This article concerns the 1st American Volunteer Group, a World War II unit known as ?The Flying Tigers?; for follow-on units, see the main heading. For other uses of the name, see Flying Tigers . Flying Tigers was the nickname of the 1st American Volunteer Group (AVG) that operated within the Chinese Air Force in 1941 and 1942. The volunteers were former United States Army (USAAF), Navy (USN), and Marine Corps (USMC) pilots and ground crew, recruited under Presidential sanction and commanded by Claire Chennault. The AVG consisted of three fighter squadrons that trained in Burma prior to the American entry into World War II to fight against Japanese forces. The group first saw combat on 20 December 1941, 12 days after Pearl Harbor (local time). The Flying Tigers achieved notable success during the lowest period of the war for American forces, and gave hope to Americans that they would eventually s

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