Our P-40 flies in the markings of American Volunteer Group (AVG) P-40E 41-5658 “108” of the 3rd Squadron “Hell’s Angels.” It features the distinctive shark-mouth markings made famous by the group, as well as their Walt Disney Studio-designed Flying Tiger emblem. The aircraft also features Nationalist Chinese Insignia in place of American Stars, since the AVG, although made up of American aviators, was not a part of the US Military.
Although the AVG generally flew earlier model P-40s, they were down to their last 20 aircraft when they received a shipment of P-40E’s via Africa and India. Assigned to the 3rd Squadron “Tex” Hill, himself a part of the 2nd Squadron (Panda Bears) borrowed aircraft 108 to lead his attack on the Salween River Gorge. The improved 700 lb bomb capacity appealed to him for the mission profile, as did the extra pair of .50 cal machine guns in the aircraft’s wings.
Claire Chennault, commander of the Flying Tigers would later say that Hill and the three pilots who flew with him in their new P-40Es had “staved off China’s collapse on the Salween” after destroying a Japanese pontoon bridge and strafing enemy positions for four days in the mile-deep gorge.
A triple flying ace, Hill would score 12 ¼ victories with the AVG, and a further 6 in a P-51 after joining the US Army Air Corps in the Summer of 1942. Hill had originally earned his wings as a US Navy Aviator in 1939 and had joined the fleet as the pilot of a TBD Devastator aboard the USS Saratoga. Later he also flew SB2U Vindicators from the USS Ranger, before joining the AVG in China.
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