Word: chennault
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...Tigers. "We beat the Zeros with our P-40s; but if we had Zeros and the Japs P-405, we would change our tactics and still beat them," Chennault has said...
...boasting, but with the assurance of experience and of deep, intelligent study, Chennault taught his early pilots to minimize the P-40's disadvantages and utilize its advantages : greater fire power, heavier armor for pilot and fuel, sturdier construction, a much higher diving speed. He also insisted on using a tight, flexible and ecomical two-plane formation. He discouraged dog-fighting by individual pilots. Essence of his teaching: hit hard, hit precisely, hit as a team...
When the U.S.A.A.F. in China was in its infancy, Chennault personally conducted operations from the ground, throwing flights into the air at the exact time and place for perfect interception of Jap forces. With more bombers and fighters now, he concentrates on overall tactics, shifting his planes in a pattern as intricate as a ballet. The Japanese, hitting back from their Formosa, Hankow, Canton and Indo-China bases, have learned much from their two years of combat with Chennault...
...complete master of mobility, Chennault ducks and weaves with his air force until he gets at least equality in numbers in a given area, and then throws everything he has at the Japs. He stays awake nights planning new tactics, or studying combat reports to search for Jap weaknesses. The next morning he will be at his well-worn maps, talking about what he could do here & there if he had a few more planes...
After six years in China, Chennault is as American as a baseball bat. With eyes narrowed and cheeks twitching, he can discuss the quickest way to kill in battle and the next moment, leaning back in his chair and puffing contentedly on his pipe, tell of his longing to return to Louisiana and shoot ducks. He talks incessantly about his family of eight children, is openly proud of the fact that five of his six boys are in service. His ever-present companion is a dachshund, Joe, a veteran of the China air lanes. He likes...