Claire Lee Chennault, an American military aviator and famous fighter pilot, was reportedly born on 6 September 1893 in Commerce, Texas. However, neither his exact date nor place of birth is officially confirmed. Chennault himself changed his birth year several times, usually indicating 1890, while his family later settled on 1893.
Chennault spent his childhood in Louisiana and, around 1910, enrolled at Louisiana State University, adjusting his birth date to meet the age requirements. After the outbreak of the Great War, he joined the Aviation Division of the US Army Signal Corps. By the early 1930s, he had become Chief of the Pursuit Section at the Army Air Corps Tactical School.
Serious health problems forced Chennault to retire from the Air Corps on 30 April 1937, in the rank of major. Shortly afterwards, he moved to China, where he trained military pilots and became an aviation advisor to Chiang Kai-shek. Following the outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese War, Chennault helped develop the Chinese Air Force and was involved in establishing an international squadron of foreign volunteer and mercenary pilots.
In 1939 and 1940, he participated in two Chinese military missions to the United States aimed at securing aircraft, equipment and personnel for China. During the second mission, the idea of the American Volunteer Group (AVG) was born. In December 1940, the US authorities approved the delivery of 100 P-40B Tomahawk fighter aircraft to China.
Around 300 American pilots and ground personnel subsequently joined the AVG and were sent to China disguised as tourists. The unit became famous as the “Flying Tigers”. Under Chennault’s leadership, they introduced the so-called “defensive pursuit” tactics, allowing the less manoeuvrable but heavily armed P-40s to fight effectively against lighter Japanese fighters.
In 1942, the Flying Tigers were incorporated into the US Army Air Forces and Chennault returned to active service. He was promoted first to colonel and, within about two weeks, to brigadier general. He remained in China until the end of the Second World War, retiring in October 1945 in the rank of major general.
After the war, Chennault continued to support Chiang Kai-shek and the Chinese Nationalists. In 1946, together with Whiting Willauer, he helped establish Civil Air Transport (CAT), an airline that operated surplus C-47 and C-46 aircraft. CAT was later renamed Air America and taken over by the CIA.
Chennault remained active in supporting the Nationalists throughout the 1950s. In January 1958, he made his final visit to Taiwan, where he was already suffering from cancer. Claire Lee Chennault died on 27 July 1958, aged 64. Just nine days before his death, he had been promoted to the honorary rank of lieutenant general in the US Air Force.
Cover photo: A rare photograph of laughing Chennault (left), while looking at a visual chart presented by Col. John O. Neal and showing the combat achievements of the 14th Air Force, September 1944 (National Archives, 204832065)
