Quote:
Originally Posted by RodM
What would interest me, has anyone checked verifible bank records or official Chinese documents to see just how much money was paid out for claims to the AVG? I haven't read the books to be able to find out.
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Yes, that information is available in the Chennault Papers at Stanford, copies at the Library of Congress. It's not 100 percent consistent. The best estimate is evidently that the Chinese (that is to say, Central Aircraft Manufacturing Company) paid 294 combat bonuses for Japanese planes destroyed in the air or on the ground. See for example
www.warbirdforum.com/vics.htm
The CAMCO account evidently didn't include two victories attributed to AVG pilots after the official disbandment date. Also, there is some evidence that both Boyington and Hill were "officially" credited with one more aircraft than shows in the bonus accounts, while Bolster was credited with one fewer. See Ford, Flying Tigers, p. 388.
In any event, the answer to the question appears to be that CAMCO paid out $500 times 294 equals $147,000, cheap at the price.