1 Reply Latest reply on Apr 8, 2022 1:24 PM by Marcus Bacher

Researching the 771st Chemical Depot Company

Frederick Thomas Apr 7, 2022 1:01 PM

Researching USAAF chemical warfare service in India during WWII. I have the organizational history reports (OHRs) for the 771st Chemical Depot Company, to which my father was attached as a "toxic gas handler" during WWII. The 771st managed the central toxic USAAF's chemical weapons stockpile for the CBI theater at Ondal Airbase. There is a reference in the OCRs to 18 railcar loads of M79, 1000-lb, cyanogen-chloride bombs which were returned for disposal to Ondal from Sharmshernager Air Base after Japan's surrender. Shamshernage was one of the points of origin for flights "over the hump" to China. Among other things, I want to know if this was contingent preparation for the possible use of chemical bombs in the B-29 raids of Operation Matterhorn. I also want to honor the soldiers who did the difficult, dangerous and unrecognized work of handling those bombs. (Similar CK bombs stored at another deport in New Guinea exploded spontaneously.) The OHR's for the 771st mention several visits by chemical officers from HQ at Hastings Airbase, near Calcutta. Record Group 493.6 might include the information I want about strategic planning, but I don't know how to get down to the level of specific documents.

Re: Researching the 771st Chemical Depot Company

Marcus Bacher Apr 8, 2022 1:24 PM (in response to Frederick Thomas)

Dear Mr. Thomas,

Thank you for posting your request on History Hub!

We searched the National Archives and located the series Formerly Classified General Correspondence, 1944 - 1946, Formerly Classified Supply Records, 1944 - 1946, General Correspondence, 1944 - 1945, and Formerly Classified Messages, 1944 - 1945, in the Records of U.S. Army Forces in the China-Burma-India Theaters of Operation (Record Group 493) that may include information about the Chemical Warfare Service in India. Next, we located the series Historical Records, 1944 - 1946 in Record Group 493 that includes two file units pertaining to the USAAF and two file units pertaining to the Chemical Warfare Section in the India-Burma Theater that may be useful for your research. These records have not been digitized. For more information about these records, please contact the National Archives at College Park - Textual Reference (RDT2) at archives2reference@nara.gov.

RDT2 also has custody of microfilm copies of operational records relating to U.S. Army Air Force units. We searched the Air Force History Index and located 14 files related to the 771st Chemical Depot Company (Aviation). All 14 files are located on Reel A0194. Please contact RDT2 at archives2reference@nara.gov for access to this reel.

Finally, we located the Award Cards, 1942 - 1963 for the U.S. Army Air Force that includes a card for the 771st Chemical Depot Company (Aviation) (see image 262) in the file unit titled Air Force Award Cards [unit awards]: 576th Air Material Squadron - 1781st Ordnance S&M Company (AVN). These records are digitized and available using the Catalog. The Meritorious Unit citation is available on Reel A0194 mentioned above.

You may experience a delay in receiving an initial acknowledgment as well as a substantive response to your reference request from RDT2. We apologize for this inconvenience and appreciate your understanding and patience as we balance mission-critical work and the safety of our staff during the pandemic. Please check NARA’s web page about COVID-19 updates for the latest information.

We hope this is helpful. Best of luck with your research!

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