The Flying Tigers: The Untold Story of the American Pilots Who Waged a Secret War Against Japan

So many things regarding the inception of the AVG up to and including how they got their iconic name "Flying Tigers". The most fascinating though was that here was a bunch of guys all or most military pilots who were in dead-end or slow moving positions. So when the opportunity to join this outfit and "see the world" so to speak came open- so many jumped at the chance for adventure in the romantic sense of the word. It is an interesting twist of interest in money and travel that is soon replaced with the hard realities of war - that friends die and the adventure, pay and living conditions were not all that great. The boys are home sick and begin dreaming of the day they can go home. This book is a fascinating look back in time. It's a book about some romance, some adventure and patriotism I guess. The saddest part of the book are the deaths of several key figures along with the way the air force all but snubbed these pilots after they had done so much to help out in the early war years. An excellent book that is an easy read and a page turner. It is a history of the "Flying Tigers" mixed with many human interest stories coupled with what types of missions they were engaged in. An interesting point I found was that although "Pappy Boington" was a Flying Tiger, his role in this organization was very small and non-descript. In fact the author shows Pappy to be a less than valued member of the AVG. The author devotes an entire chapter to him after he left and got back into the Marine Corps which I found interesting in that his role in the Tigers was so small. Perhaps it is because of his exploits as a Marine pilot. Its a good read and I highly recommend buying it.

The Flying Tigers(The untold story of the American Pilots who waged a secret war against Japan)By, Sam Kleiner I purchased this newly published book as soon as I learned of it. It is very well written and researched. Most of you reading this will have no knowledge or recollection of this famous group. Because of my advanced age I do. At the beginning of WWII there was nothing but bad news. We were beaten everywhere by the Japanese. The Flying Tigers was the lone exception. In reading I now know how it was formed. Claire Chennault had resigned from the Army Air Corp and went to China in the 30’s to help them create a Chinese Air Force. In this he was not successful due to the poor quality of the aircraft and the poorly trained pilots. He brought the situation to the attention of President Roosevelt to create a volunteer Air Force of Americans in 1940 to help China, which was before we were attacked at Pearl Harbor. The volunteers for the most part were from our air force. They resigned with the understanding that they could return after serving one year. There were about 100 pilots and an equal number of maintenance personnel. They were supplied with P-40’s which I am proud to state was produced in Buffalo, N. Y. They painted the nose to resemble shark teeth. Somehow sharks became tigers in describing the group. Do to the foresight of FDR and Chenault they were ready at the time of Pearl Harbor and became active. The book covers the events during that year. A few agreed to stay on. Some of those didn’t make it back. Some rejoined the Army, others returned home. Their exploits were spectacular. The Japanese for the first time had equal opposition. Many enemy aircraft were destroyed but the main benefit in my opinion was the huge boost in moral for those of us at home when all else was disaster. They fought over Burma, China, Thailand and French Indo-China. They are credited with destroying 299 Japanese planes with another probable of 153. They also strafed and bombed Army units as they found them. Many were aces destroying 10 or more planes. Many didn’t return home. Those that did received boisterous demonstrations from grateful citizens with home town parades. This is another great book reminding us of the contributions of the “Greatest” generation.Jack B. WaltersJune 27, 2018

The Flying Tigers, led by Claire Chennault, was a group of American men who left the United States to fly in defense of the Chinese. These men used false identities to make their way across the Pacific. Once there, and under Chennault's leadership, these men became the first Americans to take on the Japanese in combat.The results were good; many pilots, including future Marine ace Gregory "Pappy" Boyington, honed their skills in combat and dogfighting tactics. Fighting in the dark early days after Pearl Harbor and often using second-hand equipment, these brave men showed the Japanese that the American pilots were no pushovers.Over the course of several years, the Flying Tigers continually harassed the Japanese while helping to save China from being overrun.Sam Kleiner has written a fine book about one of America's most heroic combat units. Drawing on first-person accounts from Chennault and the pilots, he tells the story of the air battles fought between the Tigers and the Japanese. These men gave America hope during the early days of the war and fought the Japanese to a stand-still.

This book in my opinion was a more rounded history of their formation and make-up with more of an emphasis on the difficulties as well as the realities mof their impact on that theatre of war. They were really a poorly equipped mercenary air force fighting in a distant and mostly ignored theatre well before America was really in or geared up for war.That doesn't diminish their individual contributions or the danger they indured or the loasses they and their loved ones suffered from. It wasn't a glorious as our myth making media would have people believe but it was worth doing.

good book

This historical book about the Flying Tigers is very well written. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it.

Sehr ansprechend umgesetzte und extrem gut lesbare Version der Flying Tigers Geschichte. Die Auswertung umfangreicher Tagebücher, Briefe etc. der beteiligten Protagonisten gibt nochmal einen viel besseren Eindruck über die Beweggründe und Gemütslage der handelnden Charaktere. Im Gegensatz zum 'Standardwerk' von Daniel Ford liest sich dieses Buch fast wie ein Roman. Echt klasse - Ich hoffe immer noch auf eine überzeugende Verfilmung (z.B. mit Robert DeNiro als Claire Chennault ;o)).

A good read for pilots, history buffs, and those thankful for services rendered by brave, young adventurers. Enough about flying to keep a pilot turning pages; and plenty of human interest and political intrigue.