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Erik Shilling
| Flight Leader Erik Shilling (deceased) Erik Shilling was amongst the first volunteer pilots with the A.V.G. Although credited with only one air victory, Erik flew many dangerous photo missions in his P-40 modified for vital camera work, which included the removal of 4 of his machine guns. In 1942 he joined the China National Airways flying 700 round trips over the Hump. He died 19th March 2002. |
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Flying Tigers - The Stuff of Legend by Robert Taylor. P-40s of the AVG Flying Tigers 3rd Pursuit Squadron - Hell's Angels - surprise the enemy with a deadly strafing attack on a Japanese forward air-base in China, summer 1942. With their Allison engines screaming at full throttle, AVG Aces Tommy Haywood and Robert Smith, lead the charge as the Hell's Angels leave a trail of havoc and destruction behind them. Robert Taylor has created a masterpiece to honor the Flying Tigers and the release is autographed by legendary Aces including four of the AVG's most respected pilots who, since signing, have sadly passed away, giving even greater meaning to this edition. |
Sayonara Sally by Stan Stokes. Claire L. Chennault retired in 1937 and began a second career in China where he set up a number of flying schools and airfields. A personal friend of Chiang Kai-shek Chennault was asked to organize a unit of experienced American combat pilots to help fight the Japanese. Chennault sent recruiters to American military installations and was able to organize the American Volunteer Group or AVG by late 1941. The group later became better known as the Flying Tigers, and their distinctive shark-mouthed P-40s became a well-recognized symbol. There were three AVG squadron; the Adam and Eves, the Panda Bears, and the Hells Angels. On December 23, 1941 sixty Sally heavy bombers of the 60th , 62nd , and 68th Sentai based at Bangkok and Phnom Penh were supposed to rendezvous over Bangkok and head to Rangoon for a bombing raid. The three units failed to join up as planned and they also failed to rendezvous with their fighter escorts for the mission. As the sixty aircraft approached Rangoon they were strung out and without the benefit of escort. None-the-less the determined Japanese pilots forged ahead. The AVG Flying Tigers were alerted at 10:00 AM with the alert message clear the field! Chuck Older and Ed Overend had been released from duty for some R&R, however when they hear the commotion created by the alert they returned to Mingladon Airfield and located two unused P40s, hopped in and went flying. Reaching an altitude of 8,000 feet they began to catch up with some other aircraft from the Hells Angels Squadron. They then spotted the huge conglomeration of Japanese bombers above them. I aimed at one of the wing planes on the left side of the formation and after my first attack, smoke began streaming from the port engine. I rolled out to the side and came back.... I aimed again at the same plane and closed to about seventy-five yards. I gave it a long burst, and the bomber suddenly nosed down out of the formation with smoke streaming behind. I saw it roll over into an almost vertical dive and disappear below me. As Older further recalled I continued making attacks from below, this time aiming at the leader of the formation.... I saw the bomber explode.... and flame and smoke seemed to pour out from the bottom of the fuselage. I saw debris falling from this plane immediately after the explosion. The bomber nosed straight down with flames and smoke pouring from it. Two days later the AVG would decimate an even larger formation of Japanese bombers, forcing the Japanese to adopt a policy of bombing only at night. |
Chennault's Flying Tigers by Robert Taylor. P40 Tomahawks of the American Volunteer Group fought against the Japanese air force in the skies over Indo-China during World War 2 and became one of the most successful and famous fighter units of all time. Strangled by the Japanese blockade of its sea ports, and with supplies from Russia diverted to combat Hitler's invasion, China was left with one lifeline for vital supplies from the outside world: a treacherous unpaved track hacked through mountain terrain linking the port of Rangoon with the city of Kumming, in South West China - it was the infamous Burma Road. With the Impirial Japanese air force hell-bent on destroying Chinas last supply link, opposition had almost evaporated but for a tiny air force of American volunteers led by the indomitable figure of Claire Chennault. Formed in early 1941, months before Pearl Harbor, a rag-tag bunch of 100 recruited flyers supported by 200 ground personnel, known as the American Volunteer Group came together to stand alone against the might of Japanese air force in Indo-china. Blazing a trail in the skies over Burma and China they created a legend that will remain in the folklore of aviation history. They were Chennault's Flying Tigers. With little official support from home, the P-40 Tomahawk pilots of the A.V.G. became the scourge of the Japanese air force. In a six month period of combat, with no more than 50 or 60 serviceable aircraft, they destroyed some 300 Japanese aircraft, while probably destroying another 300. Their brief, glorious existance came to and end when on 4th July 1942 the A.V.G. was absorbed into the U.S Army Air Corps. Chennault's Flying Tigers passed into history. Moved by the legend of the Flying tigers, Robert Taylor has created a masterpiece. Capturing the spirit of the Flying Tigers he portrays a scene typical of the distant war fought by this tiny band of warriors. In the foreground of Robert's dramatic combat scene are two P-40s of the 2nd Pursuit Squadron, the Panda Bears, as they pull out of a driving attack just above the tree-tops of the Burmese jungle. One bomber hits the water, as two more P-40s bear down on another Nakajima bomber. In the distance the air is busy with low-level combat. |
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