Civilian travel during WW2

[Kurando]

Odd question here.

I was just wondering, say the year is 1943 and a civilian wanted to travel from L.A. to India. Were there still passagener services running during that era that could get you there, or was intercontinental travel more or less haulted during the time of the Pacific war?

[TinCow]

Odd question here.

I was just wondering, say the year is 1943 and a civilian wanted to travel from L.A. to India. Were there still passagener services running during that era that could get you there, or was intercontinental travel more or less haulted during the time of the Pacific war?

Passenger air service continued, but it was exclusively used for the war effort. Just like all other major industries, the commercial airlines were immediately pressed into military service with their aircraft and crews flying in support of the military and government. So, you could travel by air as a passenger, but you'd only ever get to do so if your trip was approved by the military or government. In addition, transoceanic travel became particularly difficult due to combat for much of the war. There simply was no safe air route from the US to Asia for much of the war. Passengers would have to hitch rides on multiple flights between islands over the course of many days or weeks of travel to get to India, and they'd face a not-unheard of risk of death in the process. Transatlantic travel remained much easier and safer, and there was almost constant air travel from the US to the UK via a route that went north over Canada, Greenland, Iceland, and Ireland. Once again, though, the traffic was exclusively for military purposes, so you'd only get to board one of the aircraft if your travel was deemed important enough.

When speaking about travel to India, I would actually think that air travel to there from the US would have gone over the Atlantic instead of the Pacific. The Americas remained safe, and there were no significant air threats in the South Atlantic, Sub-saharan Africa, or in the Indian Ocean. I would bet that if India had been a desired destination, the flight would have gone south to Brazil, then east to Africa, before turning Northeast towards Iran and into India.

[Kurando]

I appreciate the response, but how about traveling by sea? Was intercontinental sea travel available from the western United States to India during the time of the pacific war 1943?

[TinCow]

Heh, sorry, don't know why I read your question as exclusively asking about air travel. In any case, the naval situation was pretty much the same thing: commercial naval fleets continued to exist, but they were drafted into military service. Ships that were deemed suitable were converted into cargo or troop carriers, while oilers were pressed into service to serve that same role for the Navy. A few of the famous Cunard lines ships (Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth) actually become immensely valuable troopships, as they were so fast that they did not need to travel in a convoy. They made multiple trips all over the world, including taking ANZAC forces to the UK and around the Pacific and Indian Ocean. So, as with air travel, there were transports available, but not for purely commercial purposes. If you wanted to hitch a ride, you had to have some kind of military approval first.

I've never actually looked it up, but I would guess that private commercial naval transportation continued amongst the neutral nations. So, perhaps it would have been possible to hitch a ride on a ship with a neutral flag. That said, those ships probably stayed well clear of the combat zones, so travel to, or through, a major theater would have been difficult.

As an aside on the drafting of civilian ships thing, my grandfather actually served on board one of them. He served on the USS Sangamon, an escort carrier. However, it started life as a commercial oiler and was only appropriated by the US government in 1940, when they started gearing up for the war. After Pearl Harbor, the US Navy needed many, many more carriers than they had, and the full sized carriers took a long time to build, so they converted a few fleet oilers into smaller escort carriers. The Sangamon was one of them. They literally just cut off the top of the ship, slapped an aircraft deck down, rearranged the interior, and bolted some armor plating to the thing. The whole process only took 6 months, and after it was done an oiler had turned into an escort carrier.

[The Lurker Below]

sorry off topic but this story reminds me

it fascinates me how little time was allowed for modern r&d, how simplistic and crude machinery was, and how baddass soldiers and sailors of the past were that made it all work. in many cases make it more reliable than our own modern equipment.

[Vladimir]

sorry off topic but this story reminds me

it fascinates me how little time was allowed for modern r&d, how simplistic and crude machinery was, and how baddass soldiers and sailors of the past were that made it all work. in many cases make it more reliable than our own modern equipment.

Slightly on topic: Are you referring to civilian air travel? Take a look at the machinery developed during the war and you'll be impressed. I've always liked the rivalry between the Spitfire and Messerschmitt. Every time one came out with a better plane the other would respond by producing one to beat that. I believe the P-38 was the first, or one of the best, propeller driven planes to flirt with the sound barrier. Lessons learned from that plane helped develop supersonic flight.