Project Seven Alpha

Book excerpt: The true story of American Airlines pilots who ferried essential supplies to US troops over the Himalayas is recounted in this thrilling WWII history. In late 1941, to prevent a Japanese invasion of India, President Roosevelt formed a defensive line on the eastern side of the Patkai and Himalayan Mountain Ranges. To support these troops, he needed an air supply from Eastern India. But he lacked the aircraft and pilots capable of navigating “The Hump”—the dangerous path over the world's highest mountains. The solution was Project Seven Alpha: a plan to enlist the DC-3 aircraft and World War I veteran pilots of American Airlines. This newly formed Squadron would fly these medium-range aircraft in a series of long-distance hops across the Pacific and Southern Asia to the Assam Valley in India. They would then establish the vital supply route carrying arms, ammunition and food to the Allied bases and return with wounded personnel. Based on the experiences of those who were involved, this is the story of this little-known operation of the Burma Campaign.