Was he the last Chinese 'Flying Tiger'?

China Radio International reports that the last surviving pilot in mainland China of the famous 'Flying Tigers' of World War II has died.

The last remaining heroic pilot of the famed Flying Tigers who lived on mainland China died on April 29 at the age of 92, Qilu Evening News reported on Wednesday.

Wang Yanzhou was the only former pilot on the Chinese mainland who flew with the 1st American Volunteer Group (1941-1942), which later became part of the Chinese-American Composite Wing (1943-1945), better known as the Flying Tigers - the most recognizable of any individual combat aircraft of World War II with their famous painted tigers' shark-faced planes.

Wang shot down five Japanese aircraft during the war.

. . .

Little was known of Wang's story because of his political background. He was a Kuomintang pilot captured by the People's Liberation Army (PLA) in 1946, after his fighter jet encountered navigation difficulties.

Wang became a pilot trainer for the PLA air force, but during the "cultural revolution" (1966-76), he was treated as an "enemy of the people" because of his political history.

There were 381 Chinese pilots in the Flying Tigers unit and most of them left for Taiwan with the Kuomintang after being defeated by the Communist Party of China (CPC).

Wang's war heroics were not recognized until 1983, when an official from the United Front Work Department learned of his situation and reported his case to the central government.

In 1984 at the age of 64, Wang got a certificate recognizing him as a retired leading revolutionary. He was given a pension of 3,000 yuan ($466) a month, which he said was enough for his daily needs.

There's more at the link.

Whilst the exploits of American volunteers in the 'Flying Tigers' are well-known in the Western world, very little attention has been paid to the fact that after the original unit was disbanded in 1942, its name was used by a successor unit in the Chinese theater of operations.  Many local pilots were trained to fly US combat aircraft, and did so alongside their American counterparts in operations against the Japanese.

Curtiss P-40B Warhawk fighters of the 'Flying Tigers' over China in 1942

(image courtesy of Wikipedia)

I'm not sure whether any Chinese members of the 'Flying Tigers' still survive on Taiwan;  but it appears that the last of them on the Chinese mainland has now gone to his reward.  Given his historical relationship with the US armed forces, I submit that Mr. Wang deserves to be recognized here as well as in his own country.  May he be remembered with honor.

Peter