In the summer of 1944, Japanese forces suffered a decisive defeat in north-east India during the battles for Kohima and Imphal. Terence O'Halloran, 31 Squadron Association historian, looks at the vital role RAF supply squadrons played in securing victory for the Allies.
Kohima is a small but important town in India on the road from Dimapur to Imphal, connecting the states of Nagaland and Manipur. During WWII the Imphal plain relied upon Kohima for road access to the outside world. In April 1944, Japanese forces closed that road when they laid siege to Imphal and encircled Kohima.
Surrounded on all sides, the Allied defenders of Kohima relied solely on the Dakota aircraft to evacuate all non-essential personnel and bring in vital supplies, with 450 tonnes per week required for Imphal alone.
A familiar sight to the defender of Kohima – an RAF Dakota of 31 Squadron. Seen here dropping supplies to the Indian Army garrison at Tjianjoer in 1946. ©IWM
To assist with this huge undertaking, 100 extra Dakotas were loaned to South-East Asia Command at the end of April 1944, initially for a period of one month. These were to help ease the pressure on the RAF supply squadrons – 31, 62, 117 and 194 – operating alongside United States Army Air Force aircraft.
Many of the Dakotas were armed with two Vickers machine guns just rear of the mid-fuselage to ward off enemy aircraft. At Kohima, the aircraft of 31 Squadron and an eight-aircraft detachment from 194 were all armed in this manner, allowing them to strafe Japanese ground forces in an attempt to reduce the perpetual ground fire. Despite this, the Dakotas would often return peppered with holes which the riggers would have to swiftly repair back at base.
View of the Garrison Hill battlefield, with the remains of parachutes from air supply drops still visible among the trees. Garrison Hill was the key to the British defences at Kohima. ©IWM
With the army unable to provide troops to guard all the airfields in India, the RAF was obliged to create their own defence force to look after the perimeters of essential air transit centres such as Palam and Tullihul. These were the two main all-weather airfields adjacent to Imphal, so became just as important to the Japanese attackers as to the British and Indian regiments defending the towns and adjacent supply depots.
Such was the workload that Dakotas of 31 Squadron RAF found themselves delivering supplies to Kohima on a daily basis, from 14 April until 10 May, with 10 to 14 aircraft employed per drop.
The supplies provided by the RAF Dakota squadrons ensured that Allied forces could continue the fight, and eventually reopen the vital road.
Japan's defeat at Kohima and Imphal turned the tide of the war in the far east, enabling the subsequent Allied reconquest of Burma and ultimate victory over Japan.
A Japanese roadblock on the Imphal-Kohima road is hurriedly dismantled by men of the West Yorkshire Regiment, within rifle shot of enemy troops. ©IWM
