The Flying Tigers: The Untold Story of the American Pilots Who Waged a Secret War Against Japan Before Pearl Harbor

The thrilling story behind the American pilots who were secretly recruited to defend the nation’s desperate Chinese allies before Pearl Harbor and ended up on the front lines of the war against the Japanese in the Pacific. Sam Kleiner’s The Flying Tigers uncovers the hidden story of the group of young American men and women who crossed the Pacific before Pearl Harbor to risk their lives defending China. Led by legendary army pilot Claire Chennault, these men left behind an America still at peace in the summer of 1941 using false identities to travel across the Pacific to a run-down airbase in the jungles of Burma. In the wake of the disaster at Pearl Harbor this motley crew was the first group of Americans to take on the Japanese in combat, shooting down hundreds of Japanese aircraft in the skies over Burma, Thailand, and China. At a time when the Allies were being defeated across the globe, the Flying Tigers’ exploits gave hope to Americans and Chinese alike. Kleiner takes readers into the cockpits of their iconic shark-nosed P-40 planes—one of the most familiar images of the war—as the Tigers perform nail-biting missions against the Japanese. He profiles the outsize personalities involved in the operation, including Chennault, whose aggressive tactics went against the prevailing wisdom of military strategy; Greg “Pappy” Boyington, the man who would become the nation’s most beloved pilot until he was shot down and became a POW; Emma Foster, one of the nurses in the unit who had a passionate romance with a pilot named John Petach; and Madame Chiang Kai-shek herself, who first brought Chennault to China and who would come to visit these young Americans. A dramatic story of a covert operation whose very existence would have scandalized an isolationist United States, The Flying Tigers is the unforgettable account of a group of Americans whose heroism changed the world, and who cemented an alliance between the United States and China as both nations fought against seemingly insurmountable odds. "The thrilling story behind the American pilots who were secretly recruited to defend the nation's desperate Chinese allies before Pearl Harbor and ended up on the front lines of the war against the Japanese in the Pacific. Sam Kleiner's Flying Tigers tells the story of the group young American men and women who crossed the Pacific before Pearl Harbor to risk their lives defending the embattled forces of Chiang Kai-Shek's China. These 300 individuals were effectively paid mercenaries, secretly recruited by a mysterious shell company that the federal government had created to circumvent its official stance of non-intervention in the war. Drawn from across the armed services by the prospect of seeing the world and earning a good salary, they traveled to Burma under false identities in the late summer and fall of 1941 and began training there under legendary and leathery general Claire Chennault. The pilots first saw action twelve days after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, and for the next seven months performed an invaluable strategic service by keeping the Japanese occupied in China and thus enabling the United States to build up its armaments before fully engaging in the conflict. For their daring exploits and remarkable string of victories, they became known as the Flying Tigers"-- Provided by publisher **The thrilling story behind the American pilots who were secretly recruited to defend the nation’s desperate Chinese allies before Pearl Harbor and ended up on the front lines of the war against the Japanese in the Pacific.** Sam Kleiner’s __Flying Tigers__ Kleiner takes readers into the cockpits of their iconic shark-nosed P-40 planes—one of the most familiar images of the war—as the Tigers perform nail-biting missions against the Japanese. He profiles the outsize personalities involved in the operation, including Chennault, whose aggressive tactics went against the prevailing wisdom of military strategy; Greg “Pappy” Boyington, the man who would become the nation’s most beloved pilot until he was shot down and became a POW; Emma Foster, one of the nurses in the unit who had a passionate romance with a pilot named John Petach; and Madame Chiang Kai-shek herself, who first brought Chennault to China and who would come to visit these young Americans. A dramatic story of a covert operation whose very existence would have scandalized an isolationist United States, __Flying Tigers__ Sam Kleiner's Flying Tigers Tells The Story Of The Group Young American Men And Women Who Crossed The Pacific Before Pearl Harbor To Risk Their Lives Defending The Embattled Forces Of Chiang Kai-shek's China. These 300 Individuals Were Effectively Paid Mercenaries, Secretly Recruited By A Mysterious Shell Company That The Federal Government Had Created To Circumvent Its Official Stance Of Non-intervention In The War. In His Book Samuel Kleiner Takes Readers Into The Cockpits Of Their Iconic Shark-nosed Planes As The Tigers Perform Nail-biting Missions Against The Japanese, Destroying Some 297 Enemy Aircraft In Burma, Thailand, And China. Dancing in the sky Meeting the princess The Rape of Nanking The international squadron Exile in the Chinese hinterland An air unit for China Training in Toungoo Wartime Legends in their own time Christmas in Rangoon Burmese days Aerial guerrilla warfare Last stand Black sheep down.