Origins

• The origins of the AVG are heavily rooted in the work of Claire L. Chennault. Chennault was a retired officer from the U.S. Army Air Corps, working in China during the early days of the Sino-Japanese War. Following the invasion of China by Japan, he worked as a military adviser to the nation as well as directing the Chinese Air Force flight school. He was aided by supplies from the Soviet Union and ultimately requested U.S. support in 1940.
  
  

Organization

• The U.S. was not at war with Japan in 1940, so Chennault and President Roosevelt were forced to organize a covert force that was called the 1st American Volunteer Group. AVG utilized a provision called the "Cash and Carry" clause in the Neutrality Act of 1939 in order to sell airplanes to the Chinese. In addition to the weaponry, 100 pilots and roughly 200 support crew joined the organization and formed the backbone of what became known as the "Flying Tigers."
  
  

Composition

• The AVG was created from volunteers from the Navy, Marines and Army Air Corps. Each volunteer was honorably discharged from the official U.S. military in order to enter the private mercenary group, the Central Aircraft Manufacturing Company. Although the pilots and crewmen were working for a private company, the payment they received was considerably higher than normal military pay, with some pilots earning $675 per month. This is the equivalent of nearly $10,000 when translated to 2009 dollars.
  
  

Aircraft

• The aircraft used by the "Flying Tigers" were Curtiss P-40 Tomahawks. The group successfully delivered 99 aircraft before the AVG was forced into combat in Burma. To enhance the image of the AVG force, large shark faces were added to the nose of the vehicles. Among the features of the P-40s were armor for the pilots, fuel tanks that could seal themselves, two 50-caliber machine guns, four 30-caliber machine guns and top speeds that bested the enemy aircraft.
  
  

Legacy

• According to U.S. military records, the AVG destroyed 297 Japanese aircraft, the majority of which were in the air. However, Japanese records indicate only 115. Of the 100 pilots who joined the volunteer group, 14 were killed or missing in action. Eight other pilots were killed in bombing raids and accidents. Following the attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, the U.S. requested the force be rolled into the U.S. Army Air Force. The majority of the pilots joined the 23rd Fight Group on July 4, 1942. However, five pilots refused and joined the Chinese Air Force until the end of the war.