Original Item: One of a Kind. Incredibly scarce WWII Chinese Pilot’s Jacket. Quite possibly worn by an American Aviator serving with the American Volunteer Group (AVG), also known as the “Flying Tigers”. This jacket features some incredible period applied artwork, consisting of a large rampant tiger,  Chinese characters, a Chinese Aviation Section Major’s Wing, and a full color Kuomintang Sun emblem painted on the back. The polished cotton lining also has some Chinese characters and the number “48” written inside. There is evidence that there was a tag sewn into the nape of the neck of the lining, but that is now missing. Jacket is cut similar to that of a British Battledress Jacket; Two pleated chest pockets, and an integral belt at the waist. Buttons are crudely fashioned from leather. The Jacket was secured via a zipper on the front, however, sadly, the zipper pull is not present. Jacket shows signs of heavy wear, but displays fabulously.
 
Included with the Jacket is a catalog packet from the Texas Museum of Military History. The Jacket was found in Texas in the early 1970s, and was most likely brought home by a member of the AVG.

Approximate Measurements:
Collar to Shoulder: 5”
Shoulder to Sleeve: 21.5”
Shoulder to Shoulder: 16”
Chest Width: 15”
Waist Width: 15”
Hip Width: 14”
Front Length: 22”

Development of Chinese Nationalist air force (1937–45): The Republic of China Air Force (ROCAF) was formed by the Kuomintang after the establishment of the Aviation Ministry in 1920. As tensions mounted between China and Imperial Japan in the 1930s, a number of smaller Chinese warlord airforce men (including Guangdong Provincial Air Force) and equipment became integrated into the ROCAF in a centralized effort to counter Imperial Japanese military ambitions.

During the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945), the ROCAF participated in attacks on Japanese warships on the eastern front and along the Yangtze river and interdiction and close-air support during the Battle of Shanghai in 1937. The initially Chinese front line fighter aircraft were mainly Curtiss Hawk IIs and IIIs and Boeing P-26Cs. These engaged Japanese fighters in many major air battles beginning on 14 August 1937, when Imperial Japanese Navy warplanes raided Chienchiao airbase; "814" has thus become known as "Air Force Day". Chinese Boeing P-26/281 fighters engaged Japanese Mitsubishi A5M fighters in the world's first dogfight between all-metal monoplane fighters. A unique mission in April 1938 saw two Chinese Martin B-10 bombers fly a mission over Japan, dropping only anti-war leaflets over the Japanese cities of Nagasaki and Saga. It was a war of attrition for the Chinese pilots, as many of their most experienced ace fighter pilots, such as Lieutenant Liu Tsui-Kang and Colonel Kao Chih-Hang, were lost. Six months into the war, which is considered the beginning of World War II in Asia, the Chinese Air Force inventory of frontline American Hawk IIs and IIIss and P-26Cs were superseded by faster and better armed Polikarpov I-15s and I-16s as support from the Soviet Union grew and American support faded.

Through attrition and loss of their most experienced fighter pilots in the first half of the Second Sino-Japanese War, the Republic of China Air Force ultimately suffered irreversible losses in combat against the Japanese, and by the beginning of 1942 the ROCAF was practically annihilated by Japanese aircraft, particularly with the introduction of the Mitsubishi A6M Zero. The ROCAF was eventually supplemented with the establishment of the American Volunteer Group (known as the "Flying Tigers") with heavily armed and armored Curtiss P-40 Warhawks, and subsequently rebuilt each year following Imperial Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor with new aid and vigor from the United States.

The Sino-Japanese War started on 7 July 1937. At that time, Chinese sources estimated the Japanese could field approximately 600 aircraft (from a total of 1,530) against China’s 230 combat aircraft. During the first phase up to 1939, aerial bombing of enemy bomber formations was tried with indifferent results, and leaflet-dropping raids carried out over Japanese cities.

The Japanese bombing raids were also fiercely contested, sometimes with significant Japanese losses. After suffering heavy losses in the Battle of Wuhan in October 1938, most air force units were withdrawn for reorganization and training.

The ROC Air Force was reconstituted into seven Groups, one separate Squadron and four Volunteer Groups. In 1939, after the USSR concluded a non-aggression pact with Germany, the Soviet Volunteer Group was withdrawn. By the end of 1941, the air force had 364 operational aircraft. Up to 100 of these were P-40Bs operated by the American Volunteer Group. U.S. replacement aircraft began to arrive in March 1942. They included A-29s, P-40s, P-43s, and P-66s, and in 1945 B-25 Mitchell, B-17 Flying Fortress bombers, and P-51B and -D fighters.

In 1944, the USAAF U.S. 14th Air Force commenced joint operations in the China theatre. By this time the Chinese Air Force was mostly equipped with current operational aircraft types and was superior in all respects to the opposing Japanese air forces which remained.