Qualla: Chakulia Airport https://qualla.com/chakulia-airport en-us © 2026 Bendyline Mon, 20 Jul 2026 10:21:31 GMT Qualla serial false Qualla support@bendyline.com yes https://qualla.com/_m/t/g/v/x/chakulia-airport-wp/hero-small.webp Qualla: Chakulia Airport https://qualla.com/chakulia-airport Chakulia Airport: Introduction https://qualla.com/chakulia-airport/ Photo credit United States Army Air Corps, Public domain. The runway at Chakulia has not seen a scheduled flight since World War II ended. Weeds push through cracked concrete, and abandoned hardstands are visible only from the air, their outlines softened by decades of monsoon seasons. But in 1944, this strip of eastern India was one of the most strategically important pieces of pavement on Earth -- a launching point for B-29 Superfortress missions against the Japanese home islands, the first American bombers to strike Japan since the Doolittle Raid two years earlier. The story of Chakulia is a story about the extraordinary lengths to which a wartime air force will go, and the equally extraordinary inefficiency that sometimes results.

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Image: United States Army Air Corps | Public domain

]]> Fri, 06 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/t/g/v/x/chakulia-airport-wp/tgvx-chakulia-airport-intro.mp3 0:06 1 full Chakulia Airport: Built for Burma, Rebuilt for Tokyo https://qualla.com/chakulia-airport/ Photo credit United States Army Air Corps, Public domain. Chakulia Airfield was constructed in 1942 by British contractor Das & Mohanty, originally designed for B-24 Liberator operations against the advancing Japanese in Burma. The 22nd Bombardment Squadron of the 341st Bombardment Group arrived on December 30, 1942, flying B-25 Mitchel...

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Image: United States Army Air Corps | Public domain

]]> Fri, 06 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/t/g/v/x/chakulia-airport-wp/tgvx-chakulia-airport-built-for-burma-rebuilt-for-tokyo.mp3 0:06 2 full Chakulia Airport: Kansas to Calcutta the Long Way https://qualla.com/chakulia-airport/ Photo credit United States Army Air Corps, Public domain. The 40th Bombardment Group arrived at Chakulia on April 2, 1944, after a deployment from Pratt Army Air Field in Kansas that took nearly two weeks and spanned most of the globe. The route ran south from Florida through the Caribbean to Natal, Brazil, then across the South Atlanti...

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Image: United States Army Air Corps | Public domain

]]> Fri, 06 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/t/g/v/x/chakulia-airport-wp/tgvx-chakulia-airport-kansas-to-calcutta-the-long-way.mp3 0:06 3 full Chakulia Airport: Six Trips to Fly One Mission https://qualla.com/chakulia-airport/ Photo credit United States Army Air Corps, Public domain. The logic of Operation Matterhorn was elegant in theory and punishing in practice. From Chakulia, the 40th Bomb Group would fly combat missions against Japan from forward staging bases near Chengdu in south-central China. But Japan controlled the sea lanes around China, making re...

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Image: United States Army Air Corps | Public domain

]]> Fri, 06 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/t/g/v/x/chakulia-airport-wp/tgvx-chakulia-airport-six-trips-to-fly-one-mission.mp3 0:06 4 full Chakulia Airport: From Superfortresses to Silence https://qualla.com/chakulia-airport/ Photo credit United States Army Air Corps, Public domain. On June 15, 1944, the 40th participated in the first American air attack on the Japanese home islands since the Doolittle Raid of 1942, earning a Distinguished Unit Citation for bombing the iron and steel works at Yawata in August of that year. But Operation Matterhorn was bleedi...

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Image: United States Army Air Corps | Public domain

]]> Fri, 06 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/t/g/v/x/chakulia-airport-wp/tgvx-chakulia-airport-from-superfortresses-to-silence.mp3 0:06 5 full