PHOTO SIGNED BY THE LEGENDARY COMMANDER OF THE FLYING TIGERS

Classic 8 x 10 in. photograph of a uniformed Major General Claire Chennault (1893-1958) seated at a desk with pen in hand. Signed and inscribed in black ink at top left: "To M/Sgt. George B. Begandy, / with best wishes. / C.L. Chennault."

A veteran of WWI, Claire L. Chennault thereafter continued an ambitious and legendary career as a military aviator. His textbook, The Role of Defensive Pursuit (1935), detailed new fighter tactics in the ever-evolving realm of air combat. He retired from the U.S. Army in 1937, and soon after the outbreak of the Sino-Japanese War moved to China to train pursuit units of Chinese Air Force. There he recruited and led the famous American Volunteer Group, better known as the famed "Flying Tigers." Trained in Chennault's fighting techniques, the "Flying Tigers" would destroy 299 Japanese planes in the air and another 153 probables in their first six months. After the outbreak of WWII, Chennault was recalled to active duty in April 1942 and promoted to commanding general of the U.S. Air Force in China. He spent the remainder of WWII in this key combat role.

A desirable signed photo of one of America's most innovative and distinguished aviators.

[World War II, WWII, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Adolf Hitler, Axis, Allied, George S. Patton, Air Force, Navy, Naval History, War in the Pacific] [Manuscripts, Documents, Letters, Ephemera, Signatures, Autographs] [Photography, Early Photography, Historic Photography]