Originally Posted by
XV490
Many lives were saved by the RAF Dakota units based at Imphal, not just with casevacs but also with supply drops over the jungles.
This is just what Mr WHBM Senior (see above) was doing with their Dakotas. Never heard about medevac, t
hey principally did missions for the ground forces, apart from all sorts of other transport jobs. They went out (and back) by sea from Glasgow to Bombay, then by rail to the far east of India in Assam, where they picked up the aircraft. The most notable missions were food resupply to the army below, who were principally Indian enlisted men with British officers. Aircraft came in low at about 2,000 feet, circled the jungle clearing drop zone, no airstrip, all those below just stood clear. Supplies, principally rice, loaded loosely in bags, about 1 ton per bag. Open the door, put the aircraft in a tight bank, several (Indian) aircraftsmen at the back start booting the first bag over the door lip, slowly and slowly out it goes ... WHAM ! . Suddenly gone. No parachute, hence the very loose loading of the bags. Keep going round for the next one. The men at the back were entirely unrestrained, working close to the open door in the banked aircraft. Occasionally the bags burst on landing, not seen as too much of an issue, because, to make a first person quote "Well ... it was going to be boiled anyway, they just scooped it up".