1941 to 1945
Places and Faces Photo Album - Page 24
Pandaveswar & Madhaiganj Overhead Images
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1941 to 1945
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The below information and images were contributed by Walt Webb to me via email. It shows some very interesting comparions between "then" and "now" of the different bases that the 7th Bomb Group was utilizing in India during WWII. Click on a thumbnail to see a larger image. To return to this page, just close the image.
1. First Image: A Google Earth overhead view of Pandaveswar and Madhaiganj Army Air Base
sites. Walt writes: Arrows point to the abandoned main runways at each base site. All concrete and structures have
been removed. Using a recently acquired 1944 aerial negative of Panda (see images 5, 6, 7; photo credit Matt Poole),
I discovered that what I had thought was the vanished runway location wasn't! The actual NE-SW 6,000 x 150-ft.
runway site is clearly visible about 4,500 ft. from where I thought it was! The confusion arose from having to
use low-res GE imagery before and not having access to WWII aerial film of the base.
In the case of Madhaiganj, I previously thought the forested B-24 revetment area was part of the main runway area.
With new GE hi-res to the west, the complete base outlines flashed into view! The revetment area actually was near
the north end of the base (see below).
2. Second Image: A Google Earth overhead view of Pandaveswar. Walt writes: By carefully comparing this GE image with the 1944 aerial negative, it's quite striking what can be seen. Besides the 6,000-ft. runway site itself, the bordering taxiway outlines and revetment area on the 493rd's side can still be seen. (The 9th Squadron resided west of the runway; the 493rd, to the east.) This is a DigitalGlobe QuickBird photo taken Oct. 29, 2006. (The western border was photographed Feb. 5, 2005.)
3. Third Image: A Google Earth overhead view of Madhaiganj. Walt writes: Clearly visible are the NNW-SSE 6,000-ft. main runway site and the intersecting NE-SW 4,800-ft. runway site. Both have B-24 turnaround circle traces still discernible upon close inspection. Note where the forested revetment area is located. The left-hand QuickBird image was taken Oct. 29, 2006; the right-hand one, Nov. 11, 2003.
4. Fourth Image: A Google overhead view of Zia International Airport (top center) and the smaller Tejgaon Airport (bottom), Bangladesh. Walt writes: The former is the site of Kurmitola Army Air Base (then in India), where the 9th and 493rd Squadrons were based for gas hauls to China in the summer of 1944. The latter was the site of Tezgaon AAB, 1944 summer home for the 436th and 492nd. I believe today's Tejgaon Airport is operated by the Bangladesh Air Force.
5. Fifth Image: Feb. 22, 1944, 9th Photographic Squadron aerial image of Pandaveswar Army Air Base. Walt writes: Note north arrow in lower right corner. The photo combines two separate images taken by a hand-held digital camera of a 9 x 18-in. negative on a National Archives light table (credit: Matt Poole). After Matt reversed the negative shot so it was a "positive," I stitched together the two pictures. The 9th's main revetment cluster is to the left of the double turnaround circles, and the 493rd's main revetment area is to the upper right of the runway.
6. Sixth and Seventh Images: This is the fifth image separated into two high-resolution aerial frames. The 9th BS's base area is shown in the left image; the 493rd's, in the right. Both squadrons used the same 6,000-ft. runway. A total of 19 B-24s are visible in the two photos. Except for three, all planes are in their U-shaped earthen revetments. Two B-24s are waiting for takeoff on either side of the NE turnaround (best under magnification), while a third plane is on its takeoff roll midway down the runway. A diary entry from Don Young/493rd (credit: Jim Augustus) identified a 493rd six-plane practice bombing mission scheduled the day the photo was taken (Feb. 22, 1944). The images indicate that three of the six aircraft must have been in the air, with the remaining three about to join them. Five 493rd aircraft are in their revetments (including two along a lower taxiway). Thus, the 493rd's total visible aircraft would appear to match the number in the 9th's revetments--that is, 11 each. There was no 9th mission that day, accounting for the full complement of B-24s visible on that side of the field. (Photos #6 & 7 source: National Archives. Vendor credit: National Air Survey Center Corp., Silver Spring, MD.)
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