This article concerns the American Volunteer Group, a World War II unit usually known as the "Flying Tigers". For other uses of the term see Flying Tigers (disambiguation).
Flying Tigers (Traditional Chinese: ; Simplified Chinese: }}}; pinyin: ) was the nickname of the American Volunteer Group, a fighter unit that fought in Burma and China, against Japanese forces during the first year of the United States participation in World War II. After the dissolution of the AVG in mid-1942, the name was applied to its successor military unit, the 23rd Fighter Group, and more broadly to the China Air Task Force and the U.S. 14th Air Force. The shark faced fighters remain among the most recognizable of any individual combat unit of WWII, and they demonstrated that innovative tactical victories when the news was filled with nothing but defeat after defeat by the Japanese at the start of WWII before American involvement.
The AVG was largely the creation of Claire Chennault, retired U.S. Army Air Corps captain who had become military aviation advisor to Chinese generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek in the Sino-Japanese War. On occasion Chennault may have piloted a plane himself, though stories that he was a combat ace are probably apocryphal. Due to poor fighter material, results were not impressive, and when Russian air units were withdrawn from China in 1940, Chiang asked for American squadrons to replace them.
The clandestine operation was largely organized by Lauchlin Currie, a young economist in the White House, and by Roosevelt intimate Thomas G. Corcoran. (Currie's assistant was John King Fairbank, who later became America's preeminent Asian scholar.) The AVG, financing was handled by China Defense Supplies which was largely Tommy Corcoran's creation, with funding provided by the U.S. government; purchases were then made by the Chinese under the "Cash and Carry" provision of the Neutrality Act of 1939.
A "blood chit" issued to the American Volunteer Group Flying Tigers. The Chinese characters read: "This foreign person has come to China to help in the war effort. Soldiers and civilians, one and all, should rescue, protect, and provide him medical care". (R.E. Baldwin Collection)
Chennault spent the winter of 1940-1941 in Washington, helping to negotiate the purchase of 100 Curtiss P-40 fighters. He also supervised the recruiting of 100 pilots — 40 from the Army Air Corps and 60 from the US Navy and Marine Corps — and about 200 ground crew. (Ten more army flight instructors were hired as check pilots for Chinese cadets, and a few of these would ultimately join the AVG combat squadrons.)
The pilots were either currently serving in American armed services or reserve officers; contrary to legend, none were recruited from the ranks of civilian transport pilots or barnstormers. Most histories of the Flying Tigers say that on April 15, 1941 President Roosevelt signed a secret executive order authorising Army Reservists on active duty to resign from the Army Air Corps in order to sign up for the AVG,For a typical example, see: U.S. Army: A Complete History, p700; The Army Historical Foundation, copyright 2004; James O. Muschett, project editor however Flying Tigers historian Daniel Ford could not find evidence that such an order was ever publishedDaniel Ford's Warbird Forum Flying Tigers FAQ [link]. Ford states that the State department in fact blocked the issuing of a passport to a pilot who had a history of volunteering for such serviceFlying Tigers by Daniel Ford, something that would go against the spirit of such order.
The pilots who volunteered were discharged from the American armed services, to fly and fight as mercenaries for the Republic of China Air ForcePamela Feltus [Claire Chennault and the Flying Tigers of WorldWar II] on the U.S. Government web site of U.S Centennial of Flight Commision . They were officially employees of a private military contractor, the Central Aircraft Manufacturing Company, which employed them for "training and instruction," and which paid them $600 a month for pilot officer, $675 a month for flight leader (such as Gregory Boyington), and $750 for Squadron leader, though no pilot was recruited at this level. They were orally promised an additional $500 for each enemy aircraft shot down, a promise that was later confirmed by Madame Chiang Kai-shek, who also extended it to aircraft destroyed on the ground.
Thus the First American Volunteer Group (AVG) was formed – Plans for a bomber group and second fighter group were aborted after the Pearl Harbor attack. During the summer of 1941, 300 men posing as tourists and carrying passports that identified them as teachers boarded boats for Burma. They were based at a British airfield in Rangoon, for their training, which was made all the more necessary because many had "lied about their flying experience, claiming pursuit experience when they had flown only bombers and sometimes much less powerful airplanes". They called Chennault "the Old Man." Pilots learned to take on enemy aircraft in teams rather than alone, since their aircraft were not as manueverable or as numerous as the Japanese fighters they would encounter. The P-40's good qualities included pilot armor, self-sealing fuel tanks, sturdy construction, heavy armament (two 50-cal. and four 30-cal. machine guns), and a faster diving speed than most Japanese planes; the pilots used this greatly to their advantage as they would reach a high altitude and then pounce upon Japanese planes. General Chennault was a masterful combat teacher and he taught his men unorthodox tactics which took advantage of the P-40's good qualities.
Many AVG pilots were inexperienced, and a few quit at the first opportunity. In addition, fighter planes were slow in coming. Real average strength of AVG was never more than 62 combat-ready pilots and fighters. However, Chennault made a virtue out of these disadvantages, shifting inept pilots to staff jobs and always ensuring that he had a squadron or two in reserve. Spare parts were almost impossible to obtain, though the AVG did receive 50 replacement P-40E fighters toward the end of its combat tour.
Planes
The AVG fighters were taken off a Curtiss assembly line building Tomahawk IIB models for the Royal Air Force in North Africa. However, there is evidence that Curtiss-Wright used older assemblies in the aircraft sold to China, making them essentially the same as the U.S. Army's earlier P-40B model. (The major difference was that the P-40B had an exterior fuel-tank membrane, while the Tomahawk IIB had an interior membrane, believed by the RAF to be more effective at sealing fuel-tank leaks.) The planes were purchased without "government-furnished equipment" such as reflector gunsights, radios, and wing guns; the lack of these items caused continual difficulties for the AVG in Burma and China.
The planes were sent to Burma on third-country freighters in the spring of 1941. At Rangoon, they were assembled and test-flown by personnel of Central Aircraft Manufacturing Company before being delivered to the AVG training unit at Toungoo. One wing assembly was ruined by salt-water immersion, so CAMCO was able to deliver only 99 Tomahawks before war broke out. (Many of those were destroyed in training accidents.) The 100th fuselage was trucked to a CAMCO plant in Loiwing, China, and later made whole with parts from damaged airplanes.
AVG fighter planes were painted with large shark-face on the front of the plane. This was done after pilots saw a photograph of RAF 112 Squadron in North Africa, which in turn had adopted the shark motif from German pilots in Crete. About the same time, the AVG was dubbed "Flying Tigers" by their Washington support group, called China Defense Supplies.
In combat
The port of Rangoon in Burma and the Burma Road to China were of crucial importance for the Republic of China, as much of the foreign materiel destined the armed forces of the Republic arrived via that port. By November 1941, the pilots were trained and most of the P-40s had arrived in Asia, the Flying Tigers were divided into three squadrons: 1st Squadron (Adam & Eves); 2nd Squadron (Panda Bears) and 3rd Squadron (Hell's Angels). They were assigned to opposite ends of the Burma Road to protect this vital line of communications. Two squadrons were based at Kunming in China and a third at Mingaladon near Rangoon. When the United States officially entered the war, AVG had 82 pilots and 79 planes, though not all were combat-ready.
The Flying Tigers had their first combat on December 201941, when they shot down three Japanese bombers near Kunming and damaged a fourth sufficiently that it crashed before returning to its airfield in northern Vietnam. The 3rd Squadron — 18 planes strong — defended Rangoon in December 23-25 and claimed approximately 90 planes, most of them heavy bombers. Other squadrons were rotated through Rangoon in January and February 1942. After the fall of Rangoon to Japanese in March, the AVG was redeployed to bases in northern Burma and finally in China. Not surprisingly, later research has shown Japanese losses to have been smaller than believed at the time. The AVG was officially credited with 297 enemy aircraft destroyed, including 229 in the air (some popular accounts inflate the total to 500 or even 1,000 planes), but author Daniel Ford calculated that the AVG actually destroyed about 115 enemy aircraft in the air and on the ground.
Thirteen pilots were killed in action, captured, or disappeared on combat missions; two were killed in ground accidents; and eight were killed in flying accidents during the Flying Tigers' existence. One of the more famous pilots was Boyington, who was dishonorably discharged in April 1942. He went on to command the Black Sheep Squadron, with many similarities to the Flying Tigers, and was one of two AVG veterans (the other being James Howard of the USAAF) to be awarded the Medal of Honor in combat. Other notable AVG veterans were David Lee "Tex" Hill, later commander of the USAAF 23rd Fighter Group; Charles Older, who postwar earned a law degree, became a California Superior Court judge, and presided at the murder trial of Charles Manson; and Kenneth Jernstedt, long-time Oregon legislator and mayor of his home town of Hood River.
In November of 1941 CAMCO hired 82 pilots and 359 technicians for the 2nd AVG. They were to have been equipped on with Lockheed Hudson and Douglas Boston light bombers waiting for them in Burbank, California. The plan had been for the Hudsons to fly to their destination, while the Bostons were to be sent on ships. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, the pilots and their planes were re-inducted into the U.S. Army. Earlier, however, on November 21, a number of technicians and pilots had already left for Burma aboard the ships Noordam and Bloemfontein. By the time of the attack, they were already out to sea in the Pacific. Rather than being called back to Pearl Harbor the ships were diverted to Australia, where they arrived sometime toward the end of December. In Australia, they were inducted into the U.S. Army. Some went on to serve in the 14th Air Force, and some went home.
Chennault was reinstated into the USAAF as a colonel and immediately promoted to brigadier general as commander of tactical U.S. Army Air Forces units in China, (initially designated the "China Air Task Force " and later redesignated the Fourteenth Air Force), while continuing to command the AVG by virtue of his position in the Chinese Air Force. On July 41942, the AVG was replaced by the 23rd Fighter Group. Five pilots accepted commissions in China, with others remaining for a two-week transition period. (U.S. airmen and the press continued to use the Flying Tiger name to refer to USAAF units in China to the end of the war, and the name continues to be applied to certain air force and army aviation squadrons.) Most AVG pilots became transport pilots in China, went back to America into civilian jobs, or rejoined the military services and fought elsewhere in the war.
Just before their 50th reunion in 1992, the AVG veterans were retroactively recognized as members of the U.S. military services during the seven months the group was in combat against the Japanese. Survivors were made eligible for veterans' benefits on the basis of that service, and were awarded medals for their participation.
The Chinese people
After WWII, some Americans tended to lump all Asians together with the Japanese enemy, forgetting that Americans had fought to defend the Chinese. Many Chinese died to support the American war effort. It has been said that as many Chinese were killed in retaliation for aiding the Doolittle raiders as were later killed in Hiroshima. Many Chinese have not forgotten, as many in the US have participated in recognition of the Flying Tigers. Many model aircraft bear the slogan "Ding Hao", which means "very good" or "hot stuff" in Chinese, and there are pictures and movies of Chinese making a thumbs up gesture at American pilots. Some Chinese fathers who lived from the period told ther sons that it was actually the American pilots who picked the Chinese gesture for "you are number one", and people from China today can confirm the meaning of this gesture. This gesture appeared about the same time as the AVG deployment.
Legacy
Thumbs up remains a common signal among US and other combat pilots. The blood chit on the back of leather flying jacket complete with Chinese writing and flag is still a common fashion statement even to those who have never heard of the Flying Tigers. Toy and hobby stores still stock model and toys of shark mouthed Tomahawk, some with the Chinese nationalist insignia. One 1960s magazine even featured a flying tiger shooting peas in a food magazine. The tactics used in combat to maximize the effectiveness and minimize the weakness of your own planes would be relearned over Korea and Vietnam with creation of specialized air combat schools such as Top Gun and designing fighters specifically for combat agility after America had entered every war with fighters deficient in maneuverability.
Memorials
The National Museum of the United States Air Force in Dayton, Ohio has an extensive display dedicated to the AVG. The musuem's wall and glass cases contain a description of the AVG's history as well as many rare and unique artifacts, including an A-2 jacket worn by an AVG pilot while flying in China, and the Flying Tigers banner presented to the AAF by the Chinese Government during WWII. The museum's P-40E is displayed near the artifacts.
The AVG monument in the National Museum of the United States Air Force Memorial Garden is one of the largest and most recognizable monuments in the garden. It features a large marble sculpture of a pagoda crowned with a brass model of a P-40. Below the airplane are three balls representing the three balls hoisted upon a pole used to alert the AVG of an incoming Japanese air attack. On the pagoda's sides are etched the emblems of the AVG and 14th AF. Below are eight etchings of the many aircraft operated by the AAF in the China. On the sides of the memorial's base are four etchings of rice paddys, the Himalayan Mountains, and scenes of daily life in China during the war. The monument stands nearly 14 feet tall and was dedicated by the Flying Tigers of the 14th Air Force Association on July 10, 1992.
A memorial to the AVG and the 14th AF is loacted at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. It depicts a P-40 in AVG markings with a bronze plaque describing the history of the AVG, and Vandenberg's role as headquarters for the 14th AF.
A memorial to the AVG in Chiang Mai, Thailand was dedicated on November 11, 2003. The marble obelisk is inscribed on all four sides with dedications to Chennault and three AVG pilots, Squadron Leader Jack Van Kuren Newkirk, who was killed in North Thailand on March 24, 1942, as well as Flight Leader Charles Mott and wingman William McGarry, who were shot down and became Japanese POW's in Thailand.
The Flying Tigers Memorial is located in the village of Zhijiang, China and is the only museum in the world dedicated exclusively to the Flying Tigers. Zhijiang had formerly been one of Chennault's headquarters for the 14th AF. The memorial originally opened in 2003 in the former headquartes building. In 2005 the memorial was completely rebuilt, with displays incorporating many of the artifacts obtained from the AVG veterans who had attended the first dedication. The memorial reopened in September, 2005, with several AVG pilots and their families again present at the dedication. The new memorial building is a beautiful steel and marble structure, with wide sweeping steps leading up to a platform with columns holding up the memorial's sweeping roof. Inside is the replica A-2 jacket AVG pilot Richard "Dick" Rossi had donated at the first dedication. On the memorial's back wall, etched in black marble, are the names of all members of the Flying Tigers (AVG, 75th FS, 14th AF) who died in China. 8X10 photos of most AVG Flying Tigers pilots and administrators are displayed throughout the museum, as well as blown-up illuminated paintings of AVG scenes by artists John Shaw and Roy Grinnell. On one wall a 1/4 scale model of the nose of a P-40 protrudes with its propellers spinning and engine puffing smoke, while below a diorama depicts the village of Zhijiang being attacked by japanese bombers. Despite their limited resources the Chinese have been able to build a very respectable memorial to the pilots who protected their skies during WWII.
Flying Tigers wrecks
Two P-40 wrecks exist that are believed to be aircraft operating with the Flying Tigers at the time they were lost.
The wreckage of a P-40E with CAF engine serial number P-8115 is currently on display at Chiang Mai Air Force Base in Thailand. The aircraft is believed to be the P-40 flown by William "Mac" McGarry when he was hit by anit-aircraft fire while flying over Chang Mai on March 24, 1942. The aircraft crashed into the rain forest in northern Thailand. William McGarry was captured and interrogated, and would spend the rest of the war in a Thai prison. The wreck was discovered in northern Thailand in 1991, and consists of the P-40E's Allison engine, Hamilton Standard propeller, as well as various parts of the airframe. Today the wreckage is displayed on the floor of a building on the Air Force Base in much the same condition and arrangement as it was found.
The wreck of an AVG P-40E is believed to still remain in Lake Dianchi (Lake Kunming). The airplane is believed to be P-40E No. 68, which had 10 kills during its 8 months in China, and was piloted by John Blackburn when it crashed into the lake while on a gunnery training flight on April 28, 1942, killing the pilot. His body was quickly recovered from the aircraft, which was submurged in 20 feet of water, and the P-40E was allowed to remain on the bottom of the lake. In 1997 a joint U.S-Chinese group was formed to located the airplane and possibly raise and restore it. Called the Sino-American Aviation Heritage Foundation, in March 1998 they contacted the China Expedition Association about conducting the recovery operation. Over 300 aircraft are believed to have crashed into Lake Dianchi (including a second AVG P-40E) so locating the aircraft has proven very difficult. In 2003 an aircraft believed to be the P-40E No. 68 was found embedded in 9 feet of bottom silt. An effort was made in September, 2005 to raise the aircraft, but the recovery has continued to be plagued with difficulties and the aircraft remains deep under the lake bottom. Since the aircraft was complete and relatively undamaged when John Blackburn's body was removed from it in April, 1942, it is hoped that the aircraft will be in good condition and capable of being restored, possibly to flying condition.
Charles Bond & Terry Anderson - A Flying Tiger's DiaryISBN 0890961786
Martha Byrd - Chennault: Giving Wings to the TigerISBN 0817303227
Daniel Ford - Flying Tigers: Claire Chennault and the American Volunteer GroupISBN 1560985410
Frank S. Losonsky - Flying Tiger: A Crew Chief's Story: The War Diary of an AVG Crew ChiefISBN 0764300458
Frank J. Olynyk - ''AVG & USAAF (China-Burma-India Theater) Credits for Destruction of Enemy Aircraft in Air to Air Combat, World War 2. Privately published, 1986.
