80 Years Later, the Legacy of the Flying Tigers Endures

Monday, December 20, 2021 at 01:10 PM ET

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Captain Claire Chennault at the Air Corps Tactical School, Maxwell Field, Montgomery, AL, in 1932. [Courtesy: National Museum of the U.S. Air Force]

Key Takeaways:

The American Volunteer Group (AVG), known as the "Flying Tigers," was a unit of American volunteer pilots who defended China against Japanese bombers starting in December 1941, achieving significant early victories despite the U.S. being officially neutral.
Their commander, Claire Chennault, developed innovative "defensive pursuit" air combat strategies that maximized the P-40 Warhawk's strengths (speed and diving ability) against technically superior Japanese Zeros.
Operating for only seven months, the Flying Tigers achieved a remarkable 20-to-1 kill ratio, providing a crucial morale boost for both China and the U.S. during the early stages of World War II and validating Chennault's unconventional tactics.

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On December 20, 1941, an all-volunteer group of American mercenary pilots took on Japanese bombers in their first air combat mission to protect China.

By day’s end, the American Volunteer Group (AVG)—better known as the “Flying Tigers”—would go on to down nine out of 10 Japanese bombers in the first of many air battles in a seven-month campaign that helped block Japanese expansion into China.