Flying Tigers

I haven't read the book yet, except for a few pages that mention Gerhard Neumann, whom I'm interested in. I'm puzzled that what Ford says about him is true, but misleading. He says "Then there was Gerhard Neumann...whom Chennault had befriended in 1939, and who now joined the AVG as a mechanic." Then he quotes information about the AVG from Neumann's autobiography "Herman the German "Just Lucky I Guess,") without naming it. Later he says "The refugee mechanic Gerhard Neumann remembered it fondly:..." and lifts more from the unnamed autobiography. Finally Ford says "Nine more agreed to join the army as enlisted men, including Gerhard Neumann and three Chinese American mechanics..." That's all I can find in Ford's book, using the index. What I don't see mentioned is that Neumann subsequently had a career with General Electric, retiring as a corporate vice president, in charge of the 31,000 employee Aircraft Engine Group. Not your average mechanic, although he was a very good one, thanks to his superb German training and innate ability.

The American Volunteer Group -- aka The Flying Tigers -- are the United States' own Knights of the Air. And like their RAF counterparts, who held the line against the Luftwaffe in 1940, have benefited from endless mythologizing ever since. The Flying Tigers' story is every bit as romantic as Dowding's Fighter Boys: The Tigers inflicted the first losses on an enemy that seemed invincible, and fought in an exotic and alien landscape at the end of a fragile supply chain thousands of miles long. Daniel Ford and Derek Robinson were both attacked in the '90s when their books came out -- "The Flying Tigers" and "Piece of Cake," respectively -- casting a more realistic light on the AVG and RAF's accomplishments. But any controversy here is misplaced: As Ford makes clear, the Tigers' accomplishments are heroic and thrilling enough without the gloss of mythology. He has done a fine chop or portraying what was in fact a desperate time for the Allies -- particularly Americans in the Far East facing the Japanese onslought. In reality, The Flying Tigers mainly fought holding actions with an occasional offensive action thrown in when the Old Man thought he could get away with it. This excellent book shows the Tigers in a new and honorable light -- but also makes it clear they were haggard, worn-out and on the verge of revolt at times. New research is incorporated effectively into the text: Ford's exhaustive work includes interviews with the Tigers' Japanese opponents, evaulation of JAAF records and -- most amusing for me -- delightful accounts from Japanese newspapers highlighting Tokyo's "spin" on the pesky "Flying Cats." This is a fine piece of aviation history and I highly recommend it.

The American Volunteer Group (AVG), aka The Flying Tigers, are legendary. What young boy growing up in the 1940s and 50s has not been enthralled with John Wayne and the movie, Flying Tigers ? Great stuff. Most Americans believe the AVG was fighting the Japanese months, if not years, before Pearl Harbor. The truth is a little more prosaic. They flew their first combat mission 3 days after Pearl Harbor and made their first claim only on Dec 20th, 1941. Daniel Ford originally published this book in the early 1990s. He did this with official records of the group from US archival sources as well as Japanese historians who worked for years on official Japanese records and first person AVG and Japanese stories to flesh out these records. Ford was attacked, endlessly, by "keepers of the legend" as well as former AVG members still alive. The reason is he lent a truth and perspective. The AVG is officially credited with over 290 Japanese aircraft shot down over Burma, Thailand, Vietnam, and China. Official Japanese records credit them with about ½ that amount. Over the years, the stories and accomplishments grew. The AVG claimed they could only be credited with half the amount they actually shot down because so many were behind Japanese lines. So they claimed at least 600, then it has grown to close to 1,000. The AVG people claim that official Japanese records are lies, perpetuated to this day. It is a shame this goes on. Their record, even with less kills, is one to be proud of. The AVG fought courageously with an aircraft inferior in some ways to Japanese machines, in appalling living conditions with an ally, Chang-Kai-shek, who did not really care about the war, per se, but only holding his power and position against the Chinese communists in the show-down to come. The AVG's record deserves to be a legend, but not quite the John Wayne type. Ford laid all this out in his first edition in a very readable of historical book. This second edition corrects some errors, adds information and comments on his on-going controversy with the keepers of the AVG legend. If this interests you at all, buy this book, admire their accomplishments and admire Dan Ford for his ground-breaking work.

Dan Ford's book on the Flying Tigers is not only fascinating, but factual. I've read just about everything there is on the AVG, including Pappy Boyington's obscure novel, and Ford makes most other work take second place. The story of the AVG is one of the great romantic, adventure stories in American aviation history. And, for the most part, that is how it has been portrayed leaving one to wonder what really happened out there in those skies over China and Burma so long ago? The only criticism I would have is that I am sure there is some things that the author left out, mainly on the mercenary nature of the venture. I wish Ford would do an update to this work which will stand as an important contribution to aviation history.

The very best history of the famous defenders of Burma. Most people don't know that the Flying Tigers did most of their flying and fighting in Burma. They trained at Toungoo, did most of their fighting over Rangoon (Yangon), and retreated to Magwe and Lashio. What an epic! And what a good retelling of it.