Dudhkundi Airfield

Military Decommissioning after World War II. The airfield was a purpose-built base for the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) during the war. With the conclusion of hostilities against Japan in August 1945, the strategic need for the base ceased to exist. The American units were withdrawn, and the airfield was handed over to the British colonial government of India before being abandoned.

The site is currently an active military area under the control of the Indian Ministry of Defence. It is known as the **Dudhkundi Air to Ground Armament Range**. The former airfield is used by the **Indian Air Force (IAF)** for weapons training, including bombing and strafing practice, primarily by aircraft flying from the nearby Kalaikunda Air Force Station and other eastern bases. The **Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO)** also utilizes the range for testing and evaluating various indigenous weapon systems, munitions, and electronic warfare equipment. While the ghostly outlines of the original WWII-era runways and taxiways are still visible from satellite imagery, the area is not maintained for aircraft operations and is a restricted live-fire zone.

Dudhkundi Airfield holds significant historical importance as a major strategic airbase during World War II. It was one of four large, four-runway airfields built in the Kharagpur region for the USAAF's Twentieth Air Force. Its primary role was to support **Operation Matterhorn**, the strategic bombing campaign against the Japanese Empire from India and China.

- **Construction and Units:** Built in 1943, the airfield was a base for the **XX Bomber Command**. It primarily hosted the **468th Bombardment Group**, which flew the advanced **B-29 Superfortress** heavy bombers.

- **Operations:** From Dudhkundi, B-29s conducted long-range missions. They would first fly supplies and fuel 'over the Hump' (the Himalayas) to forward staging bases in China, such as those around Chengdu. From these Chinese bases, they would launch bombing raids against Japanese industrial targets in Manchuria, Southeast Asia, and Japan itself. The airfield was a critical logistical and operational hub for this campaign, which marked the first combat deployment of the B-29 Superfortress.

- **Phasing Out:** The strategic importance of the India-based B-29s diminished after the Mariana Islands were captured in late 1944, providing a much closer base for attacking the Japanese home islands. Consequently, the XX Bomber Command's operations from India were phased out, and the units were eventually relocated to the Pacific, leading to the airfield's closure in 1945.

There are **no known official plans or credible prospects for reopening** Dudhkundi Airfield as a civilian or full-fledged military airport. Its current, critical role as an active armament and testing range for the Indian Air Force and DRDO makes its conversion to a civilian facility highly improbable. The strategic importance of the range for military training and defense research far outweighs any potential civilian use, especially given the proximity of the fully operational Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport in Kolkata and the active Kalaikunda Air Force Station.