TAKE 'EM TIGERS

On July 4, 1942 the American Volunteer Group, Chennault's famed "Flying Tigers", was to be deactivated and replaced by the 23rd Fighter Group of the China Air Task Force. General Chennault chose Col. Robert L. Scott to command this new unit made up of a handful of the original "Tigers" and new, less experienced pilots. Knowing the Japanese would try to destroy this new unit, Chennault planned an ambush at Kweilin.

Col. Scott gathered the twenty-nine P-40's under his command and quietly moved them to Kweilin on July 2 and waited. The next day, forty eight Japanese fighters and bombers hit the Kweilin airfield. As they performed victory rolls over the burning base, Scott's P­40's waited in the sun at 21,000 ft. for Chennault's order to strike. Finally, with fuel low and ammunition spent, the Japanese planes formed up to return to their base.

"TAKE 'EM! TAKE 'EM TIGERS! TAKE 'EM" were Chennault's orders and the American pilots dove on the enemy formations below. Thirty four Japanese planes fell that day without a single American loss. Japanese radio broadcasts noted that the unit had gone into combat a day before officially formed and was thus a gang of thugs like the "Flying Tigers" they had come to replace. No finer compliment was ever paid a new fighter group.

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