Flying Tigers

Choose an answer from the three choices offered after each question and then "Check Your Answers" at the end of the quiz.

1) The Flying Tigers was the nickname of the 1st American Volunteer Group (AVG), a group of United States Army (USAAF), Navy (USN), and Marine Corps (USMC) pilots and ground crew, recruited under a secret Presidential sanction that formed a fighter group with three squadrons that trained in Burma prior to the American entry into World War II to fight against Japanese forces. Who recruited the personnel for the AVG?

• John Marshall
• Dwight Eisenhower
• Claire Chennault

2) When did the AVG first see combat in China?

• December 20, 1940
• December 7, 1941
• December 20, 1941

3) The pilots who volunteered were discharged from the American armed services, to fly and fight for the Republic of China Air Force. They were officially employees of a private military contractor which employed them for "training and instruction", and which paid them $600 a month for pilot officer, the typical rank; $675 a month for flight leader; and $750 for Squadron leader, though no pilot was recruited at this level. (A USAAF captain in 1942, with flight and overseas pay, earned $347 a month.). Who was the company that the AVG worked for?

• American Aircraft Company
• Boeing Aircraft Corporation
• Central Aircraft Manufacturing Company

4) During the summer and fall of 1941, 300 men posing as tourists and carrying passports that identified them as civilians boarded boats for Burma. They were initially based at a British airfield in for their training while their aircraft were assembled and test flown. What was the name of the Burma location?

• Toungoo
• Mayla
• Toonele

5) What was the principal fighter aircraft for the Flying Tiger?

• P-36
• P-38
• P-40

6) The port of Rangoon in Burma and the Burma Road leading from there to China were of crucial importance for the Republic of China, as the eastern regions of China were under Japanese occupation so virtually all of the foreign materiel destined for the armed forces of China arrived via that port. They were assigned to opposite ends of the Burma Road to protect this vital line of communications. Which field was NOT used by the Flying Tigers?

• Kunming in China
• Mingaladon near Rangoon
• Roman in Singapore

7) The AVG's last combat was over Hengyang on the day it was disbanded. In this final action, four Ki-27s were shot down for no loss. What was the last day of the Flying Tigers?

• April 4, 1942
• May 4, 1942
• July 4, 1942

8) One of the more famous pilots was Gregory “Pappy” Boyington, who was discharged from the AVG in April 1942 and returned to active duty with the US Marine Corps. He went on to command a Marine Squadron in the Solomon Islands, an outfit with many similarities to the Flying Tigers. He was one of two AVG veterans (the other being James Howard of the USAAF) to be awarded the Medal of Honor.

• “Black Sheep” Squadron
• “Black Tiger” Squadron
• “Bengal Tiger” Squadron

9) The success of the AVG led to negotiations in the spring of 1942 to induct the unit into the USAAF with Chennault as the commander. Chennault was reinstated into the USAAF as a colonel and immediately promoted to brigadier general as commander of tactical U.S. Army Air Forces units in China, (initially designated the "China Air Task Force" and later redesignated the 14th Air Force), while continuing to command the AVG by virtue of his position in the Chinese Air Force. What USAAF fighter group replaced the AVG?

• 21st Fighter Group
• 23rd Fighter Group
• 31st Fighter Group

10) The pilot was anxious to get into combat, he obtained the use of a P-40 actually assigned to the Flying Tigers from Claire Chennault, and began flying missions with the Flying Tigers, flying as a single ship escort for the transports, and flying ground attack missions. During this period, he frequently repainted the propeller spinner in different colors to create the illusion of a much larger fighter force in the area than a single aircraft becoming, in effect, a one-man air force. He was named commander of the newly formed 23rd Fighter Group, formed by General Claire Chennault when the Flying Tigers were inducted into the USAAF. Who is this pilot?

• John Newkirk
• Robert Prescott
• Robert L. Scott, Jr.

11) The leading AVG ace (five or more air-to-air victories) had 13 kills. Who is the pilot?

• Robert Neal
• Charles Bond
• Robert H. Smith

Check Your Answer

• 1) Claire Chennault
• 2) December 20, 1941
• 3) Central Aircraft Manufacturing Company
• 4) Toungoo
• 5) P-40
• 6) Roman in Singapore
• 7) July 4, 1942
• 8) “Black Sheep” Squadron
• 9) 23rd Fighter Group
• 10) Robert L. Scott, Jr.
• 11) Robert Neal

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