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Laurier, Jim
Tiger Sharks In China
In a brief ceremony on the airfield at Kunming, China, on 4 July 1942, the legendary American Volunteer Group, better known as The Flying Tigers disbanded and turned over its shark-faced fighter planes to a new USAAF
combat unit, the 23rd Fighter Group. It would be the job of the 23rd to assume the AVG’s responsibilities for defending the Burma Road and the skies over Free China from the Japanese.
Over the next three years, the 23rd created a legend of its own, compiling one of the top combat records among all USAAF fighter groups that fought
during World War II. Its tally of 592 confirmed aerial victories over Japanese aircraft was all the more remarkable because of the fact that the
23rd operated in the war’s most remote theater, where supplies of aircraft, gasoline and ammunition were always short and pilots often suffered from
debilitating illnesses.
The 23rd Fighter Group began operations with a sorry collection of war-weary Curtiss P-40s, which were gradually supplanted by later versions of the
venerable Warhawk. It wasn’t until the summer of 1944 that high-performance P-51B and C Mustangs replaced the P-40s. At that time, Col. David L. “Tex”
Hill, a former AVG ace, was commanding officer of the 23rd, which was headquartered at Kweilin. Among the many other outstanding aces who served
in the 23rd were Lt. Col. John Alison and 1/Lt. Donald Lopez.
By the end of World War II, the 23rd Fighter Group had swept the China skies clean of Japanese aircraft. The 23rd
went back into action during Operation Desert Storm in 1991, flying the A-10, and continues to operate to this day.
Signed by: John R. Alison, David L. "Tex" Hill, Donald S. Lopez and artist
Edition size: 1300 signed and numbered
Print size: 24"w x 18"h
