CHENNAULT, Claire Lee Papers (1942-1945)

.4 cu ft

Call Nos. 42.041-34, 862.161A,B, 8162.289A, 862.317, 862.490-1, 862.662-1, 864.311

IRIS Nos. 00115227, 0268371-0268373, 0268521, 0258720, 0268741, 0268911, 0268979

Lieutenant General. USAAF, 1917-1945. Born in Commerce, TX. BA, Louisiana State Normal School, 1912. Air Corps Tactical School, 1931. Commissioned First Lieutenant, Infantry Reserve, November 1917; transferred to Aviation Section, Signal Corps, November 1917; discharged April 1920; commissioned First Lieutenant, Air Service, 1920. Career assignments include: various duties as company and field grade officer, 1920-1931; Senior Instructor in Pursuit Aviation, Chief of Pursuit Section, Air Corps Tactical School, Member, Air Corps Pursuit Development Board and Organizer, precision acrobatic team ("Three Men on a Flying Trapeze"), 1931-1935; Stations Operations Officer, Maxwell Field, 1936; Executive Officer, 10th Fighter Group, 1936-1937. Retired April 1937. Civil Advisor, China Air Forces, 1937; Organizer, "Flying Tigers" American Volunteer Group, 1941. Recalled to active duty, USAAF, April 1942. Commander, China Air Task Force and later Commander,Fourteenth Air Force, 1942-1945. Retired October 1945. Organizer, Chinese civil air transport system, 1946. Promoted to Lieutenant General, July 1958. Died in New Orleans, LA. Author of The Role of Defensive Pursuit (1935) and Way of a Fighter; the Memoirs of Claire Lee Chennault (1949).

Personal and official papers relating Chennault's World War II service. Includes Chennault's personal correspondence file (7 May 1944-21 May 1945) as well as official correspondence, messages, and memoranda (1942-1943) pertaining to operations with specific reference to activities against Japanese shipping (3-25 September 1944). Contains correspondence between Generals Chennault and Bissell. Also contains letters from Chennault to General Arnold covering summaries of activities (July 1944-January 1945). Includes Plan for the Defense of China (4 June 1944) and Plan for Air Operations in China. Also includes reports (letters) on China operations (4 September, 10 October and 17 December 1944). Contains Chennault's 201 File (1942-1945).

Related materials located in the Hoover Institution on War, Revolution and Peace, Stanford University (National Union Catalog Manuscript Collections, MS 68-655) include other personal papers.