| United States Army Air Force Lieutenant General Claire L. Chennault (September 6, 1893 – July 27, 1958) commanded the 14th Air Force in the China-Burma-India theater. He sits at his desk at Kunming, China. Chennault’s uniform features both American and Chinese insignia. Chennault’s command was founded as the 1st American Volunteer Group (AVG), or the “Flying Tigers,” which defended China from Japanese forces in the Sino-Japanese War. 1st AVG was disbanded on July 4, 1942, and only 5 of its pilots inducted into the 23rd Fighter Group, now designated the China Air Task Force (CATG). Chennault was recalled to duty as a Major General in the United States Army Air Force on April 15, 1942, as commander of CATG. The 11th Bomb Squadron, with only 7 operational North American B-25 Mitchell bombers, made up the strike force. The 14th Air Force was activated on March 10, 1943, out of the units attached to CATG. In the 9 months of its existence, the China Air Task Force shot down 149 Japanese planes, plus 85 probables, with a loss of only 16 P-40s. It had flown 65 bombing missions against Japanese targets in China, Burma and Indochina, dropping 311 tons of bombs and losing only 1 B-25 bomber. Major General Chennault was appointed the commander. The “Flying Tigers” of the 14th Air Force, who adopted the moniker from the AVG, conducted highly effective fighter and bomber operations along a wide front that stretched from the bend of the Yellow River and Jinan in the north to Indochina in the south, from Chengdu and the Salween River in the west to both East and South China Seas and the island of Formosa in the east. They were also instrumental in supplying Chinese forces through the airlift of cargo across “The Hump,” as the Himalayas were called, in the China-Burma-India (CBI) theater. By the end of World War II, 14th Air Force had achieved air superiority over the skies of China and established a ratio of 7.7 enemy planes destroyed for every American plane lost in combat. Over all, military officials estimated that over 4,000 Japanese planes were destroyed or damaged in the China-Burma-India theater during World War II. In addition, they estimated that air units in China destroyed 1.1 1,000,000 tons of shipping, 1,079 locomotives, 4,836 trucks and 580 bridges. The United States Army Air Forces credits 14th Air Force with the destruction of 2,315 Japanese aircraft, 356 bridges, 1,225 locomotives and 712 railroad cars. | |
| Image Filename | wwii2089.jpg |
| Image Size | 936.51 KB |
| Image Dimensions | 3849 x 3002 |
| Photographer | |
| Photographer Title | United States Army Signal Corps |
| Caption Author | Written or Adapted by Jason McDonald |
| Date Photographed | July 25, 1945 |
| Location | |
| City | Kunming |
| State or Province | Yunnan |
| Country | China |
| Archive | National Archives and Records Administration |
| Record Number | 342-FH-3A49424-K1980 |
| Status | Caption ©2026 MFA Productions LLC Please Do Not Duplicate or Distribute Without Permission; Image in the Public Domain |
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