In the dark early months of the Pacific War, when news for the Allies was a string of crushing defeats, a small, privately-funded American unit in China became a beacon of hope: the American Volunteer Group (AVG), forever known as the Flying Tigers. Their iconic aircraft was the rugged Curtiss P-40 Warhawk.
Soldiers of Fortune, Not the Military
One of the most remarkable things about the Flying Tigers is their official status. They were not part of the U.S. military. They were American pilots and ground crew—recruited from the U.S. Army Air Corps, Navy, and Marine Corps—who were hired under secret presidential authority to serve as mercenaries for the Republic of China before America formally entered the war.
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The Price on a Japanese Plane: AVG pilots were offered a base salary (significantly higher than their U.S. military pay) plus a $500 bonus for every Japanese aircraft they destroyed. This was bounty hunting at its most heroic.
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The Civilian Leader: The AVG was led by former U.S. Army Air Corps Captain Claire Lee Chennault, a civilian aviation advisor to Chiang Kai-shek. Chennault was a brilliant tactical mind who understood the P-40’s strengths and weaknesses against the highly maneuverable, but lightly armored, Japanese fighters like the A6M Zero.
The P-40's Biting Tactics
The P-40 was not the most technically advanced fighter. It suffered from a lack of power at high altitudes and was less nimble than the Japanese aircraft at low speeds. Chennault's genius was in developing tactics that neutralized the enemy's advantages and played to the P-40's strengths: speed in the dive, heavy armament, and rugged durability.
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The Dive and Zoom: Chennault forbade prolonged turning dogfights. His pilots were trained to use the P-40’s dive speed to swoop down from altitude, fire a quick burst, and zoom back up to height, avoiding a close-quarters brawl. This tactic was highly effective and minimized losses.
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The Origin of the Shark Mouth: The iconic shark mouth nose art was not an original Flying Tigers idea. It was inspired by images of No. 112 Squadron RAF Tomahawks operating in the North African desert, which had adopted the motif from a German Messerschmitt unit that had, in turn, copied it from World War I aviation art. The AVG adopted it with a ferocity that made it globally famous.
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The Disney Connection: The official Flying Tigers patch (a winged tiger flying through a 'V' for victory) was designed by artists from the Walt Disney Company. The pilots wore this symbol of courage into every battle.
The Flying Tigers operated for only seven months (December 1941 to July 1942), but in that time, they achieved an incredible combat record, credited with destroying 296 enemy aircraft while only losing 14 pilots in combat. They were, quite simply, never defeated in a major air battle, providing America and its allies with a desperately needed victory narrative.
