American Volunteer Group Colours and Markings (Osprey Aircraft of the Aces No 41) [Paperback]

Terrill Clements (Author), Jim Laurier (Illustrator)

Book Description

Series: Aircraft of the Aces | Publication Date: December 25, 2001

The American Volunteer Group, or 'Flying Tigers', have remained the most famous outfit to see action in World War II. Manned by volunteers flying American aircraft acquired from the British, the AVG fought bravely in the face of overwhelming odds in China and Burma prior to the US entry into World War II. Pilots such as 'Pappy' Boyington, R T Smith and John Petach became household names due to their exploits against the Japanese Army Air Force. The AVG legend was created flying the Curtis P-40 Tomahawk and Kittyhawk. This volume dispels the myths surrounding the colours and markings worn by these famous fighters.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Osprey's Aircraft of the Aces series combines full colour artwork, the best archival contemporary photography, and first hand accounts from aces to bring history's greatest airborne conflicts to life.

About the Author

Terrill J. Clements has devoted much of his adult life to researching the AVG, its aircraft and pilots, since leaving postgraduate studies in Lincoln, Nebraska. Now a resident of Seattle, Washington, his work on the ‘Flying Tigers’ is undoubtedly one of the most thoroughly researched, privately-published, documents in print.

Product Details

• Paperback: 96 pages
• Publisher: Osprey Publishing (December 25, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1841762245
• ISBN-13: 978-1841762241
• Product Dimensions: 7.2 x 0.2 x 9.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,145,220 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fulfills its title and more, February 11, 2002

By 

Stephen Fedor (Richmond, New Hampshire United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: American Volunteer Group Colours and Markings (Osprey Aircraft of the Aces No 41) (Paperback)

Here's a first rate addition to the literature on the original Flying Tigers.

It's exactly what the title promises, a thorough treatise on AVG colors and markings. Surprising how much these varied. As such, it's an excellent reference for those who like to know what those historic planes looked like. Note that this volume is listed in the Osprey Ace series, probably due to its picturing many of the a/c flown by ace pilots. Incidentally, the profile art is among Osprey's best, showing camo colors in scale effect (not full strength as in paint color chips) with realistic rendering of wear and tear on those well-used planes.

The text on such a subject could be dull. Not this one.

The author's long standing association with AVG veterans not only led to his expertise on the subject, it yielded many anecdotes and observations. These warm the text with the human element as well as adding bits of history.

Even tho' AVG history in general could be over-exposed, I'd expect that the freshness of the original material in this work will surely add up to heightened appreciation for this justly famous and prideful group.

The Osprey website says another volume on AVG Aces is in the works.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars long awaited, much needed, February 26, 2002

By 

Daniel Ford (at danford dot net) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: American Volunteer Group Colours and Markings (Osprey Aircraft of the Aces No 41) (Paperback)

Osprey books are the greatest, though they're a bit pricey. The color plates are magnificent. (Incidentally, the cover shown here on Amazon isn't the actual cover of the book. The spelling of "Volunteers'" has been cleaned up, and the actual painting shows the collision of Parker Dupouy's Tomahawk with the Ki-43 Hayabusa flown by Lieutenant Okuyuma of the Japanese army 64th Sentai.) In this case, they're supplemented by many black-white photographs, most of them taken by the late R.T. Smith, including some never published before.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Friendship between ROC and USA, March 20, 2002

By 

Samuel Hui (Taichung, Taiwan, ROC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: American Volunteer Group Colours and Markings (Osprey Aircraft of the Aces No 41) (Paperback)

I am a AVG fan from Taiwan, the Republic of China!! The history of the American Volunteer Group showed us the friendship between our two nations. The Cutriss P-40B(C)/Hawk-81A Tomahawk and P-40E Kittyhawk were really beautiful!! I can tell you the P-40s flown by AVG were the most colorful aircrafts in the history of the Republic of China Air Force. I decide to translate this book into Chinese for AVG fans in Taiwan!!