RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany -- U.S. and Dutch air forces commemorated the 80th anniversary of Operation Chowhound with a memorial aerial refueling mission from a 100th Air Refueling Wing KC-135 Stratotanker to three Royal Netherlands Air Force F-35 Lightning IIs over the North Sea April 28.
The refueling mission marked the 80th anniversary of Operations Chowhound and Manna and celebrates the enduring cooperation between the two nations.
Between April 29 and May 8, 1945, American and British bombers airdropped approximately 10,000 tons of desperately needed food to Dutch civilians trapped in Nazi-occupied territory. More than 5,500 sorties were flown in just 10 days as part of Operations Chowhound and Manna, saving countless lives and forestalling a potential famine.
“Operation Chowhound was one of the earliest examples of humanitarian airlift missions,” said Dr. Chris Rein, historian for U.S. Air Forces in Europe and Air Forces Africa. “The rapid transition from dropping bombs to delivering life-saving food was an abrupt but welcome change for the aircrews.”
Ten American bomb groups participated in the missions, including the famed 100th Bomb Group—predecessor to today’s 100th Air Refueling Wing at RAF Mildenhall. Known as the “Bloody Hundredth” due to its heavy losses earlier in the war, the group flew eight Chowhound missions from May 1 to May 7, including the final drop by 36 B-17 Flying Fortresses at Schiphol Field, the present-day site of Amsterdam’s international airport.
Crews from the 100th Bomb Group in 1945 reported precise delivery, with supplies landing cleanly on white cross-marked drop zones, enabling rapid distribution to starving Dutch civilians.
The experience marked a shift in airpower’s role in conflict and foreshadowed future humanitarian operations like the Berlin Airlift just three years later. The recent flight paid tribute to that legacy, demonstrating that the KC-135 remains a key asset in global operations today.
“We continue that legacy, and our Airmen are proud of it,” said Col. Ryan Garlow, commander of RAF Mildenhall. “We still have the square ‘D’ on all our aircraft and some of the legacy nose art from the 100th Bomb Group in World War II.”
Today, the 100th ARW continues that legacy, providing global aerial refueling support and highlighting the lasting impact of humanitarian airlift as a vital mission within U.S. Air Forces in Europe and Air Forces Africa.
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