Aerial Engagements of The Second Sino-Japanese War - 1942

1942

By the time the American Volunteer Group was officially disbanded on 4 July 1942, the United States had entered World War II for nearly seven months. Claire Lee Chennault was recalled to active duty in the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF); he was promoted to Brigadier General to take command of the China Air Task Force (CATF), which was established on 14 July 1942 as a part of the 10th Air Force of USAAF. The 10th Air Force was activated on 12 February 1942 for operations in the China-Burma-India theatre of the war. Later in June 1942, Chennault was given the command of the 10th Air Force after the transfer of Commanding General Lewis Brereton to Egypt on 6 June 1942. The CATF included the four squadrons of P-40s of the 23rd Fighter Group and the 11th Bomber Group of B-25 Mitchells. Many of the fighter pilots in the CATF were former pilots of the Flying Tigers.

One of the aircraft contracts to be funded by the American Lend-Lease was to supply China with 125 P-43 Lancer fighter planes. In early 1942, shipments of the P-43s in crates to China via Karachi, India, began, and they included some Vultee P-66 Vanguard fighters planes. The 4th Air Group of the Chinese Air Force was selected to receive and ferry the P-43s from India to Kunming. Many were lost in test flights and ferrying accidents. By August 1941, according to Chinese sources, the Chinese Air Forces received 41 operable P-43s. The 4th Air Group was sent to Chengdu to train on the new P-43s, and joined in the defense of Chengdu by the I-15s of the 17th Squadron and I-16s of the 29th Squadron. During the first half of 1942, there were few combat operations by pilots of the Chinese Air Force.

As of 13 August 1942 Chennault's CATF had also received five P-43s with five more promised. At this time, the CAFT consisted of 56 operational fighters including P-40Bs, P-40Es and a few P-43s in four squadrons, namely 16th, 74th, 75th and 76th, and eight B-25Cs of the 11th Bomb Squadron at Kunming, Guilin, Hengyang and Yunnan. On 3 September, a P-43 flown by Lieutenant Martin Cluck of the 75th Squadron had to abort a reconnaissance mission with mechanical trouble, Japanese fighters attacked him at low altitude near the air base and riddled his P-43. Cluck landed safely and escaped from his aircraft but the P-43 was destroyed by Japanese strafing. One P-40 was also destroyed on the ground.

On 27 October 1942, 12 P-43s of the Chinese Air Force flying from Taipingsi, Sichuan, escorted nine A-29 Hudsons in a raid on Yungcheng, Shanxi. They destroyed one Japanese aircraft on the ground without suffering losses. In November, a mission of A-29 Hudsons was flown with escorts of P-66 Vanguards. In November, another bombing mission were flown escorted by P-43s. On 27 November, a bombing mission of A-29s was joined by the Soviet SB bombers; in this mission one A-29 and 3 SB bombers were lost due to bad weather. On 30 December three P-43s and six P-40s from the CATF on an escort mission to Lashio, Burma, the P-43s gave top cover to the P-40s, enabling the P-40s to claim one of the six Japanese fighters encountered.