In 1941, a secret team of pilots known as the Flying Tigers crossed the Pacific Ocean on Dutch vessels posing as farmers, ...

The Flying Tigers were a mercenary group of pilots from the United States who flew combat missions against the Japanese armed forces which had invaded free China in the late 1930s and early 1940s.

Eighty years ago this week, a small group of American aviators fought in their first battle in World War II. Their mission was unusual: They were mercenaries hired by China to fight against Japan.