All about the American Volunteer Group commanded by Claire Chennault. The AVG Flying Tigers defended Burma and China with their shark-faced P-40 Tomahawks in the opening months of the Pacific War, December 1941 - July 1942.

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ANNALS OF THE FLYING TIGERS

A few weeks ago, I got a treasure trove of letters written by Mamie Hall Porritt, a Georgia woman who worked for CAMCO at Loiwing and Rangoon from 1939 to 1942. She was writing to her husband in England, so the letters give a great flavor of the war both as it was experienced on the China-Burma border and back on the embattled isle. Mamie also spent some time at the CAMCO office in Rangoon after the AVG reached Burma. I am hugely grateful to Tracy Minter, who transcribed the letters (for her great-uncle, a friend of Mamie's in Statesboro, Geogia) and who sent copies to me. I have posted a much-shortened version of the letters, starting here.

St Luke's headstonesThree AVG pilots were killed in accidents while the Tigers trained at Toungoo, Burma. They were apparently all buried at St. Luke's graveyard on the southeast corner of the town. I tried to find the site in 1986 without success. More recently, John Armstrong's family has launched a search for the graves so that the remains can be repatriated. The search is much complicated by the fact that the Burmese authorities have evidently demolished St. Luke's, bulldozed the headstones off to the side (photo at left), relocated the remains to another site, and turned the old graveyard into a housing development, Southeast Asian style. More photos and background here.

Blue skies! -- Dan Ford

A 'SPECIAL AIR UNIT' FOR CHINA:

THE AVG FORGES A LEGEND:

THE P-40 FILES:

THE JAAF FILES:

THE CHINESE AIR FORCE FILES:

BOOKS ETC.

A GOOD MYTH NEVER DIES:

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