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History of Aviation in Bangladesh before Liberation

The Ronin

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The history of aviation in Bangladesh begins with kites which were flown by the aristocrats as a hobby since the Mughal times. Kite flying festivals are also common phenomena here and it is being observed from long back. However, first known manned flight in this region is dated back to March of 1892 which ended with a fatal accident. A young ballonist from the United States known as Jeanette Van Tassel was hired by the Nawab Ahsanullah. She started flying on a balloon from the roof top of Ahsan Manzil and attempted to cross Buriganga River. But fate intervened and she ended up on the gardens near Shahbag and died from the fall as her balloon got stuck in a tree.

After this there is no known development in aviation sector up to World War II. In early 1943 British Government established a runway at Tejgaon to conduct operations on Burma theatre. After that by end of 1943 they built airfields at Comilla,Feni,Chittagong,Cox's Bazar,Chakaria,Sylhet,Jessore,Rajshahi and Lalmonirhat to increase the tempo of combat sorties. From late 1943 to early 1944 the Royal Air Force carried out almost 1000 operational sortie by only one squadron averaging upto 6 sorties per pilot. Later on Shahjalal airport was established at 1941 and the ‘Burma Campaign’ continued up to 1945.

In 1948 the first flying club in this country was established which operated in a limited scope. The first civil passenger flight landed in Dhaka on 7 June 1954. It was a DC-3 aircraft from Karachi operated by Orient airways. Orient Airways is the predecessor of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA).

After civil flights were being operated from this region it had its fair share of accidents and incidents. A DC-3 of PIA crashed into Bay of Bengal after taking off from Chittagong in 1957. A Sikorsky helicopter crashed near Faridpur in 1966 killing 23 people. In 1970 an aircraft carrying food supply for flood affected people from Red Cross crashed in Tejgaon while landing killing all the crews.

https://altitudebelow.blogspot.com/...Isg_H_xiLpgrltS-by__hWu_uqikon0jqqRDvS8jvXzWw
 
The history of aviation in Bangladesh begins with kites which were flown by the aristocrats as a hobby since the Mughal times. Kite flying festivals are also common phenomena here and it is being observed from long back. However, first known manned flight in this region is dated back to March of 1892 which ended with a fatal accident. A young ballonist from the United States known as Jeanette Van Tassel was hired by the Nawab Ahsanullah. She started flying on a balloon from the roof top of Ahsan Manzil and attempted to cross Buriganga River. But fate intervened and she ended up on the gardens near Shahbag and died from the fall as her balloon got stuck in a tree.

After this there is no known development in aviation sector up to World War II. In early 1943 British Government established a runway at Tejgaon to conduct operations on Burma theatre. After that by end of 1943 they built airfields at Comilla,Feni,Chittagong,Cox's Bazar,Chakaria,Sylhet,Jessore,Rajshahi and Lalmonirhat to increase the tempo of combat sorties. From late 1943 to early 1944 the Royal Air Force carried out almost 1000 operational sortie by only one squadron averaging upto 6 sorties per pilot. Later on Shahjalal airport was established at 1941 and the ‘Burma Campaign’ continued up to 1945.

In 1948 the first flying club in this country was established which operated in a limited scope. The first civil passenger flight landed in Dhaka on 7 June 1954. It was a DC-3 aircraft from Karachi operated by Orient airways. Orient Airways is the predecessor of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA).

After civil flights were being operated from this region it had its fair share of accidents and incidents. A DC-3 of PIA crashed into Bay of Bengal after taking off from Chittagong in 1957. A Sikorsky helicopter crashed near Faridpur in 1966 killing 23 people. In 1970 an aircraft carrying food supply for flood affected people from Red Cross crashed in Tejgaon while landing killing all the crews.

https://altitudebelow.blogspot.com/...Isg_H_xiLpgrltS-by__hWu_uqikon0jqqRDvS8jvXzWw

@Ronin Kurmitola and many other smaller airfields (Comilla Mainamati, Chittagong Patenga) were used by both the RAF and USAAF during early WWII to bomb Japanese forward bases in Burma. Mainamati hosted P47's, P40's etc. and Hawks from the USAAF, as well as B25 Mitchells.

The field at Kurmitola is the current site of our Dhaka Shahjalal Int'l airport.

The 341st Bombardment Group was activated here on 15 September 1942 as a medium bombardment group equipped with the B-25 Mitchell. It entered the front line early in 1943, operating against Japanese ground targets in central Burma from Kurmitola, India: June 1943.

If you search you'll see other pics.

http://www.historyofwar.org/air/units/USAAF/341st_Bombardment_Group.html

B25H Mitchell agile bombers at Kurmitola.
Kurmitola%202nd%20Weather%20Sq%201945.jpg


Kurmitola%20341st%20Dining%20Facility.jpg


Kurmitola%20341st%20Headquarters.jpg


Kurmitola%20Control%20Tower%201945.jpg
 
@Ronin Kurmitola and many other smaller airfields (Comilla Mainamati, Chittagong Patenga) were used by both the RAF and USAAF during early WWII to bomb Japanese forward bases in Burma. Mainamati hosted P47's, P40's etc. and Hawks from the USAAF, as well as B25 Mitchells.

The field at Kurmitola is the current site of our Dhaka Shahjalal Int'l airport.

The 341st Bombardment Group was activated here on 15 September 1942 as a medium bombardment group equipped with the B-25 Mitchell. It entered the front line early in 1943, operating against Japanese ground targets in central Burma from Kurmitola, India: June 1943.

If you search you'll see other pics.

http://www.historyofwar.org/air/units/USAAF/341st_Bombardment_Group.html

B25H Mitchell agile bombers at Kurmitola.
Kurmitola%202nd%20Weather%20Sq%201945.jpg


Kurmitola%20341st%20Dining%20Facility.jpg


Kurmitola%20341st%20Headquarters.jpg


Kurmitola%20Control%20Tower%201945.jpg


Looking at Mitchell, that's great aircraft ever built. They are a great and versatile bomber, couple them with P 51 mustang and you will get a formidable fleet between 1940-1955. Indonesia operated two or three squadrons B 25 mitchell , some ex Netherland and some US donation.

B-25 forum warthunder com.jpg
b-25 carrynetwork com.jpg
 
Looking at Mitchell, that's great aircraft ever built. They are a great and versatile bomber, couple them with P 51 mustang and you will get a formidable fleet between 1940-1955. Indonesia operated two or three squadrons B 25 mitchell , some ex Netherland and some US donation.

View attachment 627288 View attachment 627289

Yes the B25's are famous for the Doolittle raid on Tokyo (and other Japanese cities) in 1942 led by US war-hero Jimmy Doolittle, about the same time these were deployed in what is now Bangladesh. These medium bombers were just the largest size you could launch from a US Aircraft carrier, and they did.

https://usnhistory.navylive.dodlive.mil/2017/04/07/in-1992-doolittle-raid-revisited/
 

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