The moment people think about WWII, the first thing that comes to their mind is Normandy and Stalingrad. This is all due to the constant injection of war imagery from Hollywood. People in India usually associate that decade with their own freedom struggle, thus not truly understanding the indirect effect of the war. If one major metropolitan city in India that truly was facing the wrath of the war would surely be Calcutta (Kolkata). What people never would have imagined would be the Argentina and Kolkata Connection During WWII.
This city faced several bombing raids from the Japanese, who were desperately trying to break the supply chain from the ports. Calcutta played a crucial part in supplying men and materials to the Chinese front, something which the Japanese tried their best to break to maintain their strategic position, which they had captured.
Previously, I had written a blog about Calcutta during WWII and given a full description of the bombing raids, but then I did not concentrate on the pilots who were trying to defend the city. Who were they and where did they come from?
My interest in writing this blog grew after a recent incident in the city where the Argentine football star “Messi” had come to the city for a tour, and after briefly appearing in the stadium for a few minutes, he had to abruptly stop and exit the stadium. The fans who had waited for hours and paid an entrance fee to view their star were left high and dry. This did not go down well, and the fans ultimately started rioting inside the stadium.
I felt that somewhere Kolkata and Argentina are like brothers from another mother. Be it the football crazy fans or the blue and white colors that now adorn almost all government buildings and streets, somewhere we are connected.
During my research, I found out that the city has an unusual connection with Argentina. Most of us are well aware how Kolkata and football go hand in hand, and people would swear their allegiance to Messi and Maradona, but the connection between Calcutta and Argentina goes a long way back. It goes back to World War II when the city of Calcutta had become a center stage for the Allied movement, and the Japanese were bombarding the city from the air.
Short History On Japanese Capture Of Burma During WWII
The year was 1942, and the invading Japanese army was ravaging across Burma, driving out the British forces into a retreat. The British fell back to India around present-day Nagaland and Manipur.
Now the question comes as to why Burma was so important to the British, and the answer lies in the fact that Burma produced a vast number of raw materials, which were being traded by the British. Secondly, there was heavy trade between Calcutta and Malaya (Malaysia), Singapore, Hong Kong & Indo China (Indonesia), Burma, with its port in Rangoon (Yangon), was a mid-point having massive amounts of goods passing through.
On a broader perspective, the ports of Rangoon played a vital link to the Allied supplies to the Chinese who were fighting the invading Japanese army. Arms, ammunition, fuel, as well as personnel, were moving through the ports of Burma. It was important to break this link, cutting off supplies to the Chinese in order for the Japanese to assert full control over the region. Ultimately, Japan wanted to expand its presence, and this was its best opportunity.
The biggest mistake on the part of the British was initially completely ignoring the Indian front and concentrating on Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East. So, the Japanese saw this and started invading Burma by December 1941, and by the end of January 1942 massive number of forces started pouring into Burma from the east.
The invading Japanese were no match for the undertrained British Allied forces based out of Burma and were slaughtered. With no other option, they had to retreat to north of Burma. On 8th March 1942, the capital Rangoon, was in the hands of the Japanese.
Things did not stop here, and the Japanese advanced north and were now facing an opposition of British Indian soldiers as well as the Chinese forces. This also failed to stop the Japanese from marching north of Burma, as by then a vast contingent of the Japanese army had joined along with superior air power, which completely overpowered the Allied forces.
What came next was a complete retreat from Burma by the British Indian forces towards the hills of present-day Nagaland and Manipur in May 1942. Along with them were thousands of refugees who feared the Japanese would slaughter them. Burma was a territory under the British, so thousands of Indians from the mainland were working there in government offices as well as laborers, and for them, the only option for survival was escape from Burma.
The goal was to drive back the Japanese, and the Allied forces planned to inject into country from Arakan (Rakhine). This did not go as planned, and by then the Japanese had well-positioned themselves in defensive bunkers, and all offensive approaches were successfully repelled.
The British needed a new plan, and it fell upon Lieutenant General William Slim to regroup and replan. The key to winning back Burma was to use the air force. This would give them an unlimited open supply line, which they were facing challenges in the hills. This was tried out on a small scale, and it was seen as successful with the supply down to a group of men behind enemy lines, entirely supplied by air.
By March 1944, the Japanese had had enough, and they decided to cut off the supply lines in India based out of Imphal and Dimapur. The Japanese launched Operation U-Go to achieve this.
Back in India by 1944, the Indian freedom movement was at its peak, and Calcutta was on the knife-edge. There was a threat from the east as well as internal turmoil. The British feared that this could snowball into a rebellion in Calcutta and ultimately create a chaos of ripple effect within mainland India.
By May 1944, the invading Japanese forces managed to cut off Kohima and Imphal, the two strategic supply point but failed to capture these cities. The battle was fierce, and some historians point out the proximity in which the two armies were facing each other. The Allied forces managed to stop the advance of the Japanese into India.
What followed was the monsoon season, and this stretched the Japanese field positions. They faced starvation, which ultimately led to a loss of over 50,000 troops.
By July 1944, the Japanese started withdrawing, and the Allied forces saw this as the best opportunity to put in a counterattack. The British pushed from the West, the Americans from the North, and the Chinese from the East.
During this campaign, there were numerous bombing raids by the RAF and USAF, which had their bases around Bengal (including Calcutta), Dhaka, and Chittagong.
By January 1945, the Japanese were pushed back all the way to Mandalay, and the city was liberated in March of the same year. Allied air power was heavily utilized in this campaign. And by May, Rangoon was liberated, and that was followed up with the complete defeat of the Japanese in their Burma campaign.
The War At Calcutta’s Doorstep
When Rangoon had fallen to the Japanese then next biggest city under the British was Calcutta, and back then it was the jewel in the crown. Strategically, Calcutta had a large port, which was used both by the Americans and the British to create a supply line to the Chinese, who were fighting their own battle with the Japanese and also the British forces on the Burma front.
The biggest pipeline project ever done around them in the world was carried out, wherein petrol, diesel, and other fuels were pumped from the ports of Calcutta all the way to China via Assam. This pipeline was vital to support the Chinese fight against the Japanese.
What followed was a series of air raids across Calcutta by the Japanese. For details, you can read Japanese Air Raids on Kolkata during WWII. The city was first bombed in late December of 1942, and back then, the city was underprepared, and soon after, planes were brought in to defend the skies of the city.
The Japanese had bombed the city of Calcutta from 1942 to 1944 for around three years; they were desperately trying to break the logistics, fuel, and communication supply lines.
To protect Calcutta, several airbases across the city (Red Road, Dum Dum, Baigachi, Alipore) were used to defend the city. While places like Shalboni, Piardoba, Dudhkundi, Pandaveswar, Digri, etc. were used by the bomber and reconnaissance groups.
Argentina & Calcutta Connection
Argentina had always been a neutral country when it came to WWII, but there were many who volunteered to be part of the Allied forces. These men were not from any military background but were regular citizens with normal jobs. When the world needed men to fight the war against Nazi Germany, a lot of them left their jobs and decided to be a part of the war.
Many of these volunteers from Argentina would end up being pilots and become part of the RAF (Royal Air Force and RCAF (Royal Canadian Air Force). They would get trained in Canada and then get assigned to a squadron and move on to mainland Europe. Initially, these groups of pilots from Argentina would be flying in Europe and also around North Africa, but at a later stage during the fag end of the war, they would be flown all the way east to Burma & India.
At the last stages of the war in India, the threat was slowly approaching from the east, Japanese forces had already captured parts of China and Burma (Myanmar), and they had their eyes next on Calcutta (Kolkata).
Around 125 pilots from Argentina, as a part of the RAF, were deputed in Calcutta, and they were part of various squadrons consisting of fighter pilots as well as bombers. Overall, there were over 2000 of Argentine who were part of the Allied forces serving in various fronts, amongst them were 800 who had signed up to be pilots. Of these 800, only half, around 400, managed to become pilots. This group of men consisted of both native Argentinians and English settlers in Argentina. Unfortunately, after the war, 150 pilots never returned alive.
Some of the famous names that flew in Calcutta and were Argentinians were Ricardo (Richard) Campbell Lindsell, who was a squadron leader of the 60 Squadron RAF. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for his leadership during the bombing campaigns in Burma.
Ian “ñaña” Adamson flew with the 136 Squadron “WOODPECKERS”. He was an artist and was the one who created the emblem for the squadron, consisting of a woodpecker. Pilots during WWII would often decorate their planes with caricatures, slogan and symbols, and for Ian Adamson it was the hacete a un lau which he had painted himself.
Jack Miles lived till 103 and died in the year 2021. He was part of the 96 Squadron flying Dakotas and had participated actively in the Burma supply runs.
Wing Commander Alexander “Fatty” Cunningham Pearson of the 94 Dakota Transport Squadron, who lived the war but died shortly after the war in a flight accident in England. He is famous for another reason, which has nothing to do with the war. He had rescued Ernest Hemingway in Kenya when he had suffered a bout of dysentery and had to be rescued.
Squadron Leader James Frank MacDonald Bell, popularly known as “Frankie” among colleagues.
Robin Houston was with the 355 Squadron flying B-24 Liberator bombers from Salbani. His plane was named Rompeculo (the ass breaker) as he flew some of the toughest missions. He participated in the bombing of Mandalay and Bangkok. His skill as a pilot of the bomber was truly tested in the long-haul bombing run at Bangkok, which back then was beyond the flying range of the B-24 Liberator. Extra fuel helped him and his fellow pilots on the mission to achieve this.
Duncan Farcquar MacDonald died during training in a B-24 Liberator. During a practice bomb drop, the plane was below the minimum threshold, and after releasing the bomb, the explosion also affected the plane he was in.
Mickey Forrester was a navigator with the 94 Squadron who died during a flight to Burma when the plane had a technical problem and collided with the mountain. Mickey Wallis died while flying a Beaufort over the sea, the plane faced structural damage and broke mid-air.
Arthur Maurice Owers Pring is perhaps the most famous name when it comes to RAF pilots during WWII in Calcutta, and when I was going through the roll of honor from Argentina, one name that popped up was that of Arthur Maurice Owers Pring. Many Englishmen used to work in Argentina, and his father also used to work in South America and had spent considerable time in Argentina. Arthur Maurice Owers Pring was part of the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve who had served in WWII and was sent to India in Calcutta, where he was killed in action while flying his aircraft and engaging Japanese fighter planes. As per the records, he was a British person who was also residing in Buenos Aires.
Lunfardo
Most of the Argentine pilots had an advantage over the British pilots as they knew a local Argentinian language called Lunfardo. This officially cannot be called a separate language, but it was a language of the streets and originated from the prison. The prisoners would use this language so that the guards would not understand, and slowly this language spilled over to the streets.
During WWII, the wireless communications between the pilots during the mission were intercepted by the Japanese as they were not encrypted. The English RAF pilots spoke English, which was easily understood by the Japanese wireless operators, so any critical last-minute communications were not secured.
The Argentine pilots who knew Lunfardo communicated in this language, often confusing the Japanese as they were unable to understand what they were saying. This was sort of an informal, encrypted communication.
Post War
Most of the Argentine pilots returned to Argentina, while some decided to settle in Britain and Canada. With their knowledge of airplanes, most of them became commercial pilots. Back in India, Victory Day was celebrated across major cities after the surrender of Nazi Germany. In Calcutta, a special prayer service was conducted at St. Paul’s Cathedral. The service took place on the open ground attended by various dignitaries. This was followed by a parade ceremony on the grounds in front of the Victoria Memorial.
It is to be noted that even though victory was being celebrated by the Allied Powers, there was an exception when it came to Japan, as it was only in September 1945 that it officially surrendered.
It’s difficult at the moment to get the details and photographs of all Argentine RAF volunteers who were posted in Calcutta. I have only listed some at the moment, and this blog will keep expanding, and I will keep adding more photos and details as and when I get their information.
Other Blogs On World War In Calcutta
Balloon Squadron That Protected Calcutta Against Japanese
Japanese Air Raids on Kolkata during WWII
Armistice Centenary Commemoration in Kolkata
Locating Baigachi RAF Airfield
Barrackpore Cemetery Commonwealth War Graves
Sources
Special thanks to Claudio Meunier, a war historian from Argentina who has been researching and writing about Argentine RAF pilots.
The War Illustrated by Sir John Hammerton
Imperial War Museum
BBC Archive
Reuters Archive
British Library – London
The Times of India
The Telegraph