About this item

On December 7, 1941, a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor plunged the United States into armed conflict with Japan. In the first three months of the war the Japanese seemed unbeatable as they seized American, British, and European territory across thAfter Pearl Harbor, the Japanese seemed unbeatable. Then some American pilots - members of the American Volunteer Group, which became known as the Flying Tigers - started to bring down enemy planes over Burma and western China. But how did they happen to be in the British colony of Burma? The standard explanation is that in 1940 their commander, Colonel Claire Chennault, convinced the Roosevelt administration to set up a covert air force that could attack the Japanese in China and possibly bomb Tokyo even if the United States and Japan were not yet at war.



Read Next Recommendation

Report incorrect product information.