Early in WWII, the Chinese were in bad shape.  The Japanese had invaded China proper in 1937 and advanced up the Yangtze valley, adopting a "scorched earth" approach, culminating in the "Rape of Nanking."  It was unrestricted war, with no rules, and all citizens were "used" or executed.  The details are too horrific to enumerate here.

America, in the midst of its "isolationist" obsession, could not provide direct help to China.  But President Franklin D. Roosevelt was concerned with the question of China's survival and hit on a subterfuge: set up an air unit of unofficial American mercenaries to fly modern aircraft in support of Chinese forces.  So the American Volunteer Group (AVG) was established.

The man who headed the AVG, Col. Claire Chennault, was a veteran fighter pilot who had been run out of the U.S. Army Air Corps by the "Bomber Mafia" thanks to his dedication to fighter plane tactics.  After an invitation from Chinese Nationalist leader Chiang Kai-shek, he traveled to China and took command of its fledgling air force.  Chennault's major problem was a lack of trained pilots.  The AVG was intended to solve this.

AVG pilots and support staff were based in central China.  They were equipped with the P-40 Tomahawk fighter.  Although inferior to Japanese Mitsubishi A-6M Zeros and Nakajima Ki-43 Oscars, the P-40 was a sturdy, capable design well able to hold its own in the right hands.

In the U.S. Army Air Corps, Chennault had set out to prove that fighter aircraft (then called "pursuit" aircraft) could bring down multi-engine bombers utilizing the correct tactics.  He actually demonstrated this, which infuriated the "Bomber Mafia," disciples of the late Gen. Billy Mitchell, who were convinced that bombers were the key elements of airpower and "would always get through," no matter what the circumstances.

But in China, Chennault applied these tactics using the AVG, quickly demonstrating that the technically inferior P-40 was more than a match for the attacking Japanese, especially the bombers.

The AVG distinguished themselves in the defense of both Rangoon and Chungking and, acting alone with no ground forces, stymied a Japanese attempt to invade southern China across the Salween River, the first time such a feat had been accomplished.  The Chinese appreciated their efforts so highly that, noting the shark teeth decorating their aircraft, they bestowed upon them the name of the "Flying Tigers," which is the name under which they went into legend.

My point here is that we provided all the equipment, and some of our trained pilots, who took a "leave of absence" (and were well paid).

We can do it again.  The AVG did a great deal of harm to the Japanese and opened a new front in that war all by themselves.

We can do this in Ukraine.  We can send high-hours aircraft; we can send old equipment.  We can send skilled volunteer pilots.  I'm sure the money to pay these guys can be found somewhere outside our government budgets.

We have the equipment, and we have the pilots.  Many would be willing to volunteer, but we need to do something after the war is over (unlike what occurred with the AVG pilots, who were dismissively treated by the same Army Air Force that had persecuted Chennault), reinstate these pilots with no loss in seniority and perhaps add their time in the AVG branch of the Ukrainian Air Force in their seniority when they return home and are reinstated in the USAF, Navy, or Army (aircraft include attack and rescue helicopters).

Ukraine is suffering today much as China suffered in the early 1940s.  Do we have the same nerve and backbone today that we had back then?

Image: National Archives.