This striking photograph, part of the WWII China-Burma-India Theater archive, documents an aircraft crash or fire on the ground, producing a massive column of black smoke visible for miles across the Burmese countryside. Aircraft losses to accidents, mechanical failure, and enemy action were common in the demanding flying conditions of the CBI Theater, where crews battled monsoon weather, high terrain, and the notoriously dangerous 'Hump' airlift route over the Himalayas. Project: 218384