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REPUBLIC P-43 AND CHINA'S AIR WAR

I. General notes

In telling the story of the P-43 in both the C.A.F. and U.S.A.A.F. service in China as well as trying to connect the two and put both in context, the principal text became somewhat stylistically ponderous. In order to avoid too many diversions in the text some relatively important facts have been relegated to the notes below. The reader who is truly interested in details of this subject is commended to review the text notes for content as well as for citations to source material.

In referring to geographical locations in China I have consistently tried to use transliterations that were common (used in maps or communiques) during World War II. With respect to personal names I have followed whatever form was used in the source material except where different transliterations were used for the same name in more than one source. I have then used one form consistently. Chinese and Japanese names have been rendered in western order only when initials are used or if the name contains western elements.

I have used what I think are the commonly accepted translations for Chinese and Japanese organizational terms. For the C.A.F., Group (Da Dui) and Squadron (Zhong Dui) are used. For the J.A.A.F., Flying Regiment or just Regiment (Hiko Sentai) and Squadron (Chutai) are use. Abbreviations are noted at first use.

When a single source supports several facts in a paragraph or sequence of paragraphs I have generally limited repeat citations unless they seemed necessary for clarity. I have sometimes consolidated all citations in a paragraph to a single note indicating which fact is supported by which citation or source in the note.

Copies of materials cited, other than popular works or library resources, are in the possession of the author unless indicated. In some cases I have, for convenience, cited to paperback editions rather than the original work.

Photographs used in this article were assembled from a variety of sources (author's collection, U.S. National Archives, various Internet sites) in each case original photo credit should be the U.S. Army. Maps are from U.S. Army's Japanese Monograph No. 71.

II. Text Notes

1. "Estimated Strength Chinese Nationalist Air Force," (American Consulate General, Nanking), Aug. 14, 1931

2. "Canton Situation - Capture of Hengchow," memorandum of conversation (Col. Conrad Chung, Chinese Aviation Bureau/ Vice-Consul L.C. Reynolds, American Consulate General, Nanking), Sept. 3, 1931 (The K-47 was a monoplane two-seat fighter, a predecessor of the famous Ju-87)

3. Whelan, The Flying Tigers, Viking Press, New York (1942), pp.16-17; Whelan ascribes the demise of the Jouett mission to Japanese diplomatic pressure. Other sources suggest Chinese politics led to non-renewal of Jouett's contract. Whelan dates the mission 1932-34 but apparently Jouett's contract ran to 1935.

4. Hsu & Chang (compilers), History of the Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945), trans. Wen Ha-Hsuing, Wu Publishing Co., Tapei, (2nd ed., 1971), p. 172; also, same compilers, Brief History of the Sino-Japanese War, (same publisher, 1972); in August 1937 the U.S. Military Attache in China reported that the C.A.F. consisted of about 210 "combat type" aircraft, the rest may well have been trainers and obsolescent types

5. id.; Japanese Monograph No. 76, Air Operations in the China Area (July 1937-August 1945); Japanese Monograph No. 166, History of Air Operations in the First Phase of the China Incident (From July to November 1937). Partial coverage is contained in Okumiya & Hirokoshi, Zero, Dutton, New York (1956) and Chennault, Way of a Fighter, Putnam, New York (1949). Consult the bibliography in Ford, Flying Tigers, HarperCollins, New York (2007) for some other relevant works [page references hereafter are to the 1991 Smithsonian Institution Press edition of this book].

6. "During 1937 to 1940 the main supplier.was the Soviet Union, sending 563 fighters (I-15, I-15bis, I-16, and I-153), and 322 bombers (292 SB, 24 DB-3, and 6 TB-3)." Demin, "Changing From Donkeys to Mustangs," Aviamaster (6/2000), trans. George M. Mellinger

7. Memorandum, no subject, U.S. Department of State, Division of Controls (Joseph C. Green), July 27, 1940 (reference letter from A.L. Patterson, President, China Airmotive Co., and telecon from Arthur N. Young, financial adviser to Chinese Government, mentioning "cut-throat competition" and "disgraceful behavior"); Memorandum, no subject, U.S. Department of State, Division of Controls (Joseph C. Green), Dec. 5, 1940 (re telephone conversation with Mr. Guy Vaughn, Curtiss-Wright Corp. regarding C-W's use of intermediary Intercontinental Corp. to deal with the Chinese).

8. Letter, Chennault to B.S. Wright, President Curtiss-Wright Corp., Dec. 13, 1938

9. ".the very first combat over Chengdu [Chengtu] on 14 March [1941] demonstrated that the Chinese in the Chaika [I-153] were helpless before the Japanese Zero." Demin (note 6)

10. Memorandum of Conversation, "Aid to China," (Secretary of State Hull/ Dr. T.V. Soong), Nov. 28, 1940

11. Magruder radiogram (rad.) for SecWar and Chief of Staff, Nov. 18, 1941 ("The 30th of October I had a talk with the Generalissimo who frankly stated that his Chinese.Air Corps has become a complete washout.he is afraid of its combat efficiency."). Plans were then in motion both for advanced training of Chinese pilots in the U.S. (first class started training in November 1941 and graduated Mar. 27, 1942) and the shipment of modern U.S. aircraft to China. Chennault wanted the best of the first Chinese graduates of U.S. flight training to become instructors of Chinese trainees preparing to go to the U.S. for advanced training because the training situation in China was "almost hopeless." (Letter, Chennault to Madame Chiang, May 5, 1942).

12. According to Demin (note 6) the Chinese 3rd Fighter Group was ordered to Rangoon in June 1941 to take delivery of the P-40s. This is confirmed, at least in part, by a letter from the American Consul in Rangoon to the U.S. Secretary of State (July 14, 1941) which states that 18 Chinese pilots and 19 mechanics arrived in Rangoon in June under orders to take over the P-40s delivered on May 23, 1941, and fly them to China after assembly. According to the letter, "Chungking countermanded this order."

13. Taylor, Combat Aircraft of the World, Putnam, New York (1969), p. 549 (other sources, e.g., Green, War Planes of the Second World War, Fighters, vol.4, Doubleday, New York (1961) pp.166-168, generally agree with material in Taylor). Taylor is followed in this section except as noted. This author has found no primary source evidence to support the proposition that the P-43 (or later P-44) contracts were an expedient to keep Republic solvent pending development of the P-47. Both P-43 and P-44 were ordered as modern combat aircraft. They apparently became "non-combat" aircraft when an Air Corps policy change required protected fuel tanks and (as later explained in the text) their design precluded fitting self-sealing tanks. At that point they may have played the role (place-holder for the P-47) suggested by Taylor and others.

14. Taylor, supra, states all additional 17 P-43s went to the R.A.A.F. but an Australian source indicates only eight P-43s were received by the R.A.A.F. and serial numbers indicate only four of these were P-43A-1s (Australian Defense Force serial numbers).

15. Ford (note 5) p. 305, says P-43s had no "armor or fuel tank membranes." ["membranes" presumably being a reference to non-metal self-sealing fuel tanks]; other sources specifically identify the P-43A-1 as having (1) "improved pilot protection and self-sealing fuel tanks." Green (note 13), p. 168), or (2) "armor and self-sealing fuel tanks" in "Republic P-43 Lancer" on Joe Baugher's website; Molesworth, Sharks Over China, Brassey's, London (1994), says the P-43A had no self-sealing tanks and "insufficient" armor (p.45).

16. Confirmation of P-43 armor is found in GHQ India, Inspectorate of Small Arms, "Penetration trials with weapons taken from Japanese aircraft firing at armor plate on 14-9-43 and 16-9-43," (Lt. Col. J.W. Harris) Sept. 23, 1943. This report records results, inter alia, on a 6mm plate described as "American: Back of Pilot's seat P-43 Aircraft" and 9.8mm armor described as "American: Side plate from a type P-43 plane." Indications suggesting these were factory installed are the source description as "American" (rather than British or Indian), the fact that both plates carried parts numbers, and, finally, it is exceedingly unlikely aircraft being scrapped for engines would be field modified by adding armor. Many aircraft produced without (or with inadequate) fuel tank and pilot protection could, of course, receive field modifications to remedy the deficiency. This was done, for example, in the case of the U.S. Navy's Grumman F4F carrier fighter that entered World War II with neither self-sealing tanks nor pilot armor. See Lundstrom, The First Team, Naval Institute Press, Annapolis (1984), pp. 12, 55. The P-43's fuel tanks could not be upgraded for reasons stated in the text (U.S.A.A.F. memorandum, "Analysis of Article `WE HAVE NO AIR POWER' By Alexander P. DeSeversky - Published in LOOK Magazine October 7, 1941", unsigned, undated; from context and related correspondence the "Analysis" was prepared to allow Army Air Force officials to counter testimony Seversky might give at a forthcoming Congressional hearing). Absence of unsatisfactory reports regarding fuel tanks (at least none was found by the author in the folder of P-43 unsatisfactory reports in RG 342 at the U.S. National Archives) show the aircraft did not have fuel tank problems in the U.S.

17. Kung rad. to Jouett, May 7, 1939 (the guarantee in question related to a maximum speed of 320 mph. using 87 octane fuel)

18. Letter, Willys R. Peck, U.S. Embassy, to Dr. Kung, May 29, 1939 (Peck received a memorandum advising him of the information he passed on to Dr. Kung but in fact the P-35A/EP-1 was not the original P-35 ordered by the Air Corps in 1936)

19. Data compiled from figures in Department of State, Division of Controls, memorandum, no subject, (J.E. Peurifoy to Mr. Green), Feb. 2, 1940

20. Department of State, memorandum, no subject (Joseph C. Green), Dec. 5, 1940

21. Dod, The Corps of Engineers in the War Against Japan, O.C.M.H., U.S. Army, Washington, D.C. (1966), p. 389

22. See generally Bailey & Ryan, Hitler vs. Roosevelt: The Undeclared Naval War, Free Press, New York (1979), especially pp. 170-233; George (chapter author), "United States-Japan Relations Leading to Pearl Harbor" in Forceful Persuasion: Coercive Diplomacy as an Alternative, U.S. Institute for Peace Press, Washington, D.C. (1991), pp. 12, 19-23

23. "Chinese Aircraft and Programs," memorandum for President Roosevelt's Liaison Commission (Hines), Feb. 3, 1941 cited in Romanus, Stillwell's Mission to China, O.C.M.H., U.S. Army, Washington, D.C. (1953), p. 12

24. "Status of Planes Allotted to China," Apr. 1, 1942, chart in President Roosevelt's Map Room files; this totals 108 P-43s the number cited in many sources as delivered to the Chinese, however, "History of the Chinese Air Force" (preliminary draft, 16 May 1946, project #2863, M.I.D., U.S. Army, table 1) lists only 102 P-43s factory delivered to the C.A.F. in 1941-2 with eight returned, netting 94 to China). War Dept. rad. No. 413 to AMMISCA (April 7, 1942) records 94 P-43s then at Karachi or at sea. Another source (Office of Strategic Services, Research and Analysis Branch, "American Cooperation with China During the First Year of the War", June 11, 1943, p.48) says of 125 P-43s originally allocated to the Chinese 17 were permanently diverted to the U.S. Army but it mentions only 57 accepted by the Chinese and 47 not turned over to the Chinese in India. This totals 104. It accounts for the 47 not turned over to the Chinese as 12 assigned to the U.S. Army and 35 crashed or stripped for spares (presumably some of the 35 had indeed been "accepted" by the Chinese but were later reclaimed by the Americans while still in India). It thus appears that not only did the C.A.F. not receive the full 125 P-43s produced under the lend-lease contract but that it received less than the 108 cited in many sources, possibly as few as 94. As will be noted below four additional P-43s (probably ex-14th Air Force were provided to the C.A.F. in 1943 per table 1 of "History.")

25. Memorandum No. 26 for His Excellency, The Generalissimo, subject: "P-43 Fighter Airplanes" (B/G Clayton Bissell), Jul. 2, 1942 (regarding responsibility of C.A.F.); Ground crews from the 51st Pursuit Group were involved in assembling, servicing and repairing the C.A.F. aircraft at least from May 1942. The group also provided a pilot to assist in flight tests (HQ 51st Fighter Group, "History of Group from January 1, 1942 to March 25, 1943")

26. "Donkeys" (note 6); Another source places the first loss at Jabalpur, India on April 22nd, stating that Deputy Leader of the 4th Group Chang Shiaoyu died when his P-43 had an engine fire and crashed ("Notes on CAF P-43", translated from official CAF combat records by D.Y. Louie, provided by James Sawruk) [The author has no reason to doubt these "Notes" are an accurate rendition of CAF records. That does not mean they, or other sources, are necessarily 100% correct. In particular "Notes" and Demin's articles differ in a number of specifics]

27. Chinese responsible, no U.S. records - Memo No. 26 (note 25); 50% losses - "History.(note 24), p. 47, citing interview with A.V.G. flight leader George Paxton.

28. Quotation and section based on Scott, God is My Co-pilot, (1943), Ballentine Books ed. (1970), p. 66; the leaks occurred primarily along the inboard seam of the tank adjacent to the fuselage (Stillwell rad. to AGWAR, no. 698, May 18, 1942) the same radiogram requested a factory representative be sent to correct the problem.

29. Note 26, id.; Rossi, "A Flying Tiger's Story, chapter 2"

30. Memorandum No. 20 for His Excellency, The Generalissimo, subject: "Aircraft Status Report" (Bissell), June 5, 1942

31. Note 26, id., Demin renders Cheng's name Zheng Shaoyu; Ford (note 5), p. 350, records two P-43s bursting into flames in flight at Kunming and witnessed by A.V.G. personnel. For a profile of Cheng, click here.

32. Note 25, id.

33. "Re General Bissell's Memorandum No.26 to the Generalissimo," (Madame Chiang), undated

34. Chungking (Gauss) rad. to Secretary of State, Jul. 7, 1942 (the words "reflection on wings" in this message are not self evident; possibly "flexion" or "deflection" on wings is meant implying that the wings were deformed in high stress maneuvers; the other causes are clear enough). The "5th Air Force" was undoubtedly a reference to the Chinese 5th Route Air Force (commanded by Col. Wang Su-Ming), the C.A.F. regional command at Kunming.

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