THE WHITE TIGERS / SALAMANDER

OPERATIONAL POLICIES RESTRICTED CLASS-5

UEE PUBLIC RECORDS….ACCESS GRANTED

“A ship is always safe at shore, but this is not what its built for.” – Albert Einstein

THE WHITE TIGERS WAS CREATED IN MEMORY OF BOTH THE INFAMOUS WHITE COMPANY AND THE ICONIC FLYING TIGERS.

The White Company was one of the most infamous of the so-called “free companies”—bands of for-profit soldiers who conducted the lion’s share of warfare in 14th century Italy. The unit first rose to prominence in the 1360s when thee White Company became known as one of the most elite mercenary armies in Italy. Its troops (a cultural hodgepodge of English, German, Breton and Hungarian adventurers) were renowned for their skill with the longbow and the lance, and they terrified opponents with their lighting-quick surprise attacks and willingness to do battle during harsh weather or even at night. In an era when Italy was splintered between warring city-states and medieval lords, the men of the White Company made a killing auctioning their services off to the highest bidder. Between 1363 and 1388, they fought both for and against the Pope, the city of Milan and the city of Florence, but they were rarely out of the field even during times of peace. In fact, when unemployed, the adventurers often kept their coffers full by launching raids on nearby villages and towns.

The Flying Tigers were a famed three-squadron force of fighter pilots who fought with the Chinese against the Japanese during World War II. The unit (officially known as the American Volunteer Group) was first organized in early 1941 in the months just before the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Eager to impede the Japanese takeover of China while still remaining neutral, President Franklin D. Roosevelt allowed former U.S. military officer Claire Chennault to quietly recruit fighter jocks from the ranks of the U.S. Army Air Force. The risks were high, but so was the pay.
Around one hundred American contract pilots arrived in Burma in mid-1941, where they were assigned to protect a crucial supply road from Japanese attacks. The Flying Tigers—famous for the iconic rows of shark teeth painted on the noses of their P-40 fighters—went on to rack up an unprecedented combat record. Despite flying slower, less maneuverable fighters than the enemy, the Americans downed 296 Japanese aircraft and destroyed more than 1,300 riverboats, all while only losing 69 planes and some two-dozen men.

TRANSMISSION ENDED….