China Air Task Force
Encyclopedia
The China Air Task Force (CATF) was created in July 1942 under the command of Brig. Gen. Claire Chennault, whose Flying Tigers
of the 1st American Volunteer Group
were disbanded on 4 July of that month. It consisted of the 23rd Fighter Group with four squadrons, the 74th
, 75th
, 76th
, and 16th Fighter Squadrons, plus the 11th Bombardment Squadron. It was a subordinate unit of the U.S. Army Tenth Air Force
in India, commanded by Brig. Gen. Earl Naiden and (from 18 August 1942) by Maj. Gen. Clayton Bissell
. "Chennault had no respect for Bissell as a combat airman," wrote his biographer Martha Byrd, and "Bissell had no respect for Chennault as an administrator." Their relationship, she wrote, was ugly.
On 19 March 1943, the CATF was disbanded and replaced by the Fourteenth Air Force
, with Chennault, now a major general, in command. In the nine months of its existence, the China Air Task Force had been credited with shooting down 149 Japanese planes, plus 85 probables, with a loss of only 16 P-40s. It had flown 65 bombing missions against Japanese targets in China, Burma and Indochina, dropping 311 tons of bombs and losing only one B-25 bomber.
Flying Tigers
The 1st American Volunteer Group of the Chinese Air Force in 1941–1942, famously nicknamed the Flying Tigers, was composed of pilots from the United States Army , Navy , and Marine Corps , recruited under presidential sanction and commanded by Claire Lee Chennault. The ground crew and headquarters...
of the 1st American Volunteer Group
American Volunteer Group
The American Volunteer Groups were volunteer air units organized by the United States government to aid the Nationalist government of China against Japan in the Second Sino-Japanese War...
were disbanded on 4 July of that month. It consisted of the 23rd Fighter Group with four squadrons, the 74th
74th Fighter Squadron
The 74th Fighter Squadron ' is a United States Air Force unit. It is assigned to the 23d Fighter Group and stationed at Moody Air Force Base, Georgia....
, 75th
75th Fighter Squadron
The 75th Fighter Squadron ' is a United States Air Force unit. It is assigned to the 23d Fighter Group and stationed at Moody Air Force Base, Georgia....
, 76th
76th Fighter Squadron
The 76th Fighter Squadron ' is a United States Air Force Reserve unit. It is assigned to the 476th Fighter Group and stationed at Moody Air Force Base, Georgia....
, and 16th Fighter Squadrons, plus the 11th Bombardment Squadron. It was a subordinate unit of the U.S. Army Tenth Air Force
Tenth Air Force
The Tenth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Reserve Command . It is headquartered at Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth, Texas....
in India, commanded by Brig. Gen. Earl Naiden and (from 18 August 1942) by Maj. Gen. Clayton Bissell
Clayton Bissell
Major General Clayton Lawrence Bissell was born in Kane, Pennsylvania, in 1896. He graduated from Valparaiso University, Indiana, in 1917 with a degree of doctor of laws. In his role as Gen...
. "Chennault had no respect for Bissell as a combat airman," wrote his biographer Martha Byrd, and "Bissell had no respect for Chennault as an administrator." Their relationship, she wrote, was ugly.
On 19 March 1943, the CATF was disbanded and replaced by the Fourteenth Air Force
Fourteenth Air Force
The Fourteenth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Space Command . It is headquartered at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California....
, with Chennault, now a major general, in command. In the nine months of its existence, the China Air Task Force had been credited with shooting down 149 Japanese planes, plus 85 probables, with a loss of only 16 P-40s. It had flown 65 bombing missions against Japanese targets in China, Burma and Indochina, dropping 311 tons of bombs and losing only one B-25 bomber.
See also
- Development of Chinese Nationalist air force (1937–1945)
- Eagle SquadronEagle squadronThe Eagle Squadrons were 3 fighter squadrons of the Royal Air Force formed during World War II with volunteer pilots from the United States...
—American volunteers in the RAF during World War II - Roster of CATF