China's last 'Flying Tiger' dies at 91 (Air Force, Boeing, military)
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The Flying Tigers, officially known as the American Volunteer Group of the Chinese Air Force, were a group composed of ex-pilots from the U.S. military. Between December 1941 and September 1945, the Flying Tigers shot down 2,600 Japanese military planes, destroyed 44 warships and killed 66,700 Japanese soldiers. I just thought this was interesting to share with others interested in aviation.
Location: By the sea, by the sea, by the beautiful sea
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Originally Posted by Des-Lab
I thought Flying Tigers was a cargo airline that FedEx bought out in 1989.
Oh wait. They were.
They were also founded by former AVG pilots. I believe there was also a chain of restaurants known as the Hungry Tiger also founded by former AVG pilots, I had dinner at one in Los Angeles in 1979 and that was the story printed on the menu.
Kind of confused here. Thought the original Flying Tiger pilots were all Americans? The news article appears to suggest he was a transport and bomber pilot. The 14th Air Force which evolved from the Tigers flew in China until the end of the war. They were also sometimes referred to as Flying Tigers. Anyone with more knowledge of this topic please contribute.
What most of us think of as "The Flying Tigers" was the 1st American Volunteer Group.
It only fought between December of 1941 and the time it was disbanded on July 4, 1942. They're credited with 296 enemy aircraft destroyed. That's inconsistent with the closing line of the article cited:
Quote:
Between December 1941 and September 1945, the Flying Tigers shot down 2,600
Japanese military planes, destroyed 44 warships and killed 66,700 Japanese
soldiers.
The December 41 to Sept 45 reference might just be sloppy journalism.
I suspect this guy was a member of the Chinese-American Composite Wing of the 14th AF, which descended from the AVG. 14th AF was also called the Flying Tigers.
In addition to the core Fourteenth Air Force (14AF) structure, a second group, the Chinese-American Composite Wing, existed as a combined 1st Bomber, 3rd Fighter, and 5th Fighter Group with pilots from both the United States and the Republic of China. U.S. service personnel destined for the CACW entered the China theater in mid-July 1943. Aircraft assigned to the CACW included late-model P-40 Warhawks (with the Nationalist Chinese Air Force 12-pointed star national insignia, rudder markings, and squadron/aircraft numbering) and B-25 Mitchell light bombers...
The Flying Tigers, officially known as the American Volunteer Group of the Chinese Air Force, were a group composed of ex-pilots from the U.S. military. Between December 1941 and September 1945, the Flying Tigers shot down 2,600 Japanese military planes, destroyed 44 warships and killed 66,700 Japanese soldiers. I just thought this was interesting to share with others interested in aviation.
Location: About 10 miles north of Pittsburgh International
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Seems like too many kills for so few squadrons. Sounds more like the results for
the entire Tenth AF.
Quote:
...were a group composed of ex-pilots from the U.S. military.
It's a little off topic, I know, but I think the whole article was journalistically sloppy. I wouldn't have criticized Chava61 for this, but since I saw it in the article cited, which supposedly would have been professionally written--They were ex-military pilots, not ex-pilots from the military. I don't make a habit of being a grammar and spelling Nazi, but if you're writing for a living, you should avoid sloppy syntax (and get the facts straight.)
Chava61 is a good poster in my book it is the article that is the issue. I recall there were three squadrons-Hells Angels, Adam & Eves and Panda Bears. Squadron sent to defend Rangoon saw heavy action and losses. Other squadrons less so before being amalgamated into the 10AF. I think the AVG downed around 200 corrected victories before incorporation and shipping victories would be the B24s from the 10AF later in the war.
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