On 20 November 1944, eight P-38s from the 449^th Fighter Squadron carried out an attack on a wooden vehicular bridge at Wan Lai Kam, Burma – 120 miles south of Lashio. The bridge was an important link in the system supplying the Japanese in Burma and southwest China. Rather than using demolition bombs, as per usual, the Lightnings of the 449^th dropped napalm. The 69^th Composite Wing figured the firebombs would easily burn out the wooden bridge. The napalm ignited, covering the bridge, but according to Lieutenant Jim Heitkotter, “the constant high humidity there had the timber so saturated they did not ignite.” The napalm itself burned for eight minutes without doing any damage to the bridge.

1^st Lieutenant William Deen from Flight G of the 35^th Photo Reconnaissance Squadron accompanied the mission in an F-5E reconnaissance aircraft. He made eight to ten passes over the bridge before, during, and after the mission at an average altitude of 5,500 feet – though he dropped down low enough to take this photo of one of the attacking planes.

The modern highway bridge at Wan Lai Kam courtesy of Google Earth.

There is more information about this mission and many more in The Forgotten Squadron, available on Amazon.com