MILTECH - An A-10C Warthog appeared at Moody Air Force Base (AFB) playing a heritage song that commemorates the first American Volunteer Fighter Group (AVG), also known as the "Flying Tigers", which flew in during World War II, and one of the group. Pilots in particular, Charles R. Bond Jr.
An image of the newly upgraded aircraft was released on February 8 by Col. Russell "Bones" Cook, commander of the US Air Force 23rd Wing, is based at Moody AFB in Lowndes County, Georgia. The 23rd Fighter Group, part of the 23rd Wing, consists of combat-ready A-10C units, the 74th Fighter Squadron and the 75th Fighter Squadron, as well as the 23rd Operations Support Squadron. From the engine cover seen in the photo above, it looks like the A-10 is attached to the 74th Fighter Squadron.
Mirrors are often used to inspire memorable color schemes. There are other A-10s that have had such a life, including examples in the Vietnam War of Southeast Asia that belonged to the Warthog Demonstration Team of the US Air Force, which you can read more about in the history of the past Regional Wars.
As mentioned, the livery chosen for the 23 Wing's A-10 is similar to the camouflage scheme seen on the Flying Tigers' World War II Curtis P-40C Warhawks - a dark tan and green variant. Operational between 1941 and 1942, the first Flying Tigers included pilots of the United States Army Air Corps, Navy, and Marine Corps. Three armies were assigned to defend China against the Japanese army. These American soldiers are part of the Republic of China Air Force.
Along with the overall color scheme, the 23rd Wing's A-10 features details specific to Flying Tigers ace Charles R. Bond Jr.
For one, it sports the distinctive "Adam and Eve" logo on the Bond No. 5 P-40C, which can be seen below in photos taken at Moody AFB. Here, Adam and Eve are represented in a green apple surrounded by snakes. As the Air Force Heritage Flight Team points out, this is a bit of a reference to Eve chasing Adam as the "first pursuit", and the original Flying Tigers were the pursuers.
A P-40N Warhawk at the Cavanaugh Flight Museum in Addison, Texas, which has an example of the Bond War-era P-40C No. 5 paint scheme, clearly showing the "Adam and Eve" logo on the underside a.
In addition, the new A-10 livery clearly displays the number "5" in reference to Bond No. 5 P-40C, pictured below.
The reference to Bond is also very good because, according to the Air Force Heritage Flight notes, he was among the first, along with Erik Shilling, to bring the shark tooth pattern to the Flying Tigers - the Commonwealth's P-40s in South Africa. the first to play sharktooth. In recent years, A-10s attached to the 23 Wing have become synonymous with the sharktooth beak design, while other A-10 units feature snakehead and warthog beaks. Charles R. Bond Jr. entered the aviation cadet program in 1938 and was commissioned and received his pilot's wings in 1939. After that, in 1941, he volunteered with the Flying Tigers. According to his Air Force biography, Bond is credited with the destruction of nine Japanese planes while flying with the Flying Tigers, being promoted to the rank of pilot, and shot down twice. in war. . He was awarded two Chinese medals: the Five Commandments of the Cloud Banner and the Wing of Seven Stars Medal.
Moody's 23rd Fighter Group inherited the mission from the disbanded Flying Tigers in July 1942. Five officers, five pilots and 19 crew members of the Flying Tigers became members of the new 23 Fighter Group when it was formed. The group adopted the nickname Flying Tigers, with a flying tiger as its logo. The 23rd Fighter Group still carries the Flying Tigers logo to this day.
While the Flying Tiger mission continued with Moody's 23rd Fighter Group, Bond joined the Army Air Corps in October 1942, eventually attaining the rank of major general. There you have it, a new look from the early days of the 23rd Fighter Group. It is a fitting tribute to the original pilots of the Flying Tigers and Charles R. Bond Jr., whose story continues to inspire A-10 pilots in the 23rd Fighter Group today. You did well!
0 Comments