Another CCKW Air Transport Story

Stories about fighting in all theaters of WWII. I ask that these be stories directly from veterans and not previously published material.
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Cat Man
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Another CCKW Air Transport Story

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Back in the late 1970's I started to work for the Caterpillar organization. We had a number of people in the shops who were WWII vets. During WWII Caterpillar recruited Cat factory and Cat dealer employes to enlist and work in special Ordnance and Engineer outfits that worked on Cat equipment.

One of our older field service mechanic's had been in the Army Cat program and had worked in the CBI cutting up trucks and engineer equipment, stuffing it in C47's and flying it over the Hump to China where they put it back together.

The vet's name was Joe Stormer. One day when we were loading a heavy banded bundle of steel grader cutting edges into a customers truck with a forklift, it reminded him of the following story.

Joe related how they did things. In the early days of air transport there were no manuals or tables to guide in the loading of airplanes with engineer equipment. They learned by trial and error. And wrote the manual as they went. They were desperate to get the Burma Road built as a main supply route.

They would take a CCKW dump truck or a Cat dozer or Motor Grader apart as far as they thought it required. Cutting frames if needed and then estimate the weight and center of gravity and load enough pieces aboard as they thought the C47 could handle and take off for China.

The runway was built right out to the edge of a huge steep valley.
Joe, relates, with the C47's twin radial engines rev'ing to maximium power, they would clear the end of the runway. With the engines screaming at full throttle, the "loadmasters" would watch out the front between the pilots at the high snow covered mountains across the valley. If the load was too heavy, the plane would start slowly loosing altitude.

And that's when human adrenaline really started pumping. The two guys in back would start pitching any cargo they could, as fast as they could out the open cargo door. They did that until the pilots could trim out the plane and start to gain altitude.

It was truely "do or die". Joe relates that it was the only time he ever saw one man, pick up an entire bundle of steel grader blades (several hundred pounds worth) and alone, pitch it out the door like it was an armload of firewood!

He said the entire valley floor was littered with pieces of wreckage of every kind of OD machinery you could imagine. They just kept trying until they learned what worked. When they got enough pieces on the other end, they put a truck or machine back together and started working on the road.

The CCKW's that are purpose modified for air transport were the result of the early experience and came much later in the war. I learned that a CCKW dump truck requires plane three loads per truck by the way.

So now whenever I see someone load a bundle of Cat blades with a forklift I smile and remember Joe Stormer. Thanks for your service Joe, were every you are.

American equipment, inginuity and courage and a little luck was the start of what is today military "airtransportability"

Cat Man
40 Years An Engine Guy
30 Years A Caterpillar Guy
Still Learning Every Day
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