Long ago in a Southern California pasture amongst the wafting odors of dairy farms was the mixture of oil, hydraulic fluid and aviation fuel emanating above the runway of the Chino Air Museum. It is now known as the Planes Of Fame Air Museum, https://planesoffame.org/ .
I was a member there for many years and for many years when vintage aircraft would take off and fly away from the viewing stands and were lost from view in the heavy smog and fog.
A few days ago, antique collector and admitted hoarder, Phil Bazer, showed me a few WWII aviation shoulder patches he had for years in his possession. All three were from the AVG, of the Flying Tigers days.
Louisiana boy, Claire L. Chennault, was a retired captain from the Army Air Corps who was working in China as an advisor to the Chinese Air Force when the Second Sino-Japanese War broke out in 1937. The Chinese Generalissimo Chiang Kai-Shek quickly hired Chennault to lead the training of Chinese fighter pilots.
The little winged tiger took me back to the Chino Air Museum where a small, white haired man was selling his days, in book form, with the American Volunteer Group circa 1941-42. In his hour long dissertation, two things stood out. One of those was the statement that he was shot down three different times and the fear he had of bailing out each time. Describing the feel of bullets bouncing inside the fuselage as he hid behind the armor plated seat trying to escape, was incredible.
"Flying high enough to bail out was all I could think about. There really was no other alternative," he said. "I was amazed that each time I returned safe and sound, the government gave me another plane to fly!"
The second comment was the best. According to him and documented in his bio, he was the original designer of the shark mouth on one of the P-40B Tomahawk's nose.
"Everyone loved it, but I wasn't interested in painting each and every aircraft of the AVG," he said. Not realizing the symbol would become so iconoclastic, even on aircraft that was not a P-40, he gave the design to other pilots to complete. Whoa!
Somewhere on one of my bookshelves in this studio is my autographed copy of his book... Somewhere!
Copyright 3025/Ben Bensen III
