
	CHINA AIR TASK FORCE "C.A.T.F." & THE 23^RD FIGHTER GROUP:

	The Curtiss P-40E Kittyhawk of Colonel Robert L. Scott. Colonel Scott was a ten-kill ace and the first commander of the 23rd Fighter Group. The aircraft carries the mid-fuselage emblem of the China Air Task Force, a leaping tiger crashing through the insignia of the Chinese Air Force while wearing an Uncle Sam "top hat" and tearing-up a Japanese flag. Following duty in China, Colonel Scott gained fame for authoring his "best selling" war-time autobiography, "God is My Co-pilot." (Image by Jim Laurier)
	July 4, 1942 - March 10, 1943 Formed from the three original pursuit squadrons of the American Volunteer Group and designated as the 23rd Fighter Group, the C.A.T.F. would under the leadership of Lt. General Claire Lee Chennault, become the incessant tormentor of the Japanese military throughout the Chinese Theater of Operations. Slowly but steadily growing in combat power and effectiveness, the C.A.T.F. on March 10. 1943, would become the American Army Air Forces’ 14th Air Force. ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF THE 23RD FIGHTER GROUP JULY 4, 1942 - MAY 31, 1945 Following in the direct footsteps of AVG, the 23rd Fighter Group would be the basis of the China Air Task Force, then with the establishment of the 14th Air Force, the 23rd Fighter Group would continue-on as the main striking power of the 14th Air Force. With the addition of the 118 Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron and the temporary attachment of the 449 Fighter Squadron, the 23rd Fighter Gp. would become the 14th Air Force's 68th Composite Wing. By the end of the war, pilots of the 23rd Fighter Group were credited with the destruction of 594 Japanese aircraft in aerial combat, and nearly 400 more on the ground. Thus becoming the 5th highest scoring Army Air Force fighter group of the Second World War

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