The 1st American Volunteer Group (AVG), nicknamed the 'Flying Tigers,' was a group of former U.S. military pilots who fought for the Chinese Air Force against Japan before the U.S. officially entered the war. Led by Claire Chennault, they were famous for the iconic 'shark mouth' nose art painted on their P-40 Warhawk fighters. Despite being outnumbered and undersupplied, they developed innovative 'hit-and-run' tactics to exploit the strengths of their heavy planes against more agile Japanese Zeros. In just seven months of combat, they destroyed nearly 300 enemy aircraft while losing only 14 of their own pilots in combat.