Claire Chennault

Introduction

With simplest and shortest the General Claire Lee Chennault , " Gentleman of Louisiane" , was a hero honoured at the same time in China and in the United States.

The man

“Gentleman of Louisiana”, Général Claire Lee Chennault (September 6th 1893 - July 27th 1958) was, seems T it, of ascent huguenote and had as a remote ancestor Sam Houston and Robert Lee, respectively founder of the Texas and commander-in-chief of the forces confederated during the American Civil War between the Union in free trade North and the Confederation in the slave South.

He was famous a aviator which organized the fighter squadron of the “Flying Tigers” in China during the Second world war starting from a Group of American Volunteers AVG (American Volunteer Group), whereas the “United States was still neutres". Before the Japanese air and sea raid on Pearl Harbor the December 7th 1941 which pushed the United States in the Second world war, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt declared: “The United States is neutral, but I cannot ask the States-uniens to be neutral”.

Indeed, President Roosevelt was “interventionist” whereas the Congress was “isolationist” in its majority and the entry in war of the United States did not want. Thus and with in an individual capacity, of the volunteers states-uniens engaged in British aviation of “Eagle Squadron” and formed in China “Flying Tigers” of the nationalist Chinese aviation of Tchang Kaï-chek which decided, by all the means, to obtain from the United States of the planes and the personnel experienced to fight the Japanese who bombarded Chung King with a hundred planes per day in this summer of 1940.

Work

Chennault could recruit 112 pilots of all the branches of the armed forces and buy 100 fighter plans Curtiss P-40 Warhawk with the approval of President Roosevelt. At the end of the summer 1941, these “mercenaries” were officially recognized like AVG (American Volunteer Group). The same politico-legal phenomenon occurred before with certain volunteers of the International Brigades of the Civil war of Spain (1936-1939).

Like the Canadian surgeon Norman Bethune in Spain (1936-1937) and China (1938-1939), of inventive personality, innovating and creative, Claire Lee Chennault had difficulties with its hierarchy and was withdrawn from the active service in 1937 to go to China with a group of volunteers states-uniens and to train aviators of Chinese combat of Chiang Kai Shek. It was the embryo of the “flying Tigers” which will become the 23e Groupe of Hunting of the 14th USAAF in China in the month of March 1943, after the war against Japan is officialized after the Japanese attack of Pearl Harbor in December 1941.

The opposition of strategies and personalities between Chennault and Stilwell became inevitable by their official position. The General Joseph Stilwell (called “vinegar”, ordering American forces and military adviser at Chiang Kaï-chek) privileged the terrestrial war while Chennault supported the more effective air war by the economy as men and materials to obtain the same result.

President Roosevelt who wanted to place China at the first world rank to fill the vacuum in Asia after the Japanese defeat, chose the air strategy of Chennault and invited it to communicate directly with him without passing by the official channels of the military command.

In the air war of the theater of operations CBI (China-Burma-India), there was also the ATC (Air Command Transport) which crossed the bump (“hump”) Himalayan with twin-engines of transport Curtiss C-46 Commando and Douglas C-47 Skytrain.

Return to the civil life

Demobilized after the war, the personnel of the “Flying Tigers” the airline company CAT (Civil Air Transport) founded which will ensure, in 1948-1949, the transfer of several thousands of Chinese between China and Taiwan. (in)

It will create then the " Flying Tigers Line" who will quickly become the largest (and most discrete) company of charter in the world, undertaking military transport not being able to be made by USAF. She will play a part (discrete) at the time of the Guerre of Korea, her services will be rented by the French during the Guerre of Indo-China, ensuring the supplies at the time of the Bataille of Ðiện Biên Phủ. In the years 1960-1970, it was the Air America which took again these missions.

The personnel of the ATC will found the company Cathay Airlines and China Airlines in interlaced combinations.

External bonds

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http://encyclopedia.laborlawtalk.com/Claire_Chennault
http://encycl.opentopia.com/term/Claire_Chennault

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