Military Model Scene

Title: Nine Lives of the Flying Tiger, Vol.1
Author: Albert Grandolini & Marc Koelich
Publisher: Helion & Co
ISBN: 978-1-915070-59-3

Vol 1: America's Secret Air Wars in Asia 1945-1950, number 43 in the Asia @ War series from Helion & Co. A 96-page soft-cover book.
This is just the first part of what I think is among the most interesting stories about the post-WW2 story of what can best be described as clandestine air operations in the Far East. The Flying Tigers, the action of the American Volunteer Group (AVG) during the war against the Japanese during their war against China, is quite widely known, and was in support of the Nationalist Chinese government. The AVG was not the end of his involvement in the Far East for Claire Lee Channault. This moves his story on as he was behind the operation of Civil Air Transport (CAT), a civilian airline which operated in China after WW2, supporting the Nationalist Chinese in their civil war with the Communists. The book tells their story amidst the context of the events in China during the immediate post-WW2 period. The pilots, the personalities, the politicians in Vietnam and America, the wider politics of Vietnam, USA, Russia, China, Laos, Thailand and so on. The operation of the airline was alongside the combat aircraft of the Chinese Nationalists, and we see an interesting mix of aircraft, mostly ex-American but also some surviving Japanese machines left over after the end of WW2. Gradually the Nationalists were pushed off the mainland, to the island of Taiwan, and the move of CAT to be based in Taiwan. The airline operated as a commercial business, as well as assisting the Nationalist military. By 1949/50, CAT was in severe financial difficulty and it was only saved by the US Government, via the CIA, decided it was in their national interest for the CIA to buy CAT, and that brings us to the end of this first volume.
Aside from the story itself, the book is heavily illustrated with some excellent archive images, plus maps and the usual centre section of colour artwork with what I found to be a very interesting selection of aircraft types, including plenty of examples of the C46 transport among them. I found the story itself interesting to read for all the different elements involved, while simply for the aviation enthusiast and modeller there is a lot to like i this one.
Thanks to Helion & Co for our review copy.

Robin