Pilots in Peril!

Historian Theodore White called it "the most dangerous, terrifying, barbarous aerial transport run in the world … the skyway to Hell." Life Magazine called it “the most dangerous non-combat flying in the war, the world’s worst weather over the world’s highest mountains.” Both of these statements are referring to the Hump, which was a perilous 500-mile flight path across the eastern Himalayan Mountains many U.S. pilots flew during World War II in order to keep the Allies well-supplied in China. Between 1943 and 1945, about 3,000 pilots went down in the Hump. Only about 1,200 made it back to safety. This narrative nonfiction title recounts the many dangers pilots faced on their missions, including ice storms, high winds, narrow mountain passageways, and attacks by Japanese Zeroes. It also recounts the equally daring rescue attempts to save these pilots, many of which were made by the Indo-China Division of Search and Rescue. Using personal accounts from pilots, rescuers, and U.S. Air Force staff, this fast-paced narrative puts young readers in the cockpit alongside some of the war’s bravest pilots.