Скачать или смотреть Claire Chennault's AVG, The Flying Tigers 70th Anniversary at the Tico Warbird Airshow

This is a demostration of the AVG (American Volunteer Group) under Claire Chennault.The Flying Tigers were formed in 1941 at a time when the US was not yet at war. FDR diverted 100 Curtiss P-40 Warhawks (aka Kittyhawks and Tomahawks) from an RAF order and Claire then recruited 100 inexperienced pilot volunteers and 200 ground crew and then flew in southern China and destroying 299 Japaneese planes with another 153 possibly destroyed while only loosing only 12 P-40's which nearly equals a 30;1 kill ratio. They were doing this to help keep the "Burma Road open. It was a very important supply line to China and without it, China would have been conquered easily giving the Japaneese unrestricted acess to it's raw materials. Claire knew that the Zero's were more maneuverable in a turning battle so he instructed his pilots to dive into an attack and dive away to set up the next attack.

The AVG and the Flying Tigers last mission was on July 4, 1942. It was seven months after their first mission and outlasted the three weeks many people predicted they would last. The Flying Tigers were absorbed into the Army Air Corp. and eventually became part of the 23 fighter group of the 14th Air Force which fought in the very same area of China and had Claire Chennault as it's Commander. Today, the 23rd Fighter Group at Moody AFB with it's A-10 Warthogs fly the Sharks Teeth on their nose and the AVG Flying Tigers symbol on the sides. Locally, the 45th Space Wing at nearby Patrick AFB is a subordinate command of the 14th Air Force which can trace it's roots right back to Claire Chennault