World Renowned Flying Tigers

    The world renown The “Flying Tigers” was the nickname for the American Volunteer Group (AVG), a group of United States Army Air Forces, United States Navy, and United States Marine Corps pilots and ground crew, recruited under a secret Presidential sanction by Claire Chennault. They formed a fighter group comprised of three squadrons that trained in China and defended the Burma supply line to China prior to the American entry into World War II to fight against Japanese forces.

    The Flying Tigers achieved notable success against the forces of Japan during the darkest hours of the war for American forces, and gave hope to Americans that they would eventually succeed against the Japanese. The Flying Tigers were credited for destroying almost 300 aircraft with a loss of only twelve of their own in combat. The AVG was disbanded on July 4, 1942. The U.S. Air Corp then sent military units into China beginning with the 23rd Fighter Group, which was later absorbed into the U.S. 14th Air Force with General Chennault as the commander. The shark-faced fighters remain among the most recognizable of any individual combat unit of WWII. They demonstrated innovative tactical victories when the news in the USA reported stories of defeat after defeat at the hands of the Japanese forces at the start of WWII.

    The Flying Tigers have been honored by numerous Museums and Monuments around the world including The National Museum of the United States Air Force in Dayton, Ohio National Museum of the United States Air Force Memorial Garden, a memorial to the AVG and the 14th AF located at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. A memorial to the AVG in Chiang Mai, Thailand was dedicated on November 11, 2003. The village of Zhijiang, Hunan Province, China also honors the Tigers with a museum 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.

    Over a dozen movies and hundreds of books in 289 languages continue to praise and honor the Flying Tigers for their heroic contributions to the world