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00:00Before America's entry into World War II,
00:03a group of courageous American pilots known as the Flying
00:06Tigers take on the overwhelming might of the Imperial Japanese
00:10Air Force.
00:13These high-flying soldiers of fortune slash through the skies
00:17of the Far East, helping stop the Japanese march across China.
00:22Their fame spreads, and tales of their daring exploits
00:26read like popular fiction.
00:27Using state-of-the-art computer animation,
00:30you're in the cockpit as the rugged American P-40 Tomahawk
00:35takes on the agile Japanese Ki-27 Nate.
00:39Experience the battle.
00:41Dissect the tactics.
00:42Relive the dogfights.
01:00December 20th, 1941.
01:03Ten Japanese twin-engined Ki-21 Sally bombers fly toward the
01:08southern Chinese city of Kunming.
01:11As they near their target, the Japanese bomber pilots are stunned
01:16to see four small fighter aircraft bearing down on them.
01:19The approaching P-40 Tomahawks open fire.
01:24Caught off guard, the Sallys quickly jettison their bomb load
01:27and turn full throttle toward home.
01:31But ten more of the camouflaged fighters appear.
01:40The fighters are unlike any aircraft they've ever encountered.
01:45They're fast and expertly flown.
01:48Their wings bear the national markings of the Chinese Air Force.
01:52But their nose sports the gaping maw of a great shark.
01:57It's the Flying Tigers, now in their first combat
02:02over the skies of Southeast Asia.
02:05Raining deadly tracers on the twin-engined aircraft,
02:08a fighter barely misses slamming into one of the sallies
02:11and at the last second, slides beneath it.
02:16The bomber bursts into flame and noses over in a death spiral.
02:27Four of the Japanese aircraft are blown out of the sky.
02:31Wounded, the six remaining sallies limp back to their base.
02:37That first combat on December 20th, 1941,
02:41represented a watershed in the history of military aviation in China.
02:46This was the first time that a thoroughly modern,
02:50professional air force staffed by Americans
02:54engaged the Japanese on the Asian mainland
02:56and it was a stunning success.
03:00The Japanese didn't know who the mysterious aviators were.
03:07But the grateful Chinese did.
03:11And when a Chinese newspaper recounted the lopsided victory,
03:14they gave these brave pilots a name.
03:18The Chinese paper had come up with the expression,
03:21and they're fighting like tigers, flying tigers.
03:26The pilots were Americans,
03:28volunteers serving in the Chinese Air Force.
03:32They found themselves fighting for the Chinese
03:35thanks to a remarkable aviator named Claire Lee Chennault.
03:41An officer in the Army Air Corps in the 1930s,
03:44Chennault earned a reputation as an authority on fighter tactics
03:48and as a fearless pilot and able leader.
03:54By the age of 40, he had commanded a fighter squadron
03:57and had toured the country as lead pilot of the Army's
04:01first aerobatic team.
04:04An adamant and gruff advocate for more and better fighter aircraft,
04:08Chennault had stepped on one too many toes at Army headquarters.
04:15In 1937, he was asked to resign his officer's commission and retire.
04:21The following day, he accepted an offer from the Chinese.
04:26In 1937, he was asked to go to China
04:29to do an evaluation of the Chinese Air Force.
04:32The Japanese had been carrying on their terror bombing campaign,
04:35and the little Chinese Air Force was being beaten
04:38and was eventually beaten badly.
04:44In 1937, two years before the outbreak of World War II,
04:49the Japanese expanded their grip on Manchuria.
04:54The Chinese suffered terribly.
04:56Its seaports were attacked,
04:58and natural resources were seized
05:01to feed the imperial war machine.
05:04Towns were bombed relentlessly
05:06as the Japanese adopted a terror policy
05:09called the Three Alls.
05:11Kill all, loot all, burn all.
05:16With obsolete aircraft,
05:19the Chinese Air Force was no match
05:20for the efficient, modern, and brutal Japanese.
05:25Claire Chennault had a solution.
05:28The Chinese Air Force had been decimated,
05:31and it was important to keep China in the war.
05:35And the only way they could keep China in the war,
05:38they needed an instant air force.
05:40And the only way you're going to get instant air force
05:42is to recruit professionals
05:44like the Army, Navy, and Marine Corps.
05:46So Chennault came back to the States
05:48to make his case.
05:51In early 1941,
05:53the United States was not yet at war with Japan.
05:57If American airmen were to fight the Japanese,
06:00they would have to do it
06:00as members of the Chinese Air Force.
06:04Working with secret U.S. government approval,
06:08Chennault put out the word
06:09that the Chinese were looking to hire
06:11qualified pilots and mechanics.
06:15They were allowed to resign
06:17from the U.S. Armed Forces,
06:19turn around and sign a lucrative contract
06:21with the Chinese government.
06:24The pay was real, very good.
06:27The lowest pay for a pilot
06:29was $600 a month.
06:32That was for a wingman.
06:35Then you had $650 for a flight leader,
06:38$750 for a squadron leader.
06:41So that was very attractive.
06:44At nearly three times the usual salary
06:47of a military aviator,
06:48word of the generous offer spread quickly.
06:52It didn't take long to fill a roster
06:54with 99 eager pilots.
06:58Recruiters also contracted
06:59about 200 enlisted aircraft mechanics,
07:03armorers, radio operators,
07:05administrators,
07:06and even a chaplain.
07:09By July 1941,
07:12the airmen had traveled
07:13to Kidao Airfield in Burma,
07:15an air base borrowed from the British.
07:17It was strategically located
07:19300 miles from Lashio,
07:21the last stop of the Burma Road,
07:23the main supply route into China.
07:26The single biggest reason
07:27for the Flying Tiger's existence
07:29was to defend the Burma Road.
07:31That road, which ran,
07:33as the name implies,
07:34from Burma into southern China
07:36was the major supply route
07:38for sustaining
07:40Chinese military operations
07:42against the Japanese
07:43in that part of the world.
07:46At Kidao Airfield,
07:47they took possession
07:48of their new aircraft,
07:50the P-40,
07:51and an official name,
07:53the American Volunteer Group,
07:54or AVG.
07:58Chenault divided his unit
07:59into three pursuit squadrons.
08:01Each had its own logo,
08:03but in the fall of 1941,
08:06all the squadrons adopted
08:07the soon-to-be-famous paint scheme
08:09for their tomahawks.
08:10The menacing, grinning shark's mouth
08:12would become synonymous
08:14with the Flying Tigers.
08:17We're looking at a publication
08:19that comes out of India,
08:20and it showed a lot of these Aussie
08:22airplanes with P-40,
08:24just like we had,
08:26and it showed the shark's mouth
08:28on it,
08:29and it lends itself so well
08:31to that airplane
08:33that we adopted it.
08:38By December 1941,
08:40the pilots of the AVG
08:42had been training for months
08:43but had yet to test their skills.
08:49A few days before Christmas,
08:51they got their chance.
08:55On December 20,
08:57they intercept and destroy
08:58four out of ten Sally bombers
09:00before they strike Kunming, China.
09:08Three days later,
09:09they defeat another Japanese attack
09:11and rack up 11 kills
09:13with five more probables.
09:20And on December 25,
09:22they down an astounding
09:2324 Japanese planes,
09:26a present for Hirohito
09:27on Christmas Day.
09:32But these early actions
09:34are all defensive,
09:35stopping incoming bomber raids.
09:38A few days after the new year,
09:40the Flying Tigers
09:41take the fight
09:41to the Japanese.
09:45January 3, 1942.
09:49It's pilot David Tex Hill's
09:52first mission
09:52for the Flying Tigers.
09:55Tex Hill left the Navy
09:57to volunteer.
09:58He's eager for action.
10:02He and three other
10:03American pilots
10:04aim their P-40 Tomahawks
10:06toward the Japanese airfield
10:08at Rahang, Thailand.
10:11The plan?
10:12Arrive at dawn
10:14and devastate enemy aircraft
10:16on the ground.
10:18Jack Newkirk,
10:19who was the squadron leader,
10:21and he had Bert Christman
10:23on his wing
10:23and Jim Howard
10:25leading the element
10:26and I was on Jim's wing.
10:29Shortly after takeoff,
10:30one of the P-40s
10:31radios in.
10:34Bert Christman
10:35had engine trouble
10:36so he had to turn back.
10:38Crispin heads for home.
10:40The three remaining P-40s
10:42continue on.
10:44They're over the target
10:45at first light.
10:47They make a left turn
10:48to align with the field
10:49and begin a shallow dive.
10:52The pilots line up
10:54one behind the other,
10:55about 950 feet apart,
10:57known as a string formation.
11:00They would bend it over,
11:02which means to put your airplane
11:03in a dive,
11:03and accelerate
11:05as they came down
11:06to strafe the aircraft
11:07on the ground.
11:08Their 1,200 horsepower
11:10Allison engines
11:10scream as they dive
11:12towards the airfield
11:13at 300 miles per hour.
11:16Jim Howard strafes the area,
11:18breaking the airfield
11:19with machine gun fire.
11:26Tex Hill dives after him,
11:28preparing his own strafing run,
11:30but the run is cut short.
11:32Tex sees a KI-27 Nate
11:34at 10 o'clock, streaking in
11:36right onto Howard's tail.
11:40It's Tex's first time
11:41in combat,
11:43and his friend's life
11:45is in his hands.
11:55January 3, 1942.
11:58The Flying Tigers
11:59take the fight
12:00to the Japanese
12:01and attack an airfield
12:02at Rahang, Thailand.
12:09Tex Hill's flight lead,
12:11Jim Howard,
12:12has just been attacked
12:12by a Japanese Nate.
12:14Jim Howard is here.
12:17The Nate is on his tail,
12:18here.
12:20Tex is here.
12:25Jim Howard strafes
12:27across the airfield.
12:30And the Nate pumps lead
12:32into him.
12:35Tex closes on the Nate's tail
12:37and lines him up
12:39in his crosshairs.
12:42Our ammo was loaded
12:43with every fifth round
12:45with a Tracy.
12:46So it looked like
12:47just a big hose,
12:48you know,
12:50going out there.
12:51So I was just looking
12:52right through the windscreen
12:53and following those traces,
12:54and he blew up
12:55right in front of me.
12:58He blasts through
12:59the churning fireball.
13:03At the other end
13:04of the airfield,
13:05Jim Howard pulls up
13:06from his strafing run
13:07intact.
13:11It's Tex's first victory,
13:13but there's no time
13:14to celebrate.
13:16Another Nate is
13:16at 12 o'clock high,
13:18directly in front of him.
13:21When I saw
13:22that other guy
13:22who was starting
13:23to make a pass on me,
13:24then I turned
13:26into him head on.
13:29It's a defining
13:30moment for Tex
13:31when he would
13:32demonstrate perfectly
13:33the strengths
13:34of the P-40
13:35over the Japanese Nate.
13:38The P-40 was built
13:40by the Curtis Aircraft Company
13:42in Buffalo, New York.
13:44Claire Chenault
13:45obtained 100
13:46that were originally
13:47destined
13:48for the British RAF.
13:52The P-40B
13:53was rugged,
13:54could reach
13:55378 miles per hour,
13:57and was heavily armed
13:58with two 50-caliber
14:00nose-mounted machine guns
14:01and four wing-mounted
14:0330-calibers.
14:04It also had thick armor
14:06around the engine
14:07and cockpit
14:07to protect the pilot.
14:11Its opponent
14:12is the Nakajima
14:13of the Ki-27 Nate,
14:15which entered service
14:16in 1936.
14:17The Nate
14:18had an air-cooled
14:19radial engine
14:20and fixed landing gear.
14:22Its top speed
14:24was 305 miles per hour,
14:26and it was armed
14:27with one 12.7 millimeter
14:29and one 7.7 millimeter
14:31nose-mounted machine gun.
14:34The P-40
14:35had better firepower
14:37and armor,
14:38but it was heavy
14:39and could not turn
14:40with a much lighter
14:41Japanese Nate.
14:48These fundamental
14:49differences
14:50in aircraft design philosophy
14:51were at the core
14:52of Claire Chenault's
14:54approach to dogfighting.
14:56And the type of attacks
14:57he typically set up
14:58was to come in
14:59at high altitude
15:00and make screaming,
15:01diving attacks
15:02against Japanese formations,
15:04take the energy
15:04that they built up,
15:06zoom climb up
15:07to a high altitude again,
15:08and come back around.
15:09He told his pilot,
15:10is do not dogfight
15:11with the Japanese airplanes,
15:13a certain death.
15:16Facing a Japanese Nate
15:17head-on,
15:18Tex Hill applies
15:19these tactics.
15:20He knows the way
15:22to dogfight with a Nate
15:23is not to dogfight at all.
15:26Instead, he'll charge him
15:28with machine guns blazing.
15:32Tex Hill is here.
15:34The Nate is here.
15:36Tex will pull up
15:37into the Nate,
15:38aim towards him,
15:39and attack him
15:40head-on.
15:42I'm pulling into him,
15:44and, of course,
15:46I had the firepower
15:47on the head-on.
15:49The fighters close
15:50at over 600 miles per hour.
15:54The Nate peppers
15:55Tex's aircraft,
15:57but the B-40's armor plate
15:58does its job.
16:00Eventually,
16:01the lighter armored Nate
16:03couldn't take the punishment
16:04and ended up spiraling
16:05out of control.
16:10The Nate spirals
16:11into the jungle.
16:12The fight's over.
16:15I had no idea
16:16where Howard and Newkirk were.
16:19I just headed right home,
16:21get out of that area.
16:24Suddenly,
16:25Tex feels an intense vibration.
16:27His plane is shaking,
16:29unlike anything
16:30he's ever felt before.
16:34The instruments
16:34are probably just
16:35almost shaking out
16:36of the panel itself,
16:37and he's probably wondering
16:38if he's even going to make it
16:39back to base.
16:41He finally reaches
16:42Mingladon Airfield,
16:43where Howard and Newkirk
16:44have also landed safely.
16:46He looks at his plane.
16:49He shot 33 holes
16:51in my airplane.
16:52Some of his bullets
16:53stuck in my prop,
16:55and it threw the prop
16:56out of balance.
16:58And I thought the engine
17:00was coming out
17:01of the airplane.
17:02The Flying Tigers'
17:04first offensive mission
17:05against the Japanese
17:06is a success.
17:07Four enemy fighters
17:09destroyed in the air,
17:11four bombers on the ground.
17:20They were also
17:21gaining notoriety.
17:23The Flying Tigers
17:24didn't use military ranks
17:26or military discipline.
17:27They fought and played
17:29by their own rules,
17:31their raucous antics
17:32fueling their fame.
17:35In Rangoon,
17:37they rode water buffalo
17:38down the street.
17:38They shot up the chandeliers
17:40in their favorite watering hole.
17:42They even had a pet leopard.
17:46Chennault looked
17:47the other way,
17:48allowing the pilots
17:49to relieve the tension
17:50of constant combat.
17:51But he insisted
17:52on total discipline
17:53in the air.
17:54I think he was
17:56an excellent leader.
17:57If you did your job right,
18:00why, he would back you
18:02at every time.
18:04During its six months
18:05in combat,
18:06this handful of American
18:07soldiers of fortune
18:08claimed nearly 130
18:10Japanese aircraft.
18:12Eleven went down
18:13under the guns
18:14of Tex Hill's P-40 Tomahawk.
18:18Here's a ragtag
18:19mercenary organization
18:21of former Army, Navy,
18:23Air Force officers
18:24and enlisted men
18:25who took on the Japanese
18:27head to head,
18:28very close to Japanese
18:29home islands,
18:30and proved that
18:32the enemy who appeared
18:34to be 10 feet tall
18:35could be whittled down
18:36to size.
18:37But after Pearl Harbor,
18:39a mercenary army
18:40wasn't needed anymore.
18:41The full might
18:43of the US military
18:44was now in the war.
18:45Despite their legendary
18:47combat record,
18:48the decision was made
18:49to allow the American
18:50volunteer group's contract
18:52with the Chinese government
18:53to expire on July 4, 1942.
18:59But the Flying Tigers
19:01would live on.
19:02The Army soon created
19:04the China Air Task Force
19:06to oversee the air war
19:07in the Far East.
19:08The mission and men
19:10of the AVG
19:11would be rolled
19:12into the new unit
19:13as the 23rd Fighter Group.
19:15The China Air Task Force
19:17came under the control
19:18of colorful theater commander
19:20Joseph Vinegar Zhou Stilwell.
19:23The transition
19:24from the AVG
19:25to the China Air Task Force
19:27was somewhat messy.
19:29The pilots were being
19:31coerced to stay
19:33in the China Air Task Force
19:34and it left a lot
19:35of bitter feelings.
19:37Stillwell brought in
19:39General Clayton Bissell
19:40to talk to the AVG.
19:43He could not have chosen
19:44a poorer man for the job.
19:46The Flying Tigers
19:47were gathered
19:47in an auditorium
19:48and he basically laid it out.
19:51He said,
19:51we want you to stay.
19:53If you don't want to stay,
19:54then you can go home,
19:55but we will have draft boards
19:57waiting for you
19:57at the gangplank
19:58in the United States
19:59and you'll be drafted
20:00into the Army
20:01as privates in the infantry.
20:03The pilots didn't take well
20:05to Stillwell's intimidation
20:07and threatened
20:08to leave en masse.
20:11Claire Chenault
20:12reactivated his commission
20:13and was promoted
20:14to general.
20:17He set out
20:18to clean up the mess
20:19and preserve
20:20the fighting spirit
20:21that made
20:21the Flying Tigers famous.
20:25He called Tex Hill
20:27into his office.
20:28And Chenault said,
20:30I think Bissell poisoned him.
20:31I don't think many of them
20:32are planning to stay.
20:33If I lose you, Tex,
20:34I'm not sure
20:35what I'm going to do.
20:36And Tex immediately said,
20:37General, I'll stay
20:38as long as you need me.
20:39Chenault was obviously relieved
20:41and asked Tex
20:42to kind of talk
20:42to some of the guys
20:43and see if they would stay on
20:45because these were the veterans.
20:47In the end,
20:4826 out of the remaining
20:4990 AVG pilots
20:51and 57 out of 190 ground crew
20:54extended their contracts
20:55for two weeks,
20:57enough time
20:58to train the new arrivals.
21:00Tex and Chenault
21:01persuaded five
21:02Flying Tiger pilots
21:04to stay on longer
21:05to fight
21:05with the new command.
21:08On July 29th, 1942,
21:11the new Flying Tigers
21:12would be in action.
21:16The Japanese
21:17mount a concerted effort
21:18to wipe them out.
21:21Several nights in a row,
21:22waves of Japanese bombers
21:24pummel the airstrip
21:25at Heng Yang Airfield.
21:28Frustrated by the attacks,
21:30a soft-spoken,
21:31talented fighter pilot
21:32named John Allison
21:33approaches Tex Hill.
21:35I said to Tex,
21:37as the AVG tried
21:38to stop them at night,
21:39and if I remember correctly,
21:41he said,
21:42well, we made some attempts,
21:43but we were never
21:44very successful at it.
21:46So I said to Tex,
21:47well, if they come tomorrow,
21:48I'm going to be up there.
21:51The bombers do return,
21:53and this time,
21:54John Allison and Tex Hill
21:56have a plan.
21:57It would be Allison's
21:58first taste of combat,
22:00and under a full moon,
22:02he would engage
22:03in one of the most
22:04famous dogfights
22:05in Flying Tigers history.
22:13July 29th, 1942,
22:15a full moon shines brightly
22:17over Heng Yang Airfield.
22:21The Flying Tigers
22:22are in action again,
22:24and John Allison
22:25will get his first taste
22:26of combat.
22:28Allison has been alerted
22:30that a Japanese bomber formation
22:32is en route
22:32to attack the Tigers' base.
22:35He straps into his P-40
22:37and launches into the air.
22:41John Allison reminds me
22:43of no one as much
22:44as Jimmy Doolittle.
22:45They're both short in stature,
22:47very focused,
22:48precise types
22:49of aviation professionals,
22:51but when each of them
22:52climbed in the airplane,
22:53strapped in,
22:54and started the engine,
22:55there was a personality change.
22:59Tex Hill and John Allison
23:01have worked out
23:02a clever tactic
23:03to detect and engage
23:04the formation.
23:06Previous raids
23:07had shown them
23:08that the Japanese
23:09liked to bomb targets
23:10from 15,000 feet.
23:12We didn't want them
23:14to get underneath us
23:15because at night
23:16you just can't see them,
23:18although you could see
23:18the flame from their exhaust.
23:21Allison and veteran AVG pilot
23:23Ajax Baumler
23:24will be flying
23:25in a position
23:26called upmoon.
23:29Lacking radar
23:30or navigation aids,
23:32the moonlight
23:33is their only help
23:34in detecting the Japanese.
23:37If the Japanese
23:38come in
23:39at their normal altitude,
23:40both pilots
23:41will see them silhouetted
23:42against the moonlit sky.
23:45If the Japanese
23:46come in under Allison,
23:48Baumler will see them.
23:49If they come in
23:50under Baumler,
23:51they will be low enough
23:52for the ground crew
23:53to spot them
23:53and radio in.
23:57Baumler levels off
23:58at 9,000 feet.
24:00Allison continues on
24:01to orbit
24:01at 12,000 feet.
24:04Somewhere in the darkness,
24:06the formation
24:06of six Japanese
24:07Ki-21 bombers
24:09approach
24:09in two three-plane elements.
24:13The Mitsubishi Ki-21 bomber,
24:17better known
24:17to the Allies
24:18as the Sally,
24:19was the workhorse
24:20of the Japanese Army Air Force
24:22in China.
24:24It could carry
24:25over 2,000 pounds
24:26of bombs.
24:28The Sally
24:29had incredible range,
24:30but this came
24:31at the cost
24:32of crew protection.
24:33It was very lightly armored.
24:36A fighter could shred
24:38the Sally
24:38with machine gun fire
24:39if he could get in close,
24:41but he would have
24:42to brave its two trainable
24:437.7-millimeter machine guns,
24:46one in the nose
24:47and one in the tail.
24:50Allison gets a radio call.
24:51Crew at the air base
24:53can hear the Sally's
24:54engines over them.
24:57Finally,
24:57they were approaching
24:58our little airport
24:59at Hang Yang
25:00from the north.
25:02Allison and Bomber
25:03scan the skies,
25:04peering through the darkness
25:05for a glimpse
25:06of the bomber's exhaust.
25:09Allison twists
25:10his head around
25:11and catches
25:12a flash of exhaust,
25:14three sallies
25:15above him.
25:19I was 3,000 feet below them.
25:22I immediately opened
25:24the throttle full power
25:25and started to climb
25:27and I said,
25:28okay, fellows,
25:30watch the fireworks.
25:32Allison targets
25:33one of the three aircraft,
25:34but misjudges
25:36his closing speed.
25:38My airplane was climbing
25:40fast and also going
25:42much faster than the bombers
25:43and I turned
25:45to follow them
25:46and I was right
25:48in the middle
25:48of the formation.
25:51Suddenly,
25:52streams of tracers
25:53bracket Allison's P-40.
25:59They were shooting
26:00at me
26:00and my radio went dead.
26:03They had hit my radio.
26:04This is before I'd fired a shot
26:06and they'd put one round
26:09right through the seat
26:10and into my parachute.
26:13His engine is peppered
26:15as he flies through
26:16the stream of bullets.
26:18Allison must act quickly.
26:22In order to reposition himself
26:24behind the bombers,
26:25he'll rudder hard left
26:27and throttle down.
26:29It causes his plane
26:31to skid to the side
26:32and dramatically cuts
26:34his airspeed.
26:36The tactic works perfectly.
26:40I probably wasn't
26:42200 feet behind them,
26:44maybe even closer.
26:45And my first rounds
26:48are down the fuselage.
26:49And I know I must have killed
26:51everybody in the airplane.
26:55The attack
26:56from point-blank range
26:57shreds the bomber.
27:00The wounded Sally
27:01pitches hard up,
27:03hemorrhaging oil,
27:04which splatters
27:05Allison's windshield.
27:07Allison has just
27:09knocked out one Sally,
27:10but there are two left.
27:12The formation's right wingman
27:14is the closest target,
27:15but its rear gunner
27:17has Allison
27:17in his crosshairs.
27:20Allison rolls right
27:22and swings in
27:23on the bomber's six,
27:24braving a hail
27:25of tracer fire.
27:28The one that had been
27:29hitting me on the right,
27:30hitting me most,
27:32I just gave him a burst
27:33and he exploded.
27:40It's a confirmed kill.
27:42There's just one Sally
27:43left in the formation.
27:45The leader,
27:46but Allison's P-40
27:47is wounded.
27:48It's taken
27:49a tremendous beating.
27:52I didn't realize
27:53how hard I'd been hit,
27:54but they'd actually
27:56knocked a five-inch hole
27:57through the crankcase
27:58and all the oil
28:00was draining out,
28:01which I didn't know that.
28:02Thanks to the P-40
28:04and its ruggedness,
28:05it kept flying.
28:08Allison breaks left,
28:09slams his throttle forward,
28:11drawing a bead
28:12on the lead Sally.
28:16His bullets
28:17impact the aircraft
28:18left engine.
28:21Trailing flaming debris,
28:23the Sally disappears
28:24into the darkness.
28:29It's Allison's third bomber.
28:32But with flames
28:33licking his engine cowling,
28:35it's time to head back
28:36to base and try
28:37to make an emergency landing.
28:42When the airplane
28:43really started to burn,
28:46I kind of panicked
28:47and I was going so fast
28:50I couldn't get
28:50into the airport.
28:51But fortunately,
28:52the river
28:54was right out ahead of me.
28:55And I said,
28:56oh, well,
28:57I can make the river.
28:59Allison puts
29:00his crippled P-40
29:01into the Xiangkyang River.
29:05I popped out of the airplane,
29:07swam over to a log raft.
29:08Chinese young man
29:10ran out across the logs,
29:12pulled me up.
29:13And in my best Chinese,
29:15I was shouting,
29:16I'm an American.
29:17I'm an American.
29:19Four of the six
29:20Japanese bombers
29:21sent to strike the airfield
29:23are shot down.
29:25But these six bombers
29:27are just the first wave.
29:30Only hours later,
29:32in the light of day,
29:33the Japanese would send
29:35a far larger formation
29:36to eliminate the Americans
29:38once and for all.
29:39And this time,
29:41they're bringing escort,
29:42a formation of advanced fighters
29:44more powerful than the native.
29:47They'll test the flying tigers
29:49like never before.
29:55July 30, 1942.
29:57Southeast China.
29:59The 75th Fighter Squadron
30:01of the Flying Tigers
30:02scramble to intercept
30:03a formation of enemy aircraft
30:05sent to level their home base
30:07at Heng Yang Airfield.
30:09Tex Hill leads 10 P-40s
30:12into the fight.
30:14Hill climbs to meet
30:16a formation of 27 Japanese fighters
30:19that are leading the onslaught.
30:25And then here comes
30:26this big fighter sweep.
30:29Tex Hill is here.
30:31The formation of enemy fighters
30:33are here.
30:35Tex must climb to engage them.
30:38In true Flying Tigers style,
30:40he'll attack them head on.
30:49They aren't the familiar Nates.
30:51The fighters are a newer,
30:53advanced Japanese aircraft.
30:56The Nakajima Ki-43 Oscar
30:59is the successor to the Nate
31:01and entered service
31:02in the Pacific in 1941.
31:06Like all Japanese fighters,
31:08it traded armor
31:09for performance.
31:11Powered by a 1,150
31:13horsepower engine
31:14and armed with
31:15two 12.7 millimeter
31:17machine guns,
31:18it could fly faster
31:20and higher than the Nate.
31:22And they were flown
31:24by skilled Japanese
31:25Army pilots.
31:27All through the 1930s,
31:29the Japanese developed
31:30their military air arm.
31:32Both naval and Army aviators
31:34were highly skilled
31:36warriors of the Emperor.
31:37The Japanese military culture
31:39was extremely mission-oriented.
31:42It was said that
31:43every Japanese warrior
31:44owed the Emperor
31:45his life.
31:46And if the mission called
31:48for sacrificing his life
31:50in advancing the cause
31:52of the Emperor,
31:53who many Japanese
31:54literally considered
31:55a living God,
31:56that was not only required,
31:58it was also deemed
31:59a significant honor.
32:01Those guys were
32:02very well trained.
32:04I said, you know,
32:04the Japanese,
32:06anything that they did
32:08or set out to do,
32:09they just really excelled
32:11in it.
32:12The Oscars
32:13spot the P-40s
32:15and move to engage.
32:17Tex opens his throttle,
32:18leading his squad of P-40s
32:20into the teeth
32:21of the Japanese assault.
32:25Tex will use
32:26the same tactics
32:27that have made
32:27the Flying Tigers famous.
32:33One of the Japanese Oscars
32:35pulls ahead of the rest.
32:36He goes head-to-head
32:38with Tex.
32:41This guy and I
32:42came head-on
32:43doing about 250
32:44or something like that.
32:46He was doing around 200.
32:47That's pretty fast.
32:49But, you know,
32:50you get a fixation
32:51on something like that.
32:53Sometimes,
32:53with a closing rate
32:55like that,
32:56you could very easily
32:58collide.
33:02Tex and the Oscar
33:04open fire
33:05at the same time.
33:08The P-40 shudders
33:10as the Oscars' bullets
33:11hit home.
33:13Tex ignores it.
33:14He keeps closing.
33:21His six machine guns
33:22have a heavier weight
33:23of fire
33:24than the Oscars'
33:25two 12.7-millimeter guns.
33:32The minute I hit him,
33:33he started smoking.
33:38He immediately began
33:40to trail,
33:41a thin trail of smoke,
33:43and we knew he was hit
33:44and probably fatally.
33:46The Oscar
33:47is an advanced
33:48Japanese fighter,
33:49but its weakness
33:51is the same.
33:51No armor.
33:53A split second
33:54before they collide,
33:55the Oscar bursts
33:56into flame
33:57and falls away.
34:05Tex Hill's P-40s
34:07went on to down
34:0815 enemy fighters
34:09in the raid.
34:10The Japanese attack
34:11fails,
34:12and the Flying Tiger's
34:13home airfield
34:14is spared.
34:16The Japanese effort
34:18is derailed
34:18by Chenault's
34:19well-honed tactics.
34:22Avoid the turning fight
34:24and use the P-40's
34:26superior speed,
34:27power,
34:28and heavy armament.
34:31The tactics
34:32that worked
34:32against the NAIT
34:33were equally effective
34:35against the Oscar.
34:39The China Air Task Force
34:41goes on the offensive.
34:43Japanese military
34:44and industrial sites
34:45are targeted
34:46throughout Southeast Asia.
34:50August 12, 1942,
34:53B-24 heavy bombers
34:55supported by Flying Tiger
34:56P-40s attacked
34:57the key shipping center
34:59at Haiphong,
35:00destroying ships,
35:01airfields,
35:02and vital supply dumps.
35:05In October,
35:06P-40s dive-bombed
35:08Japanese supply lines
35:09and strafe convoys
35:10in Burma.
35:12On November 27,
35:14the largest force
35:15in China Air Task Force
35:17history strikes
35:18the Fort City of Canton
35:19on the Pearl River Delta.
35:22But on March 19, 1943,
35:25the small, scrappy
35:27China Air Task Force
35:29was replaced
35:29by a new organization,
35:31the 14th Air Force.
35:33Claire Chenault
35:34took command.
35:36So naturally,
35:37the newcomers,
35:38the new guys on the block,
35:39attached themselves
35:41to the Flying Tiger name.
35:43After all,
35:43the same Claire Chenault
35:44was their commanding officer
35:46as well.
35:49John Allison leads
35:50some of the most successful
35:51raids of the entire war,
35:53but his Asian tour
35:55is coming to a close.
35:56He is to be reassigned
35:58to the European theater.
36:01But on his last day
36:03in China,
36:04Allison will find himself
36:05in the most harrowing
36:07dogfight of his career.
36:15May 31, 1943,
36:19John Allison's last mission
36:20as a Flying Tiger in China.
36:24He's flying with a squadron
36:26of Chinese pilots.
36:29One Chinese squadron
36:30had just gotten
36:31brand new P-40s,
36:33and General Chenault
36:34asked me
36:35if I would go up
36:36and fly with them.
36:37And I said,
36:39I'd be delighted
36:39to do that.
36:41Since before
36:42the Tiger's arrival
36:43in China,
36:44Americans had been training
36:45and advising
36:46nationalist Chinese pilots.
36:49I had seven Chinese pilots,
36:51and I should have had
36:52two American wingmen,
36:54but one of them
36:55couldn't get his airplane
36:56started.
36:57Allison and his
36:58Chinese wingman
36:59escort B-24s
37:01in a mission
37:01to attack
37:02a Japanese base
37:03at Ichan.
37:04The bombers,
37:06proud to be a part
37:06of the Flying Tiger's legacy,
37:08have painted
37:09each B-24 nose
37:10with the famous
37:11shark's teeth.
37:14There's heavy cloud cover
37:16as the P-40 fighters
37:17and B-24 bombers
37:19reach the target
37:20at Ichan.
37:23Allison spots a break
37:25in the clouds.
37:26He'll go down
37:27to reconnoiter.
37:29He radios the rest
37:30of the formation
37:31to stay above the clouds.
37:33I said,
37:34let me go by myself.
37:35So I started,
37:36and I turned around,
37:37and I look back,
37:38and I've got myself
37:40and my wingman,
37:41and then behind us
37:42are these nine B-24s.
37:47And while we were
37:48having this conversation,
37:49all of a sudden,
37:50it's just as if someone
37:51had taken a handful
37:52of pepper
37:53and thrown it up
37:54through these black spots
37:55for busting them.
37:57through the ceiling.
37:5920 Japanese Oscars
38:00have suddenly appeared.
38:02They're heading directly
38:03for the B-24s.
38:07Allison is here.
38:09The enemy Oscars
38:10climb towards
38:11the B-24s here.
38:14Allison must find
38:15some way to engage
38:17and divert the fighters
38:18from the bomber formation.
38:21He must act quickly.
38:22The lighter and more
38:23agile Japanese fighters
38:25are closing fast
38:26fast on the B-24s.
38:28Allison jams the stick back
38:30and rudders right
38:31in a climbing turn.
38:33I found myself
38:35climbing with all
38:36these Japanese fighters.
38:38He pulls up
38:40on an easy target,
38:41an Oscar,
38:42right in front of him.
38:49And the Tracer's
38:50hit his cockpit,
38:51and he just rolled over
38:52and drove straight
38:53into the cloud.
38:56One Oscar's down,
38:57but 19 are still
38:59pressing the attack.
39:04He maneuvers
39:05through the enemy formation,
39:09then lines up
39:10another Oscar
39:11in his sights.
39:16I hit him,
39:17and he did catch fire.
39:20So I knew
39:21I got that one.
39:31Allison pulls
39:32into a high-G climb.
39:35Three Oscars
39:35are attacking
39:36a B-24.
39:40Before he reaches
39:41the vulnerable bomber,
39:42he spots another bandit
39:43at 3 o'clock.
39:45Allison has to make
39:46a split-second decision.
39:49Allison is here.
39:51The bombers are here.
39:53The Oscar is on
39:55his 3 o'clock here.
39:57But I figured
39:58that I could just
39:59pull my airplane up
40:00almost into a stall,
40:02and that I might be able
40:03to divert these three
40:05from their attack
40:06on the bombers.
40:07It's a gutsy move.
40:09Allison will climb
40:10vertically towards
40:11the Oscars,
40:12letting loose a stream
40:13of fire to disrupt
40:15their attack.
40:16But he'll lose airspeed
40:17in the climb.
40:18If he stalls,
40:20he'll be an easy target
40:21for the Oscar
40:22on his tail.
40:24Allison pulls the stick
40:26into his chest.
40:27His airspeed falls off.
40:31He presses the trigger.
40:35His P-40 shudders
40:37in a stall.
40:38The Oscar opens fire.
40:41And the next thing I knew,
40:43I lost my rudder.
40:44This airplane coming up
40:46from below
40:47had hit the main hinge
40:49of our rudder,
40:50and it fell off.
40:51But instead of leaving
40:52the airplane,
40:53it was still connected
40:54by the cable,
40:55and it started
40:56terrible vibration.
41:00With his rudder gone,
41:02Allison can't really
41:03maneuver his aircraft.
41:03The only thing he can do
41:04is just keep it level
41:05and airborne.
41:06So he's now vulnerable
41:07to any other enemy aircraft
41:09out there that decides
41:10to take him out.
41:11The P-40 vibrates
41:13uncontrollably
41:14as it levels off.
41:16The Oscar rolls
41:18into position,
41:19lining up an easy kill.
41:22From 200 feet away,
41:24the Japanese plane fires.
41:32Pieces fly off
41:34Allison's fighters.
41:38The rugged P-40
41:39absorbs the hits,
41:41but it can't stay
41:42in the air much longer.
41:47And I said,
41:48well, if somebody
41:48doesn't help me soon,
41:49this is it.
41:51I'm gone.
41:52All of a sudden,
41:53I'm absolutely enveloped
41:55in a hail of tracers.
41:58A Chinese fighter pilot
42:00has come to Allison's rescue.
42:02He's behind the Oscar,
42:03firing wildly.
42:08So it's tracers
42:09from 650s.
42:12And I'd seen him
42:14from one perspective.
42:16Now I was seeing him
42:17from another
42:18and a fatal one.
42:19And I thought,
42:21he's going to kill us both.
42:23But the Chinese P-40
42:25kills the Oscar.
42:29It goes down flaming.
42:35Barely hanging in the air,
42:37Allison turns for home,
42:39nursing his shredded
42:40war hawk back to base.
42:45The B-24s successfully bombed
42:48the Japanese runways
42:49at Yichang.
42:51Five enemy fighters
42:52are shot down.
42:54One Chinese P-40
42:55is lost.
43:00John Allison left the Flying Tigers
43:02in May 1943,
43:05but returned to Asia
43:06only a few months later
43:08to help form
43:09the First Air Commandos
43:10with Philip Cochran.
43:13The First Air Commandos
43:15supported the Allied effort
43:16in Burma
43:17and pioneered the use
43:18of gliders
43:19for long-range airdrops
43:21deep behind enemy lines.
43:25Tex Hill stayed in China
43:26until November 1944.
43:29He became a triple ace,
43:31downing 15 enemy aircraft.
43:36Claire Chennault
43:37led the 14th Air Force
43:39until 1945
43:40when he retired.
43:42He stayed in the Far East
43:44after World War II,
43:45assisting Chiang Kai-shek
43:47in his war
43:47against Chinese communists
43:49in the late 1940s.
43:51The Flying Tigers
43:53of the 23rd Fighter Group
43:54went on to become
43:55one of the highest-scoring
43:57fighter groups
43:57of World War II.
43:59From 1942 until 1945,
44:02they destroyed
44:03over 1,000 Japanese aircraft.
44:06They sank 184 enemy
44:08merchant ships,
44:09destroyed 817 bridges,
44:121,225 aircraft
44:14and killed nearly
44:1660,000 Japanese troops.
44:20Their aggressiveness
44:21and skill
44:22carried forward
44:23the legacy
44:23of the original Flying Tigers,
44:29whose exploits
44:30became the stuff
44:31of legend.
44:34The shark-mouthed P-40s
44:36challenged the forces
44:37of tyranny
44:38with incredible ferocity.
44:47raising the spirits
44:49of millions
44:49of Americans
44:50and Chinese
44:53in the darkest days
44:54of World War II.
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