Claire Chennault 125 -- September 6, 2018

Life, 10-August-1942

Claire Chennault learned to fly in the US Army during World War One.  After the war, he specialized in pursuit (fighter) tactics.  After becoming a captain, he couldn't advance further because of conflicts with superiors and poor health, so he resigned in 1937.  Chennault went to China, becoming the chief air advisor of Chiang Kai-shek. Chennault returned to Washington, DC to organize the American Volunteer Group.  In 1941, the American pilots, mostly men who had given up their military commissions, started flying Curtiss P-40B Tomahawks against the Japanese invaders.  The Americans became known as the Flying Tigers.

Seven months after Pearl Harbor, the AVG was incorporated in the US Army Air Force.