Strana 46
Col. Ivan W. McElroy, CO of 80th FG, Tingkawk Sakan, Burma, 1944
Capt. Xu Hua-jiang, 7th FS, 3rd FG, Laohokow, China, January 1945
Ivan McElroy commanded the “Burma Banshees,”
as the 80th FG was nicknamed, in 1943 and
1944. The unit disrupted Japanese activities
along the famous Burma Road and throughout
northern Burma. On March 27, 1944, the 80th FG
intercepted a raid of 15 bombers and 25 fighters
and shot down all but one bomber without
suffering any losses of its own. After the war,
McElroy remained in service and held a number
of staff and command positions, including
deputy chief of staff for operations at US Air
Force headquarters. On his colorfully painted
aircraft, there is a somewhat mysterious spot
under the fuel filler cap, whose silhouette
somewhat resembles a ghost holding a bomb in
its outstretched hand. It appears differently in
various photographs. In some cases, it looks as
if the paint has been damaged and worn away
to the metal, while in others it appears to be
just a wet or greasy stain, but it is clear that it
has been sooted by the exhaust, so it must have
been on the aircraft for some time.
After the Americvan Volunter Group was
disbanded in early June 1942, its duties
were taken over by the China Air Task Force
(CATF) under the command of the former
AVG commander, Brigadier General Claire
Chennault. The CATF consisted of four fighter
squadrons with P-40s from the 23rd FG and
one bomber squadron with B-25s from the 11th
BG. After the formation of the 14th AF in March
1943, Chennault proposed the formation of the
Chinese-American Composite Wing (CACW).
Due to the low level of training of Chinese
pilots, it was decided to leave the command and
part of the pilot staff under American control.
The CACW began combat operations in October
1943 and by the end of the war had shot down
190 Japanese aircraft, destroyed 301 on the
ground, and also destroyed over 2,500 vehicles
or various facilities, as well as damaging many
bridges, roads, and railroad tracks. This aircraft
belonged to one of the Chinese pilots, and the
characters on the nose can be read as Tai-
Gong Ling, which means “under the command
of Tai-Gong.” Jiang Tai-Gong was a general in
ancient China (1100 BC) and is considered one
of their many deities by the Chinese. A number
of sources list Capt. Wang Guang-Fu as the pilot
of the aircraft, but according to the account of
the nephew of Xu Hua-jiang, it was his uncle’s
aircraft. Apparently, the then commander of the
7th FS, Maj. Reed, told him that it was customary
to decorate the aircraft with some personal
symbol and possibly give it a name. Xu recalled
a novel he had read as a child, which featured
the aforementioned legendary general, and
chose his name for his aircraft. However, it is
not entirely clear whether the inscription on the
nose was red or yellow. We have opted for the
yellow version.
KITS 08/2025
INFO Eduard46
August 2025