On May 28, 1944, the 27th Troop Carrier Squadron began airdropping supplies to Chinese troops on the Salween Front. The 27th was a C-47 squadron with hard-won experience supporting British irregulars and Allied armies in Burma. Their transfer to the 14th Air Force in China brought a new dimension to the campaign in southwest China. Supplied from the air, Chinese troops could abandon conventional supply lines. Instead of meeting the well-trained and experienced Japanese head-to-head, they could infiltrate the front, cut-off the Japanese supply, then reduce enemy strongpoints by siege and assault. Difficult terrain and volatile weather made for challenging flying. Nonetheless, the 27th launched a transport every fifteen minutes throughout the daytime to supply the Chinese troops. The aircrew could soon find any drop zone or town, “as easily as we could find the corner drug store.”  By the end of the campaign in January 1945, the squadron had flown 4,952 sorties, delivering over ten thousand tons of supplies.