1945
On 28 January 1945, the Burma Road was fully restored as a land transport route for war material supplied to China by the Allies. It had been cut off when Japanese invaded Burma in 1942, leaving available only the air supply route over "The Hump", from Assam, India, over the eastern end of the Himalayas. The re-opening of the Burma Road greatly increased the supply of aircraft, spare parts, fuel and other war material as required for the successful prosecution of the war.
In the beginning of 1945, the total numbers of the Chinese and American air forces exceeded 800 aircraft. During the concluding period of the war from January to June 1945, the Chinese pilots and their American counterparts participated actively in battles supporting ground forces on all fronts in central, southern and eastern China.
The CACW unofficial combat record in the time from its activation on 1 October 1943 to the end of the war in August 1945 included 190 Japanese aircraft destroyed in the air, 301 on the ground. At the same time, they lost 35 fighters and eight bombers to enemy ground fire, and 20 fighters to Japanese aircraft. However, not a single CACW bomber was lost to enemy fighters, a tribute to the abilities of the Wing's B-25 aircrews, and the quality of the escort protection provided by the Wing's fighter pilots. The CACW produced five American air aces and three Chinese air aces, and was disbanded on 19 September 1945.
The following are some of the notable air operations in 1945.
On 5 January a combined group of 28 P-40N and P-51D fighters from the 14th Air Force flew from Laohekou in Hubei to attack the Japanese airfield at Wuhan, destroying 50 Japanese aircraft in the air and on the ground. One Chinese pilot was shot down and killed in the air battle.
On 9 March about 50 fighters and bombers from the 14th Air Force on armed reconnaissance attacked railroad targets, river and road traffic, bridges, gun positions, and troops at several locations, particularly around Guiyi, Hengyang, Nanjing and Xinyang.
On 10 March about 60 fighters and bombers from the 14th Air Force hit targets in rivers, on roads and railroads, gun positions, warehouses, airstrips, and troops around Xinyang, Yiyang, Changsha, Qiyang, Yueyang, Hengyang in Hunan, and Hankou, and Wuchang in the neighboring Hubei province.
On 16 March, 32 B-24s from the 14th Air Force escorted by 10 P-51s pounded the north railroad yards at Shijiazhuang.
On 15 April, about 200 fighters and bombers from the 14th Air Force attacked Japanese targets in areas from southern China to the northern China plain hitting numerous targets including bridges, river shipping, town areas, trucks, railroad traffic, gun positions, storage areas, and general targets of opportunity.
On 8 May, Japanese forces moved the bulk of their 5th Kokugun to Korea. It involved the relocation of some 10,000 ground support personnel, leaving a skeleton of air units in China. The move was completed by the end of the month with only minor losses.
On 10 August, about 50 P-47s and P-51s from the 14th Air Force attacked river and railroad targets, troops, trucks, and bridges at several points in southern and eastern China.
On 15 August, Japan's unconditional surrender was announced, and all offensive operations against Japan ended.
On 18 August, the vice-commander of the 24th Pursuit Squadron from the Chinese Air Force, Guo Fengwu flew over Guisui (known as Hohhot after 1954) in Inner Mongolia to drop leaflets which contained the text of Japanese Emperor Hirohito's surrender decree. He was shot down by Japanese anti-aircraft gun fire, and became the last casualty of the Chinese Air Force in the eight-year long war.
On 2 September 1945, hostilities with Japan ended officially with the signing of the instrument of surrender aboard the USS Missouri (BB-63) in Tokyo Bay.
Read more about this topic: Aerial Engagements Of The Second Sino-Japanese War