Saga of CNAC #53

Hanks, Fletcher (Signed)

Published by Privately Printed, Oxford, Md, 2004

About this Item

A very nice copy, warmly inscribed and signed by Hanks. Hanks was a pilot and Captain with the Flying Tigers during WW II. "The Eastern Shore native flew 347 runs for the China National Aviation Corp. to supply the Nationalist Chinese army in its war with Japan. Now, Hanks hopes to find in the jungle the sites of crashed planes. "He notes that CNAC pilots made as much as $2,500 a month - about what it cost back then to buy a house in Oxford. He came home from the war to the waterfront village where his ancestors settled in the 1600s, then he patented a hydraulic harvester that jump-started the Chesapeake Bay's soft shell clam industry. The invention landed him an appearance on television's What's My Line? show." - Baltimore Sun "The Flying Tigers, officially known as the First American Volunteer Group, were American pilots who fought in the Chinese Air Force during World War II between 1941 and 1942. They are best known for popularizing the shark?s-mouth design frequently painted American military aircraft. In addition, their now-famous unit insignia of a winged Bengal tiger was designed by the Walt Disney Company. "The commanding officer of the Flying Tigers, Claire L. Chennault, was a retired captain from the Army Air Corps who was working in China as an advisor to the Chinese Air Force when the Second Sino-Japanese War broke out in 1937. The Chinese Generalissimo Chiang Kai-Shek quickly hired Chennault to lead the training of Chinese fighter pilots. "Chennault was able to resist Japanese attacks for two years with planes donated from the Soviet Union, but at last in 1939 Japanese forces overwhelmed Chinese defenses and destroyed most of the Chinese Air Force. In 1940 Chennault traveled to Washington, D.C. to buy aircraft and recruit pilots to fight for the Chinese. Realizing the potential dangers of China being defeated by the Japanese, President Roosevelt agreed to allow American pilots to resign from the military in order to go serve in the Chinese Air Force?at this point the United States had not officially entered the war against the Japanese and wanted to maintain an appearance of neutrality." - PAE Trade paperback. Square tight binding. Clean interior. Mild edge wear to wraps.

Seller Inventory # 13132

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Saga of CNAC #53
• Publisher: Privately Printed, Oxford, Md
• Publication Date: 2004
• Binding: Soft cover
• Edition: 1st Edition.
• Condition: Very Good
• Signed: Signed by Author(s)
• Seller catalogs:
  • WW II
  • Aviation
  • History
  • Maryland