AVG

E85064

World War II unit air force unit military unit

AVG refers to the American Volunteer Group, the World War II unit of volunteer U.S. pilots famously known as the Flying Tigers who flew for China against Japan before America’s official entry into the war.

Aliases (1)

American Volunteer Group ×48

Statements (48)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	World War II unit → air force unit → military unit →
activePeriodEnd	1942 →
activePeriodStart	1941 →
baseOfOperations	Kunming, China → Rangoon, Burma →
branch	Chinese Air Force →
commander	Claire Lee Chennault →
commemoratedAs	symbol of early U.S. support for China in World War II →
component	1st Pursuit Squadron "Adam & Eves" → 2nd Pursuit Squadron "Panda Bears" → 3rd Pursuit Squadron "Hell's Angels" →
conflict	Second Sino-Japanese War → World War II →
countryOfOrigin	United States of America →
disbandedBy	integration into United States Army Air Forces units →
disbandedIn	1942 →
formedBy	U.S. reserve officers → United States volunteers → civilian pilots → retired U.S. military personnel →
hasAlias	AVG → Flying Tigers →
notableEngagement	air battles over the Burma Road → defense of Rangoon →
notableFor	high kill-to-loss ratio against Japanese aircraft → shark-mouth nose art on fighter aircraft →
operatedFor	Republic of China →
operatedUnder	secret U.S. government approval prior to Pearl Harbor →
opposed	Empire of Japan →
organizedBy	Claire Lee Chennault →
primaryMission	air defense of China → protection of the Burma Road →
recruitedFrom	United States Army Air Corps → United States Marine Corps → United States Navy →
size	approximately 100 pilots →
statusBeforeUSWarEntry	nominally civilian contractors →
succeededBy	14th Air Force → 23rd Fighter Group →
supported	Chiang Kai-shek → Nationalist Government of China →
symbol	Flying Tiger insignia →
theaterOfOperations	Burma → China → China-Burma-India Theater →
usedAircraft	Curtiss P-40 Warhawk →

Referenced by (2)

Subject (surface form when different)	Predicate
Flying Tigers →	abbreviation
American Volunteer Group →	hasAlias