981
Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws, 1982
Background Material
Biography - John R. Alison, n. d.
Blueprint - Memorial, 1991
Booklets
"Air Force," 1944
"Any Place, Any Time, Any Where," 1986
"Army Air Force Lyrics," 1985
"Behind the Lines," 1994
"The Chindits," 1944
"Chindit Memorial Appeal," 1990
Dedication of Buildings - Hurlburt Field, 1994
"Doolittle's Raiders," 1983
"Grasshoppers at War," 1982
"Heritage of the Quiet Professionals," 1996
"Jungle, Jungle, Little Chindit," 1944
"Lucknow Pictorial Album," n. d.
"Night Flyer," 1992
"Operation Thursday," 1994
"P-47 Thunderbolt Pilots Assn. Directory, 1980
"A Pocket Guide to India," 1942
R.A.F. Museum Guide, n. d.
"Tenth Air Force Story," 1980
"Yank's Magic Carpet," 1945
"194 Squadron," R.A.F., 1987
Bound Volumes
Air Commando, Michael E. Haas, 1994
Burma 1944. George Gregson, 1944
Burma, the Curse of Independence, Shelby Tucker, 2001
The Campaign in Burma, Frank Owen, 1946
The Chindit War, Shelford Bidwell, 1979
Dirty Little Secrets of World War II, James F. Dunnigan, 1994
The First and the Last, Adolf Galland, 1954
Flying Tiger to Air Commando, Chuck Baisden, 1994
Great Air Battles, W.W. I and II, Don Lawson, 1968
Seventh Armored Division, Vol. II, 1987
Box 2
Correspondence
Air Force Historical Research Agency, n. d., 2000
British Mule Society, 1980
California Dept. of Justice, 1982-1984
California Franchise Tax Coard, 1982-1988
California Secretary of State, 1989-2002
Chindit Memorial, 1990
Chindit Old Comrades Assn., 1984-1997 (3 folders)
Dedication of Cochran and Alison Bldgs. - Hurlburt Field, 1994
Erie County Historical Society and Museum, 2001
Gurka Welfare Trust, 1989-2001
Hall of Fame, 1969, 1994
Imperial War Museum, 1994
Insignia, 1988
Internal Revenue Service, 1982, 1988
J. F. Kennedy Special Warfare Museum, 2000
L Planes, 1989-1994
Memorial for K.I.A., M.I.A., P.O.W., 1992-1994
Military History Institute, 1997-2000
Museum of Aviation, n. d.
National Army Museum, 1997
National D-day Museum, n. d., 2000
Reunions, 1950, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1979, 1981, 1982, 1984, 1985, 1987-2002 (24 folders)
Silent Wings Museum, 2002-2003
U.S.A.F. Academy, 1987, 2000, 2001
U.S. Postal Service, 1989, 1998
Box 3
Correspondence (cont.)
General, n. d., 1961, 1974, 1975, 1980-2003 (28 folders)
Box 4
Early Unit History, 1943-1945
Film on Reel (Poor Condition), 1994
Floppy Disk - Master Roster, 1989
Framed Items
Basha Blues, 1944
Cartoon - Milton Caniff, n. d., 1943 (2 folders)
Chindit Memorial, 1990
Chindit Vase, n. d.
Clippings, n. d., 1987 (2 folders)
Photographs
Unidentified, n. d.
Chindit Reunion, 1981
Johnny Knight and Bob Moist, n. d.
Insignia, n. d.
Magazines
"Air Classics," 1995
"Airman," 1995
"American History," 1983
"American Legion," 1979
"Behind the Lines," 1994
"The Commando," 1983-1984
"CBIVA Sound Off," 1995
"Curtiss Fly Leaf," 1943
"Night Flyer," 1992
Manuscripts
Back to Mandalay, Lowell Thomas, 1951
The Forgotten Theater, James Meisel, 1994
Images of Apollo's Warriors, Richard W. Boltz, 2001
72nd Airdrome Squadron, James Meisel, 1994
Maps
Asia, 1942, 1943
Campaigns in Burma, 1945
Peoples of Mainland S.E. Asia, 1971
Minutes of Business Meetings, 1985-2000
Monacherra Club Coupon, n. d.
Monograph - Any Place, Any Time, Any Where, R. D. Van Wagner, 1988
Box 5
Newsletters
Basha Blabber, 1971, 1975-1977, 1979-2002, 2003-[ongoing](30 folders)
Burma Star Association, 1991, 1999, 2003
Commando, 1994, 1996
Ex CBI Roundup, 1953-55, 1970-1987 (9 folders)
Box 6
Newsletters (cont.)
Ex CBI Roundup, 1988-2002 (5 folders)
The Friendly Firm, 1985
Hump Pilots Assn., 1987
Liaison Spoken Here, 1989-1994 (2 folders)
22nd Bomb Squadron Association, 1994
World War II Air Commando, 1983-2003 (3 folders)
Official Orders, 1943-1944
Photographs (16 folders)
Box 7
Photographs (cont.) (27 folders)
Program- 1st Special Operations Wing - Change of Command, 1993
Reports
Chindits Old Comrades Association 1990, 1995 (2 folders)
The Chindits, 1944
U.S.A.F. Historical Library, n. d., 1944 (2 folders)
1st Air Commando Group - Air Command and Staff College, 1986
1st Air Commando Force - Invasion of Burma, 1944
Box 8
Research Thesis - War is Hell, Michelle Webb, 1995
Researchers - Cary, Diana Serra
Rosters, n. d., 1944, 1948, 1985, 1987, 1996, 1999, 2001 (8 folders)
Scrapbooks
Burma, 1944
Hurlburt Memorial, 1994
164th, 165th, 166th Liaison Squadrons, 1943-1945
Video Tape - Reunion, 1992
War Stories
Allen W. Abrahams, 1993
Louis M. Balint, 1991
Chuck Baisden, 1989
William S. Burghardt, 1992
O. B. Carter, 1991
Jack Curtis, 1992
Bob De Marco, 1991
Leon S. Dure, Jr., 1944
Cortez F. Enloe, 1992
Frank M. Fazio, 1991
Bill Johnson, 1990
Jack Klaar, 1988
Walter Lair, 1944
Lou Lenz, 1991
John M. Gourley, 1989
John T. Mattinson, 1991
Frank Merchant, n. d.
F. J. "Curly" Misfeldt, 1991
A. Eugene Piester, n. d.
J. B. Rader, 1993
Stan Robertson, 1992
D. K. Robinson, 1994
Raymond J. Ruksas, n. d.
Frank Turner, 1986
A. R. Van De Weghe, 1991
Bob Weiner, 1989
Mark P. Zaitsoff, n. d.
Stan Zajas, 1991
Carl E. Zeigler, 1992
Unknown, n. d.
Chindit Stories, 1943-1945
CBI Stories 1971, 1975
Newspaper Clippings (5 folders)
Box 9 (OVERSIZE)
Basha Blabber (newsletter), 1974-1978
Booklet - Hunters in the Sky, 1980
Certificates - William Johnson
Palmer Method, 1933, 1934
St. Cecilia's School, 1934
Framed Items
Letter - 40th Anniversary of the second Chindit Expedition, 1984
Newspaper Clipping - Daily Star, 1994
Photograph, n. d.
Photographs (Groups) (14)
Sketches of Battle, n. d. (5)
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