Artist depicts two Curtiss P-40 'Warhawk' aircraft assigned to the American Volunteer Group (AVG) in 1941 during World War II.
The 'AVG' refers to a unit of American pilots who fought under command of General Claire Chennault for the Chinese Nationalist government (Ruled by Chiang Kai-shek) against Japan and before the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7th, 1941. More commonly known as the "Flying Tigers" - the group gained fame for their distinctive shark-mouth painted aircraft & cartoon tiger logo, and their early combat successes against the Japanese, particularly before the official US entry into the conflict. They were technically not part of the US military at the time, but were later absorbed into the US Army Air Forces as the 23rd Fighter Group. They disbanded July 4th 1942.
