CleanupBot II: Removed empty portal template using script

2023-08-14T13:33:03Z

Removed empty portal template using script

← Older revision		Revision as of 19:03, 14 August 2023
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	==See also==		==See also==
	~~{{Portal\|World War II}}~~
	{{commons category}}		{{commons category}}
	* [[Operation Matterhorn]]		* [[Operation Matterhorn]]

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2022-10-04T06:35:49Z

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← Older revision		Revision as of 12:05, 4 October 2022
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	{{short description\|Abandoned airfield in India}}		{{short description\|Abandoned airfield in India}}
	{{No footnotes\|date=September ~~2022~~}}		{{No footnotes\|date=September 2010}}
	{{Infobox military installation		{{Infobox military installation
	\| name=Piardoba Airfield		\| name=Piardoba Airfield

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2022-10-04T06:35:49Z

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← Older revision		Revision as of 12:05, 4 October 2022
Line 1:		Line 1:
	{{short description\|Abandoned airfield in India}}		{{short description\|Abandoned airfield in India}}
	{{No footnotes\|date=September ~~2010~~}}		{{No footnotes\|date=September 2022}}
	{{Infobox military installation		{{Infobox military installation
	\| name=Piardoba Airfield		\| name=Piardoba Airfield
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	\| partof = Twentieth Air Force<br />Tenth Air Force		\| partof = Twentieth Air Force<br />Tenth Air Force
	\| location= BANKURA DIST., WEST BENGAL, India		\| location= BANKURA DIST., WEST BENGAL, India
	\| image=		\| image= 768th Bombardment Squadron - B-29 Superfortresses.jpg
	\| caption=		\| caption= Bell-Atlanta B-29-10-BA Superfortress at Piardoba Airfield
	\| pushpin_map= India		\| pushpin_map= India West Bengal#India
	\| pushpin_mark = Airplane_silhouette.svg		\| pushpin_mark = Airplane_silhouette.svg
	\| pushpin_relief = 1		\| pushpin_relief = 1
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	==See also==		==See also==
	{{Portal\|World War II}}		{{Portal\|World War II}}
			{{commons category}}
	* [[Operation Matterhorn]]		* [[Operation Matterhorn]]

	~~==Notes==~~
	~~{{Reflist}}~~

	==References==		==References==
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	[[Category:Airfields of the United States Army Air Forces in British India]]		[[Category:Airfields of the United States Army Air Forces in British India]]
	[[Category:Defunct ~~airfields~~ in India]]		[[Category:Defunct airports in India]]
	[[Category:Airports in West Bengal]]		[[Category:Airports in West Bengal]]
	[[Category:Bankura district]]		[[Category:Bankura district]]
	[[Category:Airports established in 1942]]		[[Category:Airports established in 1942]]
	[[Category:1942 establishments in India]]		[[Category:1942 establishments in India]]

->Bodhisattwa: Undid revision 921732982 by 47.11.244.83 (talk)

2021-09-25T05:49:38Z

Undid revision 921732982 by 47.11.244.83 (talk)

New page

{{short description|Abandoned airfield in India}}
{{No footnotes|date=September 2010}}
{{Infobox military installation
| name=Piardoba Airfield
| ensign=[[File:Twentieth Air Force - Emblem (World War II).png|60px]] [[File:Tenth Air Force - Emblem (World War II).png|60px]]
| partof = Twentieth Air Force<br />Tenth Air Force
| location= BANKURA DIST., WEST BENGAL, India
| image=
| caption=
| pushpin_map= India
| pushpin_mark = Airplane_silhouette.svg
| pushpin_relief = 1
| pushpin_label=Piardoba Airfield
| pushpin_mapsize=300
| coordinates= {{Coord|22|59|21.86|N|087|17|59.00|E|display=inline,title}}
| type=Military airfield
| code=
| ownership=
| controlledby=
| condition= Abandoned
| built=1942
| builder=
| used= 1942-1945
| materials=
| demolished=
| battles= World War II
| events=
| past_commanders=
| garrison=
| occupants=
}}

'''Piardoba Airfield''' is an abandoned airfield in [[India]], located 6.6 miles (10.7 km) S of [[Bishnupur, West Bengal]], [[Bankura District]] in the state of [[West Bengal]], [[India]].

==History==
[[File:462nd bg.png|thumb|left|Emblem of the 462d Bombardment Group]]
During [[World War II]], the airfield hosted the [[United States Army Air Force]] [[462d Bombardment Group]] prior to its deployment to the [[Mariana Islands]].

Piardoba was originally designed for [[Consolidated B-24 Liberator]] use. In 1943 it was designated as a [[Boeing B-29 Superfortress]] base for the planned deployment of the [[United States Army Air Forces]] [[XX Bomber Command]] to India. Advance Army Air Forces echelons arrived in India in December 1943 to organize the upgrading of the airfield and thousands of Indians labored to upgrade the facility for Superfortress operations. It was one of four B-29 bases established by the Americans in India.

Piardoba was designated to be the home of the [[462d Bombardment Group]], with initially four B-29 Squadrons [[768th Bombardment Squadron|768th]], [[769th Bombardment Squadron|769th]], [[770th Bombardment Squadron|770th]] and [[771st Bombardment Squadron|771st]]. Support elements of the group included the 9th, 10th, 11th and 12th Bomb Maintenance Squadrons; the 13th Photo Lab, and the 86th Air Service Group.

The 462d arrived at the base on 7 April 1944 after completing B-29 transition training at [[Walker Army Airfield|Walker AAF]], [[Kansas]]. The deployment to India took almost three weeks, consisting of traveling to Morrison Field, [[Florida]], then south through the [[Caribbean]] to [[Natal, Brazil]]. From Brazil the South Atlantic was crossed arriving in [[West Africa]] and re-assembling at [[Marrakesh, Morocco]]. The group then flew north and west from Morocco through [[Algeria]] and [[Egypt]], before arriving at Karachi. By the time the group arrived at Piardoba, the month-long trip had taken its toll on the aircraft and personnel.

The 462dth was part of the [[Operation Matterhorn]] project of XX Bomber Command, the bombing of the [[Japan|Japanese Home Islands]]. In order to reach Japan, the B-29s of the group needed to stage operations from [[Kuinglai Airfield|Kuinglai (Linqiong) Airfield]] (A-4), a forward base just to the southwest of [[Chendu]] in south-central [[China]].

However, in order to stage missions and operate from Kuinglai, the group need to transport supplies of fuel, bombs, and spares needed 1,200 miles to the airfield. Six round trips were necessary to deliver enough fuel for one airplane to mount a combat mission from China - an impractical logistics concept for an aerial campaign.

Almost immediately upon arrival in India, engine fires caused the grounding of all of the groups B-29s. The cause was that the B-29's R-3350 engine had not been designed to operate at ground temperatures higher than 115 degrees F, which were typically exceeded in India. Modifications had also to be made to the aircraft and after these modifications, B-29 flights to India were resumed.

The first combat mission by the group took place on June 5, 1944 when squadrons of the 462d took off from India to attack the Makasan railroad yards at [[Bangkok]], [[Thailand]]. This involved a 2261-mile round trip, the longest bombing mission yet attempted during the war.

On June 15 the group participated in the first American Air Force attack on the [[Japan|Japanese Home Islands]] since the [[Doolittle raid]] in 1942, a [[Bombing of Yawata (June 1944)|raid on Yawata]]. Operating from bases in India, and at times staging through fields in India and China, the group struck transportation centers, naval installations, iron works, aircraft plants, and other targets in [[Japan]], [[Thailand]], [[Burma]], [[China]], [[Formosa]], and [[Indonesia]]. From a staging base in [[Ceylon]], the 462d mined the Moesi River on [[Sumatra]] in August 1944 during [[Operation Boomerang]]. Received a [[Distinguished Unit Citation]] for a daylight attack on iron and steel works at [[Yawata]], Japan, in August 1944.

The 462d evacuated staging fields in China in January 1945 due to the Japanese offensive in South China which threatened the forward staging bases, but continued operations from India, bombing targets in [[Thailand]] and mining waters around [[Singapore]]. However, by late 1944 it was becoming apparent that B-29 operations against Japan staged out of the bases in Chengtu were far too expensive in men and materials and would have to be stopped. In December 1944, the Joint Chiefs of Staff made the decision that Operation Matterhorn would be phased out, and the B-29s would be moved to newly captured bases in the Marianas in the central Pacific.

On 26 February 1945, the 462d Bombardment Group flew south to [[Ceylon]], then southeast across the [[Indian Ocean]] to [[Perth, Western Australia|Perth]] in [[Western Australia]]. Flying north through [[New Guinea]], it reached its new home at [[Tinian International Airport|West Field]], [[Tinian]], in the [[Mariana Islands]] on 4 April where it and its parent [[58th Bombardment Wing]] came under the command of the new [[XXI Bomber Command]].

With the departure of the B-29s to the Marianas, Piardoba Airfield was turned over to the [[Tenth Air Force]]. The [[33d Fighter Group]] moved to the airfield on 5 May 1945 after being withdrawn from Combat. The group left its P-38s and P-47s at the airfield for disposal, with the personnel returning to the United States. The unit was inactivated in mid-November.

Also, Piardoba saw the arrival of Headquarters, Tenth Air Force from [[Myitkyina]], [[Burma]] on 15 May. The headquarters echelon remained at the base until moving to [[Wujiaba Airport]] near [[Kunming, China]] effective 1 August.

Piardoba Airfield officially closed on 26 September 1945, being turned over to the British colonial government. The postwar history of the airfield is unclear, however today the large, sprawling wartime airfield is abandoned and in disrepair, with abandoned hardstands and taxiways visible on aerial images. Little no wartime structures still exist, although it appears that some small villages have taken over the former billeting areas.

==See also==
{{Portal|World War II}}
* [[Operation Matterhorn]]

==Notes==
{{Reflist}}

==References==
{{Air Force Historical Research Agency}}
* Maurer, Maurer (1983). Air Force Combat Units Of World War II. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History. {{ISBN|0-89201-092-4}}.

{{USAAF 10th Air Force World War II}}
{{USAAF 20th Air Force World War II}}
{{Bankura topics}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Airfields of the United States Army Air Forces in British India]]
[[Category:Defunct airfields in India]]
[[Category:Airports in West Bengal]]
[[Category:Bankura district]]
[[Category:Airports established in 1942]]
[[Category:1942 establishments in India]]

Piardoba Airfield - Revision history

CleanupBot II: Removed empty portal template using script

Bot: robot: Create/update articles. If there is a mistake please report on my talk page.

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->Bodhisattwa: Undid revision 921732982 by 47.11.244.83 (talk)