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In 1940,
Pearl Harbor had not yet happened, and America was not yet at war with Japan.
But China had been trying to stave off Japanese aggression for three years—and
was desperate for aircraft and trained combat pilots.
General Chiang Kai-shek sent military aviation advisor Claire Chennault to
Washington, where President Roosevelt was sympathetic, but knew he could not
intervene overtly. Instead, he quietly helped Chennault put together a group of
American volunteer pilots.
This was how the 1st American Volunteer Group—more commonly known as the Flying
Tigers—was born.
With the trademark smiling shark jaws on their P-40 fighters, these Army, Navy
and Marine pilots became a sensation as they fought for the Chinese. Those who
initially doubted them were eventually in awe as they persevered over Rangoon
despite being outnumbered 14-1 by Japanese aircraft; as they were described by
Madame Chiang Kai-shek as her “little angels” and by a Chinese foreign minister
as “the soundest investment China ever made”; and as they ultimately destroyed
hundreds of Japanese planes while losing only a dozen of their own in combat.
Two of their veterans would later earn the Medal of Honor—and as a group, the
Flying Tigers managed to rack up a better record than any other air wing in the
Pacific theater. When Tigers Ruled the Sky is a thrilling and triumphant
account of their courage and their legacy.