List of Flying Tigers pilots

Following is a complete list of American Volunteer Group (Flying Tigers) pilots.^[1][2] The AVG was operational from December 20, 1941 to July 14, 1942. The press continued to apply the Flying Tigers name to later units, but pilots of those organizations are not included.

In most air forces, a victory is defined as the destruction of an enemy aircraft in air-to-air combat, and those shown below are the "confirmed" claims as recorded in AVG records, unearthed by aviation historian Frank Olynyk.^[3] The Chinese government paid the pilots a bonus of $500 for each enemy aircraft destroyed, whether in the air or on the ground.

Aces as Flying Tigers are in bold.

Name	Air-to-air Victories	Bonuses	Notes
Adkins, Frank W.	1[4]	1[4]
Armstrong, John Dean			Killed on September 8, 1941 during a practice dogfight when he collided with J. Gilpin Bright.[5]
Atkinson, Peter W.			Killed in a crash when the "propeller governor failed on his P-40".[6]
Bacon, Noel	3[4]	3.5[4]
Bartelt, Percy	5[4][7]	7[4]
Bartling, William	5[4][7]	7.27[4]
Baugh, Marion F.
Bernsdorf, Donald R.
Bishop, Lewis Sherman	2.2[4] or 5.2[8]	5.2[4]
Blackburn, John Ed III	2[4]	2[4]
Bohman, Morris P.
Bolster, Harry R.	1[4]	2[4]
Bond, Charles	7[7][9]	8.77[4]	He was the first Flying Tiger to paint a shark's mouth on the nose of his airplane.
Boyington, Gregory "Pappy"	2[4]	3.5[4]	Boyington claimed six victories, but that number is unsubstantiated. In any case, he would be awarded the Medal of Honor for his post-Tigers achievements.
Bright, John Gilpin	3[4]	6[4]
Brouk, Robert R.	3.5[4][10]	3.5[4]
Brown, Carl K.	0[4]	0.27[4]
Burgard, George T.	10[4][7]	10.79[4]
Cavanah, Herbert R.
Christman, Allen Bert
Cole, Thomas J.	1[4]	1[4]
Conant, Edwin S.
Cook, Elmer J.
Criz, Albert
Croft, John S.
Cross, James	0[4]	0.27[4]
Dean, John J.	3[4]	3.27[4]
Donovan, John Tyler	1[4]	4[4]
Dupouy, Parker S.	3.5[4]	3.5[4]
Farrell, John W.	1[4]	1[4]
Fish, William H., Jr.
Foshee, Ben Crum
Geselbracht, Henry M., Jr.	0[4]	1.5[4]
Gilbert, Henry G.
Goyette, Edgar T.
Greene, Paul J.	2[4][11]	2[4]
Groh, Clifford G.	2[4]	2[4]
Gunvordahl, Ralph N.	1[4][12]	1[4]
Hall, Lester J.
Hammer, Maax C.			Killed in a training accident, circumstances unknown.[13]
Hastey, Raymond L.	1[4]	1[4]
Haywood, Thomas C., Jr.	4[4] or 4.5[14]	5.08[4]
Hedman, Robert P.	6[4][7]	4.83[4]	He became an "ace in a day" around Christmas Day, 1941.[15] He later became one of the original partners in fellow Flying Tiger Robert Prescott's Flying Tiger Line.[16]
Hennessy, John J.
Hill, David Lee "Tex"	10.25,[4] 12.25[17] or 12.75[7]	11.25[4]	A squadron leader, he was one of five Flying Tigers to join its successor, the United States Army Air Forces 23rd Fighter Group, where he downed an additional six Japanese airplanes.
Hodges, Fred S.	1[4]	1[4]
Hoffman, Louis	0[4]	0.27[4]
Houle, Leo J.
Howard, James H.	2.33[4] or 6[18]	6.33[4]	Howard was one of six squadron leaders. He later became the only pilot in the European Theater to be awarded the Medal of Honor.
Hurst, Lynn A.
Jernstedt, Kenneth A.	3[4]	10.5[4]	He and William Reed shared credit for 15 airplanes destroyed on the ground on one mission.
Jones, Thomas A.	1[4]	4[4]
Keeton, Robert B.	2[4]	2.5[4]
Kelleher, John P.
Knapp, Donald R.
Kuykendall, Mathew or Matthew W.	1[4][19]	1[4]
Laughlin, C. H.	2[4] or 5+[20]	5.2[4]
Lawlor, Frank L.	7[4][7]	8.5[4]
Layher, Robert F.	0.33[4] or 2 shared[21]	0.83[4]
Leibolt or Liebolt, Edward J.	0[4]	0.27[4]
Little, Robert L.	10[4][7]	10.55[4]	Shot down and killed on May 22, 1942, during a bombing mission.
Loane, Ernest W.			He later went to work for Robert Prescott (see below) and what eventually became the Flying Tiger Line.
McGarry, William D.	8[7][13]	10.29[13]
McGuire, Maurice G.
McMillan, George B.	4.5[13]	4.08[13]
Mangleburg, Lacy F.
Martin, Neil G.
Merritt, Kenneth T.	1[13]	1[13]
Mickelson, Einar I.	1[13]	0.27[13]
Moss, Robert C.	2[13]	4[13]
Mott, Charles D.	0[13] or 2[22]	2[13]
Neale, Robert H.	13[7][13]	15.55[13]	Top Flying Tigers ace and a squadron leader.
Newkirk, John	7[7][13]	10.5[13]	A squadron leader.
Older, Charles H.	10[7][13][23]	10.08[13]	After the war, he was eventually appointed a Los Angeles Superior Court judge and presided over the Charles Manson murder trial.
Olson, Arvid E., Jr.	1[13]	1[13]	A squadron leader.
Overend, Edmund F.	5[7][13]	5.83[13]
Paxton, George L.
Petach, John E., Jr.	3.98[13]	3.98[13]	On the ocean voyage to China, Petach became acquainted with Emma Jane Foster, one of the two nurses who sailed with and were members of the Flying Tigers; they married in China.[15] With the Tigers were being absorbed by the US military, Petach was set to return home when he learned that volunteers were needed to help out for two weeks. He stayed. Though Tex Hill tried to give him safe missions, he was shot down and killed.[15]
Power, Robert H.
Prescott, Robert William	5.5[7][13] or 6[24]	5.29[13]	He founded the Flying Tiger Line, the first scheduled cargo airline in the United States.
Probst, Albert E.
Raine, Robert James	3+[25] or 3.2[13]	3.2[13]
Rector, Edward F.	4.75[13]	6.52[13]	He was responsible for the first and the last Flying Tigers victory.
Reed, William Norman	3[13]	10.5[13]	He and Kenneth Jernstedt shared credit for 15 airplanes destroyed on the ground on one mission. He subsequently became an ace with six victories with the US Army Air Forces.
Ricketts, Freeman I.	1.2[13]	1.2[13]
Rosbert, Camile Joseph	6[7][13]	4.55[13]	Like several other Flying Tigers, he was one of the original partners in Robert Prescott's Flying Tiger Line.[16]
Rossi, John Richard	6[7][13] or 6.25[26]	6.29[13]
Rushton, Edwin H.
Sandell, Robert J.	5[7][13]	5.27[13]	A squadron leader.
Sawyer, Charles W.	2[13]	2.27[13]
Schiel, Frank, Jr.	4[13]	7[13]
Shamblin, Arnold W.
Shapard, Van, Jr.	1[13]	1[13]
Shilling, Eriksen E.	0[13]	0.75[13]
Smith, Robert H.	5[7][13] or 5.25[27]	5.5[13]
Smith, Robert T.	8.7,[28] 8.9[13] or 9[7]	8.73[13]
Swartz, Frank W.
Swindle, Estes T., Jr.
Wallace, Stanley H.
Walroth, Robert H.
Watson, Eugene A.
White, Richard
Wolf, Fritz E.	4[13][29]	2.27[13]
Wright, Allen M.
Wright, Peter	2.65[13]	3.65[13]

See also

• Robert Lee Scott, Jr., who was allowed by Claire Chennault to fly some missions with the Tigers

References

1. "Complete Roster of the American Volunteer Group, 1941-'42 the Flying Tigers". flyingtingersavg.com. Retrieved October 18, 2012.
2. Bond, Charles R.; Terry H. Anderson (1988). A Flying Tiger's Diary. Texas A&M University Press. pp. 228–231. ISBN 0890964084. Retrieved October 21, 2012. Appendix B. Roster of the AVG (preview only goes up to James H. Howard)
3. Ford, Daniel (2007). Flying Tigers. HarperCollins. pp. 359–361.
4. Olynyk, Frank J. AVG & USAAF (China-Burma-India Theater) Credits for Destruction of Enemy Aircraft in Air to Air Combat, World War 2. Aurora, Ohio: Privately published, 1986. Figures obtained from warbirdforum.com.
5. Ford, Daniel (2007). Flying Tigers: Claire Chennault and His American Volunteers, 1941-1942. HarperCollins. p. 73. ISBN 0061246557. Retrieved October 17, 2012.
6. Samson, Jack (2005). The Flying Tiger: The True Story of General Claire Chennault and the U.S. 14th Air Force in China. Globe Pequot. p. 73. ISBN 1592287115. Retrieved October 17, 2012.
7. "American Volunteer Group Aces, World War II, 1939-1945". American Fighter Aces Association (americanfighteraces.org). Retrieved October 12, 2012.
8. "Lewis Bishop". flyingtigersavg.com (official Flying Tigers site). Retrieved October 12, 2012.
9. "Charles Bond". flyingtigersavg.com. Retrieved October 12, 2012.
10. "Robert Brouk". flyingtigersavg.com. Retrieved October 12, 2012.
11. "Paul Greene". flyingtigersavg.com. Retrieved October 12, 2012.
12. Ford, Daniel (2007). Flying Tigers: Claire Chennault and His American Volunteers, 1941-1942. HarperCollins. p. 176. ISBN 0061246557. Retrieved October 17, 2012.
13. Ford, Daniel (2007). Flying Tigers: Claire Chennault and His American Volunteers, 1941-1942. HarperCollins. p. 361. ISBN 0061246557. Retrieved October 20, 2012. Includes aerial victories calculated by Frank J. Olynk.
14. "Thomas Haywood". flyingtigersavg.com. Retrieved October 12, 2012.
15. Mike Barber (May 25, 2001). "Before the U.S. entered WWII, the Flying Tigers were already in the fight". Seattle Post-Intelligencer.
16. "Aviation: Gravy for the Flying Tigers". Time magazine. May 5, 1945.
17. "David Lee Hill". flyingtigersavg.com. Retrieved October 12, 2012.
18. Wolfgang Saxon (March 22, 1985). "Gen. James Howard, 81, Dies; Medal Winner in Aerial Combat". The New York Times. In 13 months of action over Burma and China, beginning in December 1941, he flew 56 missions and was credited with shooting down six Japanese planes.
19. "Matthew Kuykendall". flyingtigersavg.com. Retrieved October 12, 2012.
20. "C. H. Link Laughlin". flyingtigersavg.com. Retrieved October 12, 2012.
21. "Robert Layher". flyingtigersavg.com. Retrieved October 12, 2012.
22. "Charles Mott". flyingtigersavg.com. Retrieved October 12, 2012.
23. "Charles Older". flyingtigersavg.com. Retrieved October 12, 2012.
24. "Robert Prescott". flyingtigersavg.com. Retrieved October 12, 2012.
25. "Robert Raine". flyingtigersavg.com. Retrieved October 12, 2012.
26. "J. Richard Rossi". flyingtigersavg.com. Retrieved October 12, 2012.
27. "Robert H. Smith". flyingtigersavg.com. Retrieved October 12, 2012.
28. "Robert T. Smith". flyingtigersavg.com. Retrieved October 12, 2012.
29. "Fritz Wolf". flyingtigersavg.com. Retrieved October 12, 2012.

Bibliography

• Koskodian, Kenneth. K. (2009) No Greater Ally: the Untold Story of Poland's Forces in World War II. New York City: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 9781846033650

External links

• "Flying Tigers In Burma", March 30, 1942 Life magazine article, including photographs of pilots

• Roster of the Flying Tigers, 1941-1942, annotated rosters of pilots, ground crew, and attached personnel