Flying Tigers: Anything, Anytime, Anywhere

A Story That
Began in China…

The roots of the airline begin with founder Robert W. Prescott’s tenure as a P40 combat pilot in an aerial fighter squadron lead by General Claire Chennault in 1941. More formally called the American Volunteer Group (AVG), these were volunteer air units organized by the United States government to aid the Nationalist government of China against Japan aggression prior to World War II. The men and women serving were more popularly known as The Flying Tigers. The AVG was disbanded once the war began and those personnel wishing to stay were absorbed by the newly created 14th Army Air Force. Prescott, already an ace, elected to return to America and spent some time flying for TWA. However, quickly bored, he returned to Asia and joined his old buddies to fly surplus C46 Commandos over the Himalayas for China National Airways Corporation (CNAC). Operations over the “Hump” proved to be an effective supply line which focused attention on the airplane as a freight carrier rather than as a war machine. Cargo and aircraft formally met on a huge scale for the first time in history. It is speculated that some time during the 300 humanitarian supply missions that Prescott flew, the seeds of innovation were sewn for the creation of a profitable cargo airline in the United States.