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CHINESE-AMERICAN
COMPOSITE WING
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The
Curtiss P-40N Warhawk of Chinese fighter ace, Captain Wang Kuang Fu.
While flying as a member of the C.A.C.W.'s
3rd Fighter Group's 7th
Fighter Squadron, Captain Wang would be officially credited with 6.5
aerial victories. His
aircraft carries the name "Great Grandfather Commander," written in
red Chinese characters that appear above the exhaust stacks. (Image by Jim Laurier) |
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OCTOBER
1, 1943 - AUGUST 1, 1945 Initially
formed on July 31,1943 as the 1st Bomb Group (Provisional) and the 3rd
Fighter Group (Provisional), Chinese Air Force, The Chinese American
Composite Wing (Provisional) would be officially activated on October 1,1943. The operational units
of the CACW would be jointly commanded by both American and Chinese air
force officers, and the unit's aircraft would be jointly manned by
American and Chinese pilots and air crewmen. ACOMPLISHMENTS OF
THE C.A.C.W.
During
it first year and a half of operations, the Chinese and American airmen
of the CACW could claim the destruction of 190 Japanese aircraft in
air-to-air combat, and 301 more on the ground. The fighters and bombers of the CACW had destroyed at least 1500
Japanese vehicles and sunk several hundred thousand tons of Japanese
merchant and naval shipping, in addition they had taken a heavy toll on
Japanese ground troops, facilities, railroads and bridges. In that same time, they had lost 35 fighters and 8 bombers to
enemy ground fire, and 20 fighters to Japanese aircraft. However, not a single CACW bomber had been lost to enemy
fighters, a tribute to the abilities of the Wing's B-25 aircrews, and
the quality of the escort protection provided by the Wing's fighter
pilots. The
most successful fighter pilot of the CACW was Lt. Colonel William N.
Reed, who had first fought in China as a member of the AVG. As a
"Flying Tiger," Reed had destroyed 3 Japanese aircraft
in aerial combat and 8 more on the ground. Then returning to China to command the CACW's 7th Fighter
Squadron and eventually its 3rd Fighter Group, he would destroy an
additional 6 Japanese aircraft in aerial combat. |
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