The India-China Division (ICD) is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with the Air Transport Command, stationed at Dum Dum Airport Calcutta, British India. It was deactivated in 1946. The organization was formed as the India-China Wing, ATC (ICWATC) from a consolidation of equipment and personnel of former units of the disbanded India-China Ferry Command in December 1942, which had been established in July 1942 by the Tenth Air Force to transport materiel to China over the Himalayan Mountains ("The Hump").
ICWATC was one of nine overseas transport wings of ATC's Air Transportation Division, reporting directly to Division headquarters and not subject to control by theater commanders. It was also one of the few ATC wings to have its own assigned aircraft under the direct command of the wing commander. In July 1944 ATC reorganized worldwide and the nine wings became divisions. ICWATC became the India-China Division, with its Eastern and Western Sectors redesignated the Assam and India Wings respectively. Its mission was the air transport of supplies, personnel, equipment and aircraft within India and China during World War II.
Between 1 December 1942 and 1 December 1943 its flying components were transport groups and squadrons. After that ATC discarded the standard TO&E group/squadron structure for its units and adopted a more flexible "exact manning" system, identifying its units by their station number designation until August 1944, when it converted to the service-wide Army Air Force Base Unit system of designating non-combat units.
The organization began with two stations (Dinjan and Chabua) and three others under construction, operating less than 60 aircraft. By August 1945 ICD had expanded to more than 60 Base Units, 640 aircraft, and 34,000 personnel. On 29 January 1944 the ICWATC became the first non-combat organization to be awarded the Presidential Unit Citation, at the personal direction of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, for its efforts flying the Hump.
History
Lineage Constituted as the India-China Wing, Air Transport Command Activated on 1 December 1942 Redesignated India-China Division, Air Transport Command on 1 July 1944 Inactivated on 15 February 1946
Assignments Air Transport Command, 1 December 1942 – 1946
Components 1 December 1942 to 1 December 1943
1st Ferrying Group 3d Ferrying Squadron 6th Ferrying Squadron 13th Ferrying Squadron Dinjan Airfield, Assam, India 22d Transport Group 77th Transport Squadron 78th Transport Squadron 88th Transport Squadron Jorhat Airfield, Assam, India 28th Transport Group 96th Transport Squadron 97th Transport Squadron 98th Transport Squadron Tezpur Airfield, Assam, India
29th Transport Group 13th Ferrying Squadron 99th Transport Squadron 100th Transport Squadron 301st Transport Squadron Sookerating Airfield, Assam, India 30th Transport Group 302nd Transport Squadron 303d Transport Squadron 304th Transport Squadron Mohanbari Airfield, Assam, India
Stations ATC Station Number AAF Base Unit Name Coordinates Notes 1 1300th HQ, India-China Division, ATCHastings AABRishra, India HQ Moved from New Delhi in April 1944 to be closer to operational areas. Co-located with Headquarters Army Air Forces India-Burma Theater in the Hastings Jute Mill. Inactivated 15 February 1946. 19 1305th Dum Dum AirportCalcutta, India Operated Calcutta (later Bengal) Air Depot. Responsible for movement of aircraft, supplies and equipment received at Calcutta port facilities north to Chauba for points in China or east to forces in Burma. Supported depot facilities operated by Air Materiel Command and Air Technical Service Command in Calcutta. Inactivated 14 December 1945.Calcutta 2 1325th HQ, Assam WingChabua Airfield, India Established 1944 from Eastern Sector, India-China Wing. Commanded ATC medium-range transport organizations stationed in the Northeast India Assam Valley. Primary mission was ferrying aircraft and moving supplies and equipment over Himalayan Mountains (The Hump). Inactivated 15 October 1945 3 1325th HQ, Bengal WingTejgaon Airport, India Located near Dacca and established December 1944. Commanded ATC C-54 organizations stationed in eastern India and Burma. Also moving supplies and equipment over Himalayan Mountains from Burma. Inactivated 15 June 1946 8 1307th Hq, India WingWillingdon AirfieldNew Delhi, India Established 1944 from Western Sector, India-China Wing and responsible for ATC operations within most of India. Successor of 10th AF Trans-India Ferry Command. Moved supplies and equipment from Bombay, Bangalore and Ceylon, including operation of Trans-Indian Ferry route from Karachi to Bengal or Assam Wings. Inactivated 5 December 1945 13 1340th Hq, China WingKunming Airport, China Established December 1944 to commanded ATC organizations stationed in China. On route Easy Inactivated 25 November 1945 RAF Agartala, India ATC staging airfield on Transport Route "Nan" (Barrackpore, India Eastbound to Szemao, China). Primarily 10th AF Combat Cargo support airfield for support of British and United States forces in Burma. Also used by 10th AF and RAF. USAAF ended operations June 1945. Now Agartala Airport, India .AFHRA Agartala 17 1303d Agra Airfield, India Built by USAAF, First American personnel arrived 19 March 1942.AFHRA Document 00003318 On Trans-India ferrying route from Karachi to Calcutta. Major ATSC Depot and ATC transshipment facility. ATSC Central Indian Air Depot, 3d Air Depot Group. ATC ended operations December 1945, USAAF May 1946.AFHRA Document 00191942 Today Agra is an Indian Air Force airbase Agra Air Force Station as well as public/civil airport. . 1304th Barrackpore Airfield, India Airfield established by RAF in June 1943, taken over by USAAF in October.AFHRA Document 00268069 Became transshipment and major Air Depot for ATC transport and ferrying operations to China, Origin of Transport Route "Nan" (Barrackpore Eastbound to Szemao, China), and terminus of Transport Route "Oboe" (Kunming China Westbound to Barrackpore). Also supported 10th AF Combat Cargo operations into Burma for support of British and United States ground forces. USAAF operations ended March 1946.AFHRA Barrackpore Now IAF Barrackpore Air Force Station. Bhamo Airfield, Burma Built by Japanese, sized in January 1945 by British forces during the Battle of Bhamo.AFHRA Document 00264858 Became 10th Air Force airfield. Used by ATC as staging airfield on Transport Route "Oboe" (Kunming China westbound to Barrackpore, India), primarily for Combat Cargo resupply and casualty transport. Closed December 1945AFHRA Bhamo Now civil airport . 6 1333d Chabua Airfield, India Built at Hazelbank Tea Plantation by USAAF. Construction began April 1942, opened in September. Was major staging station on ATC Transport Route "Able" (Rupsi, India to Hsichang, China and return) and was one of the most important air transport bases in northeast Assam. A large percentage of the Hump flights originated at Chabua: it was the receiving point for high-priority items air-shipped to the Assam area for use by air and ground forces in CBI, and was the home base for a group of 10th AF B-24 bombers, with supporting fighter planes. Its only runway was 6,000 feet long. Also used by 10th AF Combat Cargo units. Attacked by Japanese aircraft on 12 February 1943. Inactivated 25 December 1945.AFHRA Chabua Now IAF Chabua Air Force Station. 30 1342d Chanyi Airfield, China Primarily 14th AF combat reconnaissance and medium bomber base. Origin of ATC Transport Route "Charlie", (westbound to Tezpur, India) Supported 14th AF Combat Cargo units. Extensive Chinese Army transport facility. USAAF closed facilities 12 October 1945.AFHRA Chanyi Now Zhanyi Airport/Air Base civil airport/PLA-AF base (Closed). 15 1339th Chengkung Airfield, China Construction of the airfield began in November 1942, with the airfield opening on 27 January 1943. Chengkung was a major terminal for "the Hump" trans-Himalayan transport aircraft between India and China for Air Transport Command C-47 Skytrain and C-46 Commando aircraft. On Transport Route "Nan" (eastbound from Barrackpore, India) In addition, Air Technical Service Command maintained a maintenance and supply facility at the base to support the airlift operations over the Himalayas. Also 14th AF Combat Cargo Facility. Inactivated 20 October 1945. Chengkung Comilla Airfield, India Used by ATC as an axillary field for Dacca on southern transport route through Burma to China. Now Comilla Airport, Bangladesh . 22 1329th Deragon Airfield, India Dergaon airfield was located just a few miles west of Jorhat, and was another base for transport flights to China via the "Hump" route.
Today, it has disappeared.