23rd Fighter Group “Chennault’s Sharks”

Osprey Aircraft Elite Units series (2009)
128 Pages / 117 photos / 43 illustrations/ 1 map
$25.95
ISBN 978-1-84603-421-3
Purchase: Osprey Publishing

Famous for the fearsome “shark mouths” that adorned their planes, the 23rd FG fought a guerrilla war against the Japanese, steadily moving pilots and aircraft from one remote air base in China to another to keep the enemy off balance. Because China could only be supplied by air from India, there were constant shortages of aircraft, fuel and ammunition with which to contend. The 23rd FG met these challenges head-on, and by the end of the war its pilots had compiled a score of 594 aerial victories and nearly 400 ground kills. The human cost was high, however - 126 pilots lost their lives in China while serving in the 23rd.

“Carl Molesworth does a superb job of telling the story of the 23rd FG. His knowledge of the subject and access to former pilots and crews over the years has made this an outstanding book.” - Scott Van Aken, Modellingmadness.com