General Discussion

My dad flew the Burma Hump in WWII.
He was a 20 year old tail gunner in a rusty bucket with wings.
The planes were always under fire, and flying across the Himalayas at high altitude,
wind, snow, ice. The planes were a mess most of the time but the mechanics somehow
kept them flying. I always wondered how they managed to do this.

Recently I met someone whose Dad was a USAF mechanic during WWII, Burma Hump.
I was so excited to get to ask my question. How the H did these guys keep those planes flying?
He laughed and said his Dad used to tell stories about that.

He said they scavenged anything they could from anywhere all the time.
If they heard of supplies anywhere they went and requisitioned them.
If they heard of a plane going down, from any side, branch of service, or country,
they piled into jeeps and trucks and went and striped it clean.

I said well it was a miracle my father wasn't killed, so I owe it to your Dad for saving his life.
I don't care how the hell he did it.