Flying Tigers Museum

At the Jianchuan cluster, we found the Flying Tigers Museum. Having traveled so far from the United States to see this, I was duly impressed. Of course, it would be nice if they actually had a vintage P-40 used by the Flying Tigers. But the fact that someone in China, apparently with the acceptance of the government, is happy to acknowledge the contribution of this band of Americans to the war against the Japanese is, I think, important. For many years, the Chinese Communist government downplayed the role the Nationalists played in the war. Recently, they have accepted the more realistic position that the Nationalists bore the brunt of the war against the Japanese. That opened the door for this recognition of the Flying Tigers since they were an air arm of the Chinese Nationalists. While they were organized and funded by the United States, this could not be said openly because America was not yet in the war. They flew as part of the Chinese Air Force and wore pins identifying them as members of the CAF.

At top is me at a memorial to Claire Chennault. At bottom is the museum from the outside, a photograph of the famous nose art on the Flying Tigers P-40s, the Flying Tigers emblem carried on the fuselage and designed by Walt Disney, and a view of the walls of photos and display cases in the museum. At bottom are examples of the insignia of the three squadrons of Tigers - the Adam and Eves, the Panda Bears, and the Hells Angels.