VANDENBERG AFB - A World War II-era fighter plane perched on a pole serves as, a monument, not to the aircraft but to the people of the original Flying Tigers, and as a reminder to their modern-day counter-parts.

The full-size model P-40 Warhawk sits in front of a Vandenberg Air Force Base building that houses 14th Air Force Headquarters.

The monument, made up of a model P-40 on a pole sitting in a base of flat bricks with a plaque nearby, cost $165,000.

"Lest we forget, it is not the airplane that we are honoring because America does not win its wars with its equipment and its technology)". Maj. Gen. William R. Looney III, 14th Air Force commander, said during Tuesday's dedication ceremony. "It wins its battles with its people. What we are honoring and commemorating today are the Flying Tigers of World War II and all that they did for this great nation."

Sixty years ago, Chiang-Kai-Shek went to President Franklin D. Roosevelt, seeking help dealing with the Japanese aggression against China, according to Looney. Although the United States hadn't yet entered the war, Roosevelt ordered that 100 P-40 Warhawks, which were destined for the United Kingdom but rejected as being obsolete, instead be sent to China. There the aircraft would be used by a secret unit known as the American Volunteer Group and led by Gen. Claire Chennault. They had 100 pilots plus a maintenance crew of 200.

"Together, this band of Americans in an outclassed and outperformed aircraft took on the Japanese. A few years later, this group achieved a 20-to-1 kill ratio," said Looney. He added they were able to destroy nearly 300 Japanese aircraft and lost only eight pilots - a ratio that has never been achieved by any unit since.

After Pearl Harbor and America's officials entrance into the war, the volunteer group became 14th Air Force and continued to rack up incredible numbers.

"How did they do it? They did it through courage, tenacity, determination and an innovative spirit," said Looney. That same enthusiasm, patriotism and spirit runs through the souls of today's

Flying Tigers, he said. Modern-day Flying Tigers are responsible for launching rockets and controlling satellites

Like their predecessors from World War II, the 21st Century 14th Air Force also faces significant challenges, Looney said. "We have the challenge of taking America to space and exploiting it for its full potential for not only our good, but for the good of the world in a positive and caring way that makes life better for all."

"This replica of the first weapon -think of it, the first weapon of the 14th Air Force on exhibit here at Vandenberg for all to see - should continue the memory for many years of the vintage Tigers, their service in China and to the P-40," said Clifford Long, 14th Air Force Association president.

Both before and after the dedication ceremony, vintage Flying Tigers posed for pictures in front of the model, sometimes with modern-day counterparts.

"It brings back a, lot of memories:' said Santa Maria resident Ernie Estes. ‘This was only thing we had had when I first got there."

"I worked on a lot of these old puppies)' said Bruce Carnahan of Glendale.. "They're a very strong airplane."

"Brings back good times and bad times)' added Hal Fenton of Rancho Palos Verdes.

About the P-40

(from Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation)

Curtis P-40: Nicknamed Warhawk and Tomahawk

· Wing span: 37 feet 3~S inches

· Length: 33 feet. 4 inches

· Max Level speed: 375 mph

· Range: 240 miles

· Vandenberg’s P-40: A replica, made by a Southern California prop manufacturing firm; the monument is made out of sheet metal and plastic glass. it's perched on a 14 foot tall pole in front of the Headquarters Building, across from the Pacific Coast Club on Nebraska Avenue.

On April 16, 2001 a replica of General Bruce Holloway's Curtiss P-40 Warhawk was dedicated to the Fourteenth Air Force and the "Flying Tigers", at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. 

The Plaque above reads

This aircraft is dedicated to all the Past, Present, and Future "Flying Tigers," 
those who blazed a path of glory in the China Skies in World War II,
and those who blaze a path of glory into space.

The Curtis P-40
saw action on every front throughout WW II but gained lasting fame
through the exploits of Claire Lee Chennault’s
American Volunteer Group (AVG) – "The Flying Tigers."

As inheritors of the flying legacy, Fourteenth Air Force fighter crews adopted
the famous Tiger Shark mouth motif seen here. This is a replica of the P-40E
flown by Bruce Holloway (1912-1999), who commanded the 23^d Fighter Group
of the 14^th Air Force in World War II. Holloway finished the war with thirteen
confirmed kills, tying him as the leading P-40 fighter ace in 14^th Air Force.

In addition to the P-40, 14^th Air Force crews in China-Burma-India (CBI)
theater flew a variety of aircraft with distinction, including the B-25 Mitchell,
the B-24 Liberator, the P-38 Lightning, the P-51 Mustang, and the P-47 Thunderbolt.

Brief History of the 14th Air Force

The record of the 14^th Air Force in China remains one of the brightest pages in Army Air Force (AAF) history. In 1937, Claire L. Chennault, a retired Army Air Corps captain, accepted the gigantic task of reorganizing Chiang-Kai-Shek's Air Force. From the onset of the Sino Japanese, Chennault repeatedly called for U.S. aid to China in the form of airplanes. Despite opposition by Generals Marshall and Arnold, a secret executive order from President Roosevelt (April 1, 1941) permitted Chennault to recruit volunteers among active duty personnel. A group of volunteers, 100 pilots and 200 ground crew members formed the American Volunteer Group (AVG) and proceeded to Burma. At same time, 100 crated P-40s rejected by the British as obsolete, were secretly sold and shipped to China. For 14 months in Toungoo, Burma, the pilots were personally trained by Chennault, who knew how to elicit positive performances by both the pilots and the P-40 Tomahawks. An achiever with an insatiable urge to win, Chennault lead his volunteers to the highest ratio of victories to losses of any aerial combat team in the world.

To enhance esprit de corps, aircraft noses were painted to symbolize the grinning mouth, flashing teeth, and evil eye of the tiger shark, feared at the time by the Japanese to be sinister and evil. Subsequently, a Chinese newspaper, in an article about the AVG, referred to the American fliers as "fei hu" -- Flying Tigers, which rapidly caught on worldwide. Fighting against numerically superior forces, the AVG compiled one of the greatest records of the war. Between December 18, 1941, and July 4, 1942, the AVG was credited with the destruction of as many as 286 Japanese aircraft. In sharp contrast, the Flying Tigers had only eight pilots killed in action.

Upon expiration of the AVG contract, and with the US firmly into the war, Chennault was recalled to active duty in the rank of Brigadier General as the AAF moved into China. The AVG was redesignated the China Air Task Force (CATF), a unit under the Army Air Corps, and carried on as the Flying Tigers under the command of Brig Gen Chennault.

The Curtiss P-40 Warhawk remained the primary fighter aircraft used by the Flying Tigers throughout the war. P-40 pilots used swift diving tactics to maximize the P-40's capabilities in countering the superior maneuverability of the Japanese Zeros. The P-40 was ruggedly constructed with armor and self-sealing fuel tanks. It was ideally suited for low-level attack.

The primary element of the Chinese theater was supply. After the primary land supply route was cut off in 1942, the volume of cargo still getting through was too small to support all the troops in the theater. The Flying Tigers were plagued by a constant lack of spare parts and there were never enough troops to load bombs and service the aircraft. Pilots would often be seen working alongside mechanics and armorers to prepare planes for combat. Since Chennault's rations of fuel, ammunition, and spare parts were delivered at the end of the supply line, they were always scarce, which heightened the need for mission success and left little room for error.

Chennault was responsible for the air war over the entire Chinese theater, but the primary mission of the CATF was to defend the southern and eastern approaches to the dangerous air supply route from India over the towering Himalayan mountain range to China.

Subsequently, as AAF numbers grew in China and a visit to Kunming by AAF Chief "Hap" Arnold in March 1943, the 14" Air Force was established by special order of the President. Chennault continued as the commander and was promoted to Major General. The 14"' Air Force conducted effective fighter and bomber operations along a 5,000 mile front from Chunking and Cheng Tu in the west to Indo China in the south; from the Tibetan Plateau in Burma to the China Sea and Formosa in the east. The Tigers eventually grounded the Japanese Air Force as the war came to a close.

Chennault's record of achievements, unparalleled in the annals of World War II, boasted a courageous air strategist who produced a fighting force in spite of continuous obstacles. From a hand full of obsolete aircraft and less than 200 men he built the 14"' Air Force into a world-class force of 20,000 men and 1,000 airplanes. The Flying Tigers of the 14th Air Force were responsible for the destruction of more than 2,100 Japanese planes, the sinking of 2,135,489 tons of enemy shipping, and 59,450 enemy casualties. On July 8, 1945, Gen Claire Chennault requested relief from active duty and retirement from the AAF just days before the surrender of Japan. As he accepted Imperial Japan's surrender on the deck of the battleship MISSOURI in Tokyo Bay, Gen Douglas MacArther asked "Where is Chennault?"

After inactivation in January 1946, the reactivated 14"' Air Force served Air Defense Command, Continental Air Command (CONAC) and the Reserve until l960. Inactived for six years, the 14"' Air Force became part of Aerospace Defense Command (ADCOM) in 1966. In 1968, the ₁₄ih Air Force was inactivated and on the same day assumed the functions of ADCOM's Ninth Aerospace Defense Division and became the 14^th Aerospace Force (AEROF), the first command dedicated to space surveillance and tracking.

The 14 AEROF mission performed a major portion of the CONAC space defense responsibilities. The Space Defense Center located at Cheyenne Mountain and operated by the 14 AEROF served as a command post for a global network of electronic and optical sensors that detected, tracked, and identified all man-made objects orbiting the earth. The primary detection and tracking network was the USAF SPACETRACK system. Also turned over from AFSC to ADGOM, were tile Balli₅tic Missile Early Warning System and the Sea Launched Ballistic Missile System with sites located around the world. The 14 AEROF also maintained the 10th Aerospace Defense Squadron which provided launch services for AFSC at Vandenberg AFB, with a subordinate unit at Johnston Island in the Pacific.

On October 8, 1976, the first space age of the 14 AEROF ended when the unit was redesignated as 14 AF (Reserve) at Dobbins AFB, Georgia, where it managed airlift resources for the Military Air Command. Eventually, it was transferred from the Reserve to the Air Mobility Command fulfilling the same airlift mission. On July 1,1993, the ₁₄ih Air Force returned to its former space role and the Flying Tigers became a NAF for Air Force Space Command responsible for performing space operations

As the only space NAF, the 14th Air Force mission is space operations including space launch from the Atlantic and Pacific coasts, satellite control, missile warning, space surveillance, with the overall goal of ensuring the warfighters are supported by the best space capabilities available. The 14th Air Force consists of two launch wings (the 30th Space Wing at Vandenberg AFB, CA and the 45th Space Wing and Cape Canaveral AS at Patrick AFB, FL), one missile warning wing (21s1 Space Wing at Peterson AFB, CO), and one satellite control wing (50th Space Wing at Schriever AFB, CO). In the Fall of 1997, the 14th Air Force opened its permanent Aerospace Operations Center (AOC) at Vandenberg AFB for the 24-hour command and control of all space operations resources. From controlling the World War II frontier in China, the 14th Air Force Flying Tigers now act as the Air Force component of US Space Command, responsible for controlling the final frontier - space. The 26,000 people of the 14th Air Force work around the clock to ensure space capabilities play an effective role in the success of military operations in both war and peace. The Flying Tigers - a proud past and a brilliant future.