Description
Object description
Four files of mostly official papers belonging to Major (later Brigadier) Eric Frank Kyte CBE RE (1915-1980), on the General Staff, as G (Air), relating to the Chindits operations in Burma, consisting:
File 1) 'Vol 1' Operation Thursday - 'Part One, Preliminary', Formation of the Special Force, Training, Planning, Brigades (6pp); 'Part Two, History of Ops', the establishment of strongholds (Feb-Apr 1944), Harassing tactics directed against Jap Communications (Apr-May 1944), Direct Supply of CAI (May-Aug 1944) (19pp); 'Part Three, Report on Air Supply to Special Force During the Period of Ops Feb-Aug 1944' (4pp); 'Conclusions and Lessons Learnt During the Ops' (2pp). Transcriptions of Press Reports 'Lentaigne's Air-Borne Chindits – First Full Story' (4pp); 'Report on Airborne Movement of Two Brigades of Special Forces in Operation Thursday' by Major General Orde Wingate (74pp), with covering letter by Wingate (19 March 1944, 5pp), including appendices with report on operations up to 15 March, 3rd Indian Division Operation Movement Order No 2, Diagrams of Lalghat Air Field, Tulihal, and Hailikande, total sorties flown, order of march, Operational Instructions for D-Day, with remarks, and for D+1 to D+6, details of sorties actually flown, allocation of sorties to columns, organisation of Combined HQ 3rd Indian Division, signal communications, aircraft available, movement schedule, loading manifests, and Special Situation Reports 1-3 (9-11 March 1944) by GOC.
File 2) 'Vol 2' 'Operation Thursday - Second Report on Airborne Movement' (76pp), with a narrative and appendices including 3rd Indian Division Operational Movement Order No 3, instructions issued during the operation with detailed notes (D-Day to D+20, 23 March – 12 April 1944), statistics, recommendations on planning, and loading of C47 Dakotas and Waco gliders, and a report on the Control Organisation; 'Operation "Holiday" - Third Report on Airborne Movement (19pp), with a general report and narrative, and appendices including orders issued before the op, and statistics of summary of ops by units and daily summary of ops.
File 3) 'Lt Col E F Kyte, Reports on Airborne Movements of Special Force: Phase I of Op Thursday; Phase II of Op Thursday; Phase I of Op Holiday', including: 'Operation "Holiday": Report on Third Phase of Airborne Movement' (19pp) by Brigadier D D C Tulloch, with diary of operations (26 April – 13 May), in 'Aberdeen', 'White City', 'Broadway', and 'Clydeside', 'Red Operational Movement Order No 1 (25 April 1944), and summaries of airborne supply operations; 'Operation Thursday: Report on Second Phase of Airborne Movement' (76pp) [copy of report in File 2]; 'Report of Troop Carrier Command Participation in "Thursday Operation" by Brigadier General D Old, United States Air Commander, with details of the participation of the US Troop Carrier Command in the 'fly-in' of the troops (8pp); 'Report on Airborne Movement of Two Brigades of Special Forces in Operation Thursday' by Major General Orde Wingate (74pp), with covering letter by Wingate (19 March 1944, 5pp) [copy of report in File 1].
File 4) 'Most Secret' Special Force Operational Memoranda 1 - 7, and 11, Copies issued to G (Air): No 1 (revised) (10 January 1945, 14pp plus seven ms pages of amendments); No 2, regarding Maplay code for concealing map references (27 November 1944, 5pp); No 3 (amendment No 5), 'Employment of Light Aircraft in Supply of Special Forces' (10 September 1944 [inserted 22 January 1945], 12pp plus ts amendments); No 4 (revised edition) 'Troop Movement by Air' (18 January 1945, 48pp); No 5 (revised edition) 'The Supply Drop' (12 October 1944 [inserted 18 January 1945], 17pp); No 7 'Communications – Ground to Air' (17 September 1944, 4pp, plus three pages of ms amendments); No 11 'Policy for Re-inforcing Brigades in the Field' (26 December 1943, 2pp).
Together with a letter to Kyte from Major General Dereck D C Tulloch (2 copies, 2pp each, 12 February 1962) talking about the decisions to fly-in the men by gliders and memories of Calvert, and Wingate persuading Slim to continue with the operation.
Content description
Four files of mostly official papers belonging to Major (later Brigadier) Eric Frank Kyte CBE RE (1915-1980), on the General Staff, as G (Air), relating to the Chindits operations in Burma, consisting:
File 1) 'Vol 1' Operation Thursday - 'Part One, Preliminary', Formation of the Special Force, Training, Planning, Brigades (6pp); 'Part Two, History of Ops', the establishment of strongholds (Feb-Apr 1944), Harassing tactics directed against Jap Communications (Apr-May 1944), Direct Supply of CAI (May-Aug 1944) (19pp); 'Part Three, Report on Air Supply to Special Force During the Period of Ops Feb-Aug 1944' (4pp); 'Conclusions and Lessons Learnt During the Ops' (2pp). Transcriptions of Press Reports 'Lentaigne's Air-Borne Chindits – First Full Story' (4pp); 'Report on Airborne Movement of Two Brigades of Special Forces in Operation Thursday' by Major General Orde Wingate (74pp), with covering letter by Wingate (19 March 1944, 5pp), including appendices with report on operations up to 15 March, 3rd Indian Division Operation Movement Order No 2, Diagrams of Lalghat Air Field, Tulihal, and Hailikande, total sorties flown, order of march, Operational Instructions for D-Day, with remarks, and for D+1 to D+6, details of sorties actually flown, allocation of sorties to columns, organisation of Combined HQ 3rd Indian Division, signal communications, aircraft available, movement schedule, loading manifests, and Special Situation Reports 1-3 (9-11 March 1944) by GOC.
File 2) 'Vol 2' 'Operation Thursday - Second Report on Airborne Movement' (76pp), with a narrative and appendices including 3rd Indian Division Operational Movement Order No 3, instructions issued during the operation with detailed notes (D-Day to D+20, 23 March – 12 April 1944), statistics, recommendations on planning, and loading of C47 Dakotas and Waco gliders, and a report on the Control Organisation; 'Operation "Holiday" - Third Report on Airborne Movement (19pp), with a general report and narrative, and appendices including orders issued before the op, and statistics of summary of ops by units and daily summary of ops.
File 3) 'Lt Col E F Kyte, Reports on Airborne Movements of Special Force: Phase I of Op Thursday; Phase II of Op Thursday; Phase I of Op Holiday', including: 'Operation "Holiday": Report on Third Phase of Airborne Movement' (19pp) by Brigadier D D C Tulloch, with diary of operations (26 April – 13 May), in 'Aberdeen', 'White City', 'Broadway', and 'Clydeside', 'Red Operational Movement Order No 1 (25 April 1944), and summaries of airborne supply operations; 'Operation Thursday: Report on Second Phase of Airborne Movement' (76pp) [copy of report in File 2]; 'Report of Troop Carrier Command Participation in "Thursday Operation" by Brigadier General D Old, United States Air Commander, with details of the participation of the US Troop Carrier Command in the 'fly-in' of the troops (8pp); 'Report on Airborne Movement of Two Brigades of Special Forces in Operation Thursday' by Major General Orde Wingate (74pp), with covering letter by Wingate (19 March 1944, 5pp) [copy of report in File 1].
File 4) 'Most Secret' Special Force Operational Memoranda 1 - 7, and 11, Copies issued to G (Air): No 1 (revised) (10 January 1945, 14pp plus seven ms pages of amendments); No 2, regarding Maplay code for concealing map references (27 November 1944, 5pp); No 3 (amendment No 5), 'Employment of Light Aircraft in Supply of Special Forces' (10 September 1944 [inserted 22 January 1945], 12pp plus ts amendments); No 4 (revised edition) 'Troop Movement by Air' (18 January 1945, 48pp); No 5 (revised edition) 'The Supply Drop' (12 October 1944 [inserted 18 January 1945], 17pp); No 7 'Communications – Ground to Air' (17 September 1944, 4pp, plus three pages of ms amendments); No 11 'Policy for Re-inforcing Brigades in the Field' (26 December 1943, 2pp).
Together with a letter to Kyte from Major General Dereck D C Tulloch (2 copies, 2pp each, 12 February 1962) talking about the decisions to fly-in the men by gliders and memories of Calvert, and Wingate persuading Slim to continue with the operation.
History note
Cataloguer SJO