Imphal, The Hump and Beyond 
Imphal, The Hump and Beyond
U.S.A.A.F Combat Cargo Groups of the Second World War
1st Combat Cargo Group, 1st Combat Cargo Squadron
MEN OF THE GREAT SNAFU FLEET
T/Sgt. Roger H. 'Flip' Corcoran, Aerial Engineer
| Fighters are graceful and glamorous things
With lady-like lines and close cropped wings. Bombers are great with their bullets and guns Precision tested for death dealing runs. But the transport plane with its dirt and grease Gives wings to the cargo that must not cease. While the boys of ATC gather public acclaim And the papers are full of spectacular fame While the Great Snafu Fleet flies into the sun To do a job that has only begun. They conquered the Hump through guts and grit They washed it away with sweat and spit. It wasn’t brash talk that made the grade, It was the guys who came and stayed. It wasn’t the boast of idle men Nor heroes being made just not and then But the will to carry the supplies across Despite the price and despite the loss. Men of the Great Snafu Fleet Have made this their first and final decision "We’ll get this stuff there and we’ll get it there fast Till the Japanese Empire is a thing of the past". T/Sgt. Roger H. (Flip) Corcoran (deceased), Aerial Engineer, 1st Combat Cargo Group, 1st Combat Cargo Squadron, "The Great SNAFU Fleet" was a spoof of Eastern Airlines pre-war slogan "The Great Silver Fleet", even being painted in a similar flowing script over the windows above the wing. Squadron personnel painted this logo on the side of most of the squadron’s airplanes before long (John van Lieu notes the first time he saw an airplane painted with that logo was early November at Tulihal, India). Submitted by M/Sgt Gerald A. White Jr. The Great Snafu Fleet, A WW II History of the 1st Combat Cargo Squadron |
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| I am looking for former members of the 3rd
Combat Cargo Group, 1st, Combat Cargo Group, 2nd Combat Cargo Group and the 4th
Combat Cargo Group. In fact I would like to hear from anyone who flew over the Hump
during WW II, or flew any Combat Cargo Missions at any time (Berlin Air-Lift, Korea,
etc.) Please e-mail comment, suggestions, corrections,etc to: bill@comcar.org Imphal, the Hump and Beyond Copyright © 1999 Bill Bielauskas All rights reserved. Notice to all Viewers: All stories and images within "Imphal, The Hump and Beyond, U.S.A.A.F Combat Cargo Units of the Second World War", are Copyright ©1999, to the Veteran who submitted the text and/or photographs and to Bill Bielauskas, Webmaster at "Imphal, the Hump and Beyond, U.S.A.A.F. Combat Cargo Units of the Second World War". All rights reserved. No part of this page, or those connected via links, either text, or images may be used for any purpose other than personal use. Storage, reproduction, modification on a retrieval system or transmission, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without prior written permission of the Copyright © holder(s) is prohibited. This includes storage on another Internet Website other than "Imphal, the Hump and Beyond, U.S.A.A.F. Combat Cargo Groups of the Second World War" Bill Bielauskas 10 Cayuga Trail, Wayne, NJ. 07470-4406 |