saw action for the first time,shooting down three Japanese bombers and destroying a further six on the ground,according to the Flying Tigers Museum in Kunming,the capital of Yunnan province,where much of the aerial combat took place.People in Kunming set off firecrackers to celebrate the victory.
The Chinese air force was severely depleted and the Soviet Union had withdrawn its aircrews,so the AVG represented China's only real aerial resistance to the Japanese.
The Flying Tigers participated in more than 100 battles,shooting down 272 Japanese aircraft and destroying another 225 on the ground,according to the museum.
The group was formally absorbed into the US military in 1942 as the 14th Air Force,but the three newly formed squadrons - named Adam and Eves,Panda Bears and Hell's Angelsremained under Chennault's command