The last of the Chinese Flying Tigers has passed

 

Many of us know about the famous Flying Tigers - the First American Volunteer Flying Group (AVG) that fought in China against the Japanese in 1941-42.  What many do not know is that the AVG was disbanded in 1942, and was replaced by the 23rd Fighter Group of the US Army Air Forces.  Some of the AVG pilots were transferred to the new unit, and a number of Chinese pilots were assigned to it as well, to fly alongside them in combat.  (The 23rd Fighter Group exists to this day in the USAF, and is the only unit officially authorized to put the "shark teeth" motif and "FT" [Flying Tiger] tail code on its aircraft.)

Among those Chinese pilots was Chen Bingjing.  He was 24 years old in 1942.

According to a Chinese report (poorly translated into English), he died shortly before Christmas - the last surviving pilot of the World War II 23rd Fighter Group.

[He] reported to Hangzhou Bridge Air Force Officer School Issue 12. Of the more than 2,000 people who signed up, only more than 290 were admitted, but because of lack of equipment, he only went to the 12th Fighter Science Study of Kunming Air Force Officer School in Yunnan after graduating in 1939.

In 1942, the first 49 students of the 12th issue of Chen Bingjing and others were sent to the US Army Aviation Team Flight School in Arizona for flight training and returned to China in December 1942. The 25-year-old Chen Bingjing was divided into the 14th Air Force 23rd Team 75 Squadron in 1943 to become a warrant pilot. The 14th Air Force 23 Brigade is considered to be a Flying Tigers formation unit. The Chinese Air Force, who was transferred to the 14th Air Force with him, had 24 people. By 2015, only he was left.

While performing his mission in October 1943, he took off from the Kunming Wizard Dam and went to Vietnam for sea defense bombing Japan The fleet and warehouse fought against the Japanese zero-fighter, crashed after shooting down a plane, and were captured by the Japanese as prisoners of war. They were caught in Nanjing for 21 months.

He recalled at the Centennial School of Sumerian University in 2018. "The cruelty of the Japanese to Chinese prisoners of war is unimaginable. The jailer will hang us on wooden pillars late at night". Until the defeat of Japan in August 1945, Chen Bingjing was released from prison. He said that the Japanese army, Shaozuo, had his hands to hold Chen Bingjing and was replaced by a blood-stained flying jacket when he was imprisoned. He bowed 90 degrees to him and put the jacket on.

According to the Star Island Daily, after the victory of the anti-war, Chen Bingjing was transferred to the National Army Air Force [i.e. Taiwan] First Team (Air Transport Brigade) Staff in 1948, and transferred to the National Government Embassy in Canada as a trainee military officer in 1948. In 1949, Chen Bingjing went to the station to serve as the Ministry of Defense. In 1957, he served as a military officer of my embassy in the Philippines. In 1959, he retired as a lieutenant colonel in the Air Force.

There's more at the link.  Chinese speakers will find a video interview with Chen Bingjing here.  Sadly, no subtitles are available.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think Chen Bingjing may have been the last surviving Flying Tiger (the Chinese report isn't clear, but I don't know of any surviving American members of that unit).  If so, another link to our past has been taken from us.  May he rest in peace.

Peter