Show I OR W EA ww 1 Mf WARS WAitS GREATEST SAGA When the final history of the war warIs waris waris Is told one of its greatest chapters will describe that branch of the service servIce service ice totally new to war war the the Air Transport command Transporting prime ministers and preside presidents ts wounded men jeeps and Pat Hurley's Hurley's Hur Hur- urley's ur- ur leys ley's Cadillac over oceans and deserts deserts deserts des des- erts has bas now become commonplace news to the American public But behind that commonplace news is a thrilling story of painstaking backbreaking back- back backbreaking backbreaking breaking pioneering Here are some things few people know about the Air Tr Transport command command command com com- mand Most 1 used air route In the world is not between Washington Washing Washing- ton and New York not between New York and Chicago but over The Hump Dump between China and India Traffic over this worlds world's highest mountain range the Himalayas Is so heavy that planes travel at different altitudes altitudes altitudes' altitudes alti alti- tudes tudes' so there will be no colli colli- One plane will have orders orders orders or or- ders to fly at feet teet another at and so on Three or four different air routes are used across the Hump Dump also to avoid collisions Next most heavily used air route Is across the North Atlantic The ATC sends a plane across the Atlantic Atlantic Atlantic At At- lantic every 58 seconds That's about as fast as traffic moves on the Pennsylvania Pennsylvania Pennsylvania Penn Penn- sylvania r railroad between New York and Philadelphia busiest rail line inthe in inthe inthe the world The ATC is now flying flying fly fly- ing returning troops across the Atlantic Atlantic Atlantic At At- lantic at a rate of per month For ye years rs A ATC TC pilots have been briefed on how bow to land landon on the difficult airports of Greenland Greenland Greenland Green Green- land Iceland or China Now the ATC ATe has the tremendous thrill of briefing g pilots on arriving at home ports ports Boston Boston Portland nd Long Is Island Is- Is land Pilots say that no briefing was ever more welcome From Battle Fronts More than wounded men have been carried in ATC planes aw away y from rom the battle front During During During Dur Dur- ing the e early stages of Okinawa fighting planes swooped down on makeshift runways taxied up to ambulances ambulances am am- took off right under the noses of Jap guns Stretchers were loaded aboard while the planes refueled re re- fueled One big ATC job has been getting crashed fliers out of the Himalayas Amazing fact is that 75 per cent are saved Lt Gen Harold George boss of the ATC realized in advance that crashes would be heavy over the Hump so men were given special training on how to live in the jungles They were even taken to jangle outposts to get familiar with the jungle before before before be be- fore they hopped Every plane flying the Hump has a small tin chest with its own parachute containing containing con- con medicine snake-bite snake antidote antidote antidote anti anti- dote water purifier concentrated food signal flares mirrors mosquito mosquito to nets etc This chest is kept near the planes plane's door If the crew has hasto hasto hasto to jump the chest is kicked out before before before be be- fore the last man leaves the plane In the jungle crews are taught to stay where they are until sighted by rescue planes which signal instructions in instructions in in- as to where they can be picked up Natives are usually friendly and the chances of getting rescued from the jungle are far better better better bet bet- ter than if a flier drops over the desert desert desert des des- ert or in the sea Japs Shot Down Donn Many 1 The J Japs aps shot down many A ATC TC planes early in the war by painting their DC with U. U S. S insignia Flying up close the Japs w waited until they had perfect targets then fired U U. S S. S planes had to be repainted Before Pearl Harbor Roosevelt ordered special fighter planes rushed to the British in Egypt where Rommel had General Montgomery's back to the wall However fighter fight fight- er planes couldn't make the long trek across Africa without refueling and there was no airport in the heart of ot the continent One day an American engineer was dropped off oil offa oila a plane almost in the center of Africa Africa Africa Af Af- Af- Af rica in French territory not far from the Sudan He had his pockets stuffed with money and his head stuffed with ideas That was about all He also had instructions to build an airport Six weeks later the ATC came back and he had a foot runway in fairly good shape He had drafted dr most of the camels and ond most of the natives natives natives na na- na- na tives in that part of Africa a and paid them plenty to do the job Fighter planes immediately began crossing to the Egyptian front and the British British British Brit Brit- ish army staged its comeback Today the French are arc making diplo- diplo diplomatic diplomatic matic inquiries as to this airport apparently with a view to taking it over Fifty Million Letters Fifty million letters were flown by b- bythe bythe the ATC to Europe in April This Thi peak load has now dropped off due to tr troop op transfers out of Europe but the A ATC TC has been the largest mail carrier in history Also it runs the worlds world's largest hotel chain It must be prepared to handle 1000 men a night at Natal Brazil also feed them ATC hotels are scattered scattered scat scat- all ov over r the world to handle ferrying and combat pilots When the we weather ther is bad hotel facilities overflow |