The group consisted of three fighter squadrons of around 30 aircraft each that trained in Burma before the American entry into World War II to defend the Republic of China against Japanese forces.

The American Volunteer Group was largely the creation of Claire L. Chennault, a retired U.S. Army Air Corps officer who had worked in China since August 1937, first as military aviation advisor to Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek in the early months of the Sino-Japanese War, then as director of a Chinese Air Force flight school centered in Kunming.

[3] Chennault spent the winter of 1940–1941 in Washington, supervising the purchase of 100 Curtiss P-40 fighters and the recruiting of 100 pilots and some 200 ground crew and administrative personnel that would constitute the 1st AVG.

Ten more army flight instructors were hired as check pilots for Chinese cadets, and several of these would ultimately join the AVG's combat squadrons.)

"[9] They called Chennault "the Old Man" due to his much older age and leathery exterior obtained from years flying open cockpit pursuit aircraft in the Army Air Corps.

As a result, all communications between the two men were routed through Soong Mei-ling, "Madame Chiang" as she was known to Americans, and she was designated the group's "honorary commander."

[12] AVG fighter aircraft came from a Curtiss assembly line which had just started producing Tomahawk IIB models for the Royal Air Force in North Africa.

The Tomahawk IIB was similar to the U.S. Army's P-40C, but there is some evidence that Curtiss actually used leftover components when building the fighters intended for China, making them closer to the older P-40B/Tomahawk IIA specification - for instance the AVG aircraft had fuel tanks with external self-sealing coatings, rather than the more effective internal membranes as fitted to the P-40C/Tomahawk IIB, and the aircraft built for China lacked the later Tomahawk's fittings to carry a drop tank and the addition of an armor plate in front of the pilot.

[13] The fighters were purchased without "government-furnished equipment" such as reflector gunsights, radios and wing guns; the lack of these items caused continual difficulties for the AVG in Burma and China.

At Rangoon, they were unloaded, assembled and test flown by personnel of Central Aircraft Manufacturing Company (CAMCO) before being delivered to the AVG training unit at Toungoo.

[18] To gain full advantage, Chennault created an early warning network of spotters that would give his fighters time to take off and climb to a superior altitude before engaging the Japanese.

"[20] The AVG's first combat mission was on 20 December 1941, when aircraft of the 1st and 2nd squadrons intercepted 10 unescorted Kawasaki Ki-48 "Lily" bombers of the 21st Hikōtai attacking Kunming.

The Imperial Japanese Army Air Force (JAAF) formation was intercepted by the AVG and RAF Brewster Buffalos of 67 Squadron.

One unfortunate result of these missions was a prolonged air attack on a suspected Japanese column on 21 February that turned out to consist of Commonwealth troops.

Although the AVG and the RAF scored some successes against the JAAF, Magwe was continuously bombed, including a very heavy raid on 21 March by 151 bombers and fighters.

One of these was an attempt by a regiment of the Japanese 56th Division to drive for Kunming, an effort that was stopped by the Chinese army operating with strong air support from the AVG.

On 7 May the Japanese Army began building a pontoon bridge across the upper Salween River, which would allow them to move troops and supplies into China and drive towards Kunming.

To stem this tide, 2nd Squadron Leader David Lee "Tex" Hill led a flight of four new P-40Es bombing and strafing into the mile deep Salween River Gorge.

Some of the last missions the AVG flew were defending Guilin against raids by JAAF Nates, Lilys, and new Kawasaki Ki-45 Toryu ("Nick") heavy fighters.

In Flying Tigers: Claire Chennault and His American Volunteers, 1941–1942, Daniel Ford attributes the AVG's success to morale and group esprit de corps.

However, five pilots accepted commissions in China including "Tex" Hill, one of Chennault's most loyal devotees, with others remaining for a two-week transition period.

Scott brought recognition to his exploits and those of the Flying Tigers with his 1943 bestselling autobiography God is My Co-Pilot that was then made by Warner Bros. into a popular film in 1945.

The park is built on the site of Yangtang Airfield and includes a museum, aircraft shelters, and relics of a command post located in a cave.

The aircraft is believed to be that flown by William "Mac" McGarry when he was hit by anti-aircraft fire while flying top cover over Chiang Mai on 24 March 1942.

Toward the end of the war the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) arranged for the Free Thai Movement to spirit him out of the prison to a PBY Catalina in the Gulf of Thailand.

On 25 May 2005, an American organization seeking to document airmen lost in China during the war was warmly welcomed and helped by the local people.

Other wartime films with an AVG angle included The Sky's the Limit (1943, starring Fred Astaire as a Flying Tiger ace on leave); Hers to Hold (1943, with Joseph Cotten); God is My Co-Pilot, (1945, with Dennis Morgan as Robert Lee Scott, Raymond Massey as Chennault, and John Ridgely as Tex Hill); and China's Little Devils (1945).

[42] The two lead characters of the television series Tales of the Gold Monkey, Jake Cutter and Corky, were formerly members of the Flying Tigers, the former a pilot and the latter a mechanic.

[45] Tiger, Lion, Hawk, a novel for younger readers, was written by Earle Rice Jr.[46] The Star Wars reference book The Essential Guide to Warfare features an X-wing starfighter squadron named the "Lightspeed Panthers".

[50] The video game Starlancer features the 45th Volunteer Squadron, who after scoring a number of victories is given the name 'Flying Tigers' due to their similar beginning and fighting style.