SUBJECTS >> OPERATIONS >> World War II
AIRCRAFT >> FIGHTERS >> P-40
Catalog Number:
1976.059
Location:
15 WG HQ
Description:
This P-40K (Flying Tiger) was in the Chinese-American Composite Wing at Kunming, China (Home of the Flying Tigers). The pilot was Major Edward Hollmeyer. In the background is a C-46 Curtiss Commando returning from a 500 mile trip over the Hump. The experience American pilots gleaned from their missions with the Flying Tigers proved invaluable later in the war when assessing Japanese fighter tactics. The lifeline to China provided by the flights over Hump and the heroic flyers of the Flying Tigers under General Clair Chennault were two very large reasons for the defeat of Japan.