Flying Tiger:Robert L. Scott's P-40

On April 15, 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed an unpublicized executive order authorizing the resignation of reserve officers and enlisted men from the Army Air Corps and the Naval and Marine Air services who were interested in joining the American Volunteer Group. Led by former U.S. Army Air Corps Captain Claire Lee Chennault, and not officially affiliated with the United States military, the AVG was tasked with defending China against Japanese air attacks. The volunteers would be hired under contract by the Chinese government, but would take orders only from Chennault. Pay was good, U.S. citizenship wouldn’t be rescinded, and the volunteers would be able to rejoin their branch of service upon completion of their AVG contract. So, in July of 1941, the first group of volunteers departed the West Coast and headed for China. The legendary Flying Tigers were born!

With their base in Kunming, China, still under construction, the Flying Tigers would begin their training at Kyedaw Airdrome, an abandoned British RAF field at Toungoo, Burma. To outfit the AVG, Chennault had procured 100 Curtiss P-40 fighters for his fledgling group. Originally destined for the British, the P-40’s were designated H81-A-2 Tomahawks, similar to the P-40C model. The H81-A-2 was powered by the Allison V-1710 supercharged V-12 liquid-cooled engine of 1090 hp. Top speed was 345 mph at 15,000 feet. Armament consisted of two .50 caliber machine guns in the cowling and four .30 caliber machine guns in the wings. The cockpit was armor-protected and the fuel tanks were self-sealing. The P-40 was a rugged, dependable pursuit aircraft.

With his prior experience dog-fighting the agile Japanese Zero, Chennault knew his pilots would need to use special tactics to have success against their formidable opponent. The Zero had a faster rate of climb and was more maneuverable than the Curtiss fighter, but the P-40 was faster in level flight and was much more strongly constructed. Additionally, due to the weight of its heavy protective armor, the P-40 could dive at very high speed. Chennault taught his pilots to use the P-40’s strengths against the Zero’s weaknesses. He instructed them to attack from an altitude advantage, using the P-40’s speed and diving power to make a firing pass then break away from the enemy. If another pass was warranted, the speed built-up in the dive could be used to again gain an altitude advantage. Chennault warned the AVG pilots to never attempt to dog-fight or try to turn with a Zero. The Japanese fighter’s superior maneuverability and faster rate of climb would place the P-40 and the pilot in a deadly situation. Using Chennault’s tactics, the Flying Tigers became famous across the globe. They were so successful in fact, that when the Group was assimilated into the USAAF as the 23^rd Fighter Group in July of 1942, the Flying Tigers had 286 confirmed victories to their credit (with 300 additional “probable” kills) compared to their losses of only 12 P-40’s and eight pilots in air-to-air combat. As such, the Flying Tigers ended the War with more victories per Group than any other P-40 group.

The famous “Sharkmouth” that adorned the Flying Tigers P-40’s was actually first used by the 112^th Squadron of the Desert Air Force of the British RAF in North Africa. Members of the AVG saw photographs of the planes in a British magazine, and decided to paint their aircraft with similar markings. With Chennault’s blessing, the men proceeded to paint the Sharkmouth on every P-40 in the Group. Led by AVG pilot Allen Bert Christman, a former staff artist for the Associated Press, the Flying Tigers made the Sharkmouth their own by adding a red tongue to the sharp-toothed mouth and a menacing red eye behind the propeller. In addition, squadron markings were painted on the aircraft. The three AVG squadrons were: First Squadron “The Adam and Eves;” Second Squadron “The Panda Bears;” Third Squadron “Hell’s Angels.”

Eventually the AVG received P-40E Warhawk models as replacements for their H81-A-2 models that were lost in combat and operational accidents. Improvements in the P-40E included: an increase in Allison V-12 engine power to 1150 hp, which increased top speed to 366 mph, 21mph over the H81-A-2 model’s top speed; armament increased to six wing-mounted .50 caliber machine guns; provisions were added for carrying up to 600 lbs of bombs.

The P-40E depicted in the art print by aviation artist Thomas Tullis is one belonging to legendary Flying Tiger Robert L. Scott. Scott’s experiences are documented in his book, “God Is My Copilot.” Colonel Scott was chosen by Chennault to command the 23^rd Fighter Group when it was established in July, 1942. He finished the war with 13 victories. His P-40E, #7, is shown as it appeared when based in Kweilin, China, in September, 1942. Below the print are three photographs and a patch.

The embroidered patch depicts the AVG’s “Flying Tiger” mascot jumping through the Nationalist Chinese insignia with a shredded Rising Sun flag in the tiger’s claws. This same marking is painted on Scott’s P-40E as portrayed in the art print. The color photograph is a copy of a signed original in our collection. It shows a flight of Flying Tigers over China in their H-81-A-2 P-40’s. The upper black and white photograph is of an AVG P-40E in flight over China. The lower black and white photograph was taken as a Flying Tiger ground crew conducted maintenance on a P-40 between missions.

The artwork measures 22”x26”. The print is matted in light gray-green, with a subdued-red bottom mat. The optional frame is solid wood with a cherry finish (other colors are available…contact us for info). Please click on the Framing Info tab to read about how we frame our artwork. Price includes shipping in the continental United States.