The 'HUMP' WWII Museum

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Inaugurated in November 2023, in the idyllic small town of Pasighat, in the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh, the ‘HUMP’ WW2 Museum is an Indo-US collaboration that celebrates and honors the heroics of men and women involved in air-resupply missions, to aid the Chinese war effort against invading Japanese forces. These missions predominantly flew from airfields in upper Assam (India) to Kunming (China) between 1942 and 1945, in the China-Burma-India (CBI) theatre. Allied Pilots, carrying out these missions under extreme flying conditions and over treacherous mountainous terrain at the eastern end of the Himalayas, came to describe it as flying ‘over the hump’ and thus the sobriquet!

The external façade of the Museum building looks more like an elementary school at first glance!

Small but splendidly curated, the museum chronicles the efforts of Indian and US teams to try and salvage the wreckage of over 600 aircraft – crashed or lost and retrieve remains of over 1600 personnel - killed or missing, that took part in the HUMP operations. The trail spanning mountainous parts of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam in India and jungles of Myanmar came to be known as the ‘Aluminum Trail’ owing to the widespread distribution of wreckage of those downed aircraft.

An Indo-US collaboration, the museum is splendidly curated.

A large scale-model of the Douglas C-47 'SKYTRAIN', hung from the ceiling, is a fitting centerpiece for an eclectic collection of aviation artefacts and documents.

The China Burma India Theatre and its expanse against the backdrop of which the HUMP Operations were carried out.

Descriptions of all Aircrafts that formed part of the campaign and their specific role are lovingly detailed.

Salvaged parts on display include - .50 caliber Machine Guns, Crew Oxygen Tanks, Pilot Seat Frame, parts of the Flight Control System among others

Notes and letters along with personal items are also part of the collection.

Pictures and details of the salvage expeditions along the 'Aluminum Trail' are vividly presented.

Photo Credit: Lea @ AVIATHÈQUE

The museum also houses a small souvenir shop at the upper level, with some high-quality, commemorative and branded merchandise available for purchase. Though sadly, no WW2 aircraft models at this time!

While the HUMP WWII Museum is all about the somber business of honoring fallen men and women, it is also an absolute treat for Aviation and history buffs with its carefully curated collection that tells the story of 'those magnificent men in their flying machines', scripting a glorious and extraordinary story of great courage and plucky airmanship, in a very hostile environment, so far away from home.

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Behind the Scenes

Oken Tayeng

The enterprising Oken Tayeng, owner at Abor Country Travels & Expeditions is the man behind the museum venture and he and his travel outfit also supported the US expeditionary teams in their salvage operations starting 2009 and continue to do so.

A native of Damro village in Upper Siang district of Arunachal Pradesh, Tayeng is an advisor to the Arunachal Pradesh Tour Operators Association and also the joint secretary of the Indian Rafting Federation. His Abor Country Travels & Expeditions, founded in 2002, is now a leading tour operator in the Northeast region.

P.S.: at the time of publishing this article, Oken Tayeng had been elected as Member of the Legislative Assembly of the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh wef., June 01, 2024 thus becoming the Hon'ble Oken Tayeng!

Arambam Angamba Singh (Bobby)

Arambam Angamba Singh (Bobby), is the man who’s lovingly and painstakingly curated the museum and its collection of artefacts and documents. A Civil Engineer by training, Bobby gave up a conventional career and charted a new course after coming across war relics from WW2 in Imphal, capital city of his home state of Manipur. The city was the scene of a fierce battle between the Allied troops and the Japanese in the now famous 'Battle of Imphal'.

He has since been preserving and showcasing these war relics and in a museum in Imphal, dedicated to stories from both sides of the battle.

John Tayeng

John Tayeng, Oken’s cousin and the man-on-the-ground to manage the museum in Pasighat is a most affable gent.

‘Genial John’ turned out to be a wonderful guide, patiently walking us thru the two levels of the museum, answering all sorts of questions and even helping us take pictures.

And while being a museum guide was far removed from his usual occupation of being a tour guide, he handled it all with great enthusiasm and obvious pride!   

Location: 28QQ+XC Pasighat; Arunachal Pradesh, India

To get there: Pasighat (IXT) has an airstrip that sees limited scheduled traffic, courtesy Alliance Air ATR & Do228 regional props, from the state capital Itanagar (HGI). For more choices, the Dibrugarh Airport at Mohanbari (DIB) is well connected with daily flights from gateways like CCU, GAU and DEL. From Dibrugarh, Pasighat and the museum would be an approximate 3-hour drive to traverse a distance of about 150 Kms.

Note: An Entry Fee of INR 50.00 per head applies.

All pictures are copyright of AVIATHÈQUE unless mentioned otherwise.

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