1st Air Commandos

The story of the 1st Air Commandos is probably one of the most badass of the entire war. General "Hap" Arnold enlisted the help of Phil Cochran, a commander of P-40 fighters in North Africa, to plan an invasion of Burma behind Japanese lines. Cochran, who was criminally never portrayed by Marlon Brando, was a Colonel who didn't care so much about regulations or how his men looked, just as long as they got the job done.


Allison, Wingate, and Cochran (L-R)

British General Orde Wingate was to be the leader of the British "Chindits" fighting force, and were to be flown in by glider behind the Japs and construct fortified airbases from which the operations could be carried out by bomber, liaison, and transport aircraft. On March 5, 1944, Operation Thursday was carried out.



Airlifts inserted almost 10,000 men, well over 1,000 mules, and approximately 250 tons of supplies. Casualties from the high-risk operation, including missing, were less than 150, and for the first time in military history aircraft evacuated all killed, wounded, and sick from behind enemy lines. This was when the "glider snatch" was used. Glider snatching consisted of a C-47 flying over a glider on the ground attached to a tow rope between two poles. The C-47 would hook onto the tow rope and slingshot the glider into the air. Pilots equated it to being shot out of a cannon.



The 1st Air Commando Group also went on to test the first use of helicopters in a combat zone, using Sikorsky R-4's. The helicopter rescued a downed liaison aircraft pilot and his three British soldier passengers, two at a time. The 1st AC were pioneers and deserve their place in aviation history. Oh yeah, and Jackie Coogan, who played Uncle Fester on "The Addams Family," was also a glider pilot with the 1st AC. He was the first glider pilot to land Allied troops behind enemy lines in the whole damn operation.



Hard to believe?