This Gladiator was assigned to the 28th Squadron of the Air Force of the Republic of China. On June 16th, 1938, it was flown by Lieutenant Teng Chung-Kai when he and eight other Gladiator pilots attacked six G3M bombers over Xixin at 11,000ft. Three of the Japanese aircraft were destroyed, and the other three were damaged. Two Gladiators were lost, but their pilots - Kwan Yensun and Shen Mu-Hsiu - survived, albeit with injuries. On August 2nd, 2809 was modified by mechanics of the 32nd with an armoured seat, the armour being taken from an unflyable Soviet aircraft. The next day, 2809 was flown by the commander of the 28th, Major Chin Tsui-Tin, who is better known in the west as Major Arthur Chin. 52 Chinese fighters - 20 I-15s, 13 I-16s, 11 Gladiators, and 7 Hawk IIIs - had been scrambled to intercept 70 Japanese fighters headed towards Hankou. Major Chin and his 7 Gladiators, as well as 3 I-16s, were at 12,000ft west of Hankou and suffering from hypoxia when 30 A5Ms dove on them, separating the Gladiators and I-16s. Louie Yim-Qun, who later reached the rank of general, was attacked by several A5Ms, but was protected by Major Chen and Shen Mushiu*. Lieutenant Fan Hsin-Min went to the aid of one of the I-16s, but was attacked by an A5M. Fortunately, Major Chin was able to clear his tail, but was attacked himself - with bullets impacting the freshly-installed armour - before he could down the A5M. With three A5Ms attacking him, Major Chin was badly damaged, and he was only just able to exert enough control over it to ram one of his attackers. Despite hitting his head, Major Chin was able to bail out. After landing, he was presented with one of the guns from his destroyed Gladiator. He was later visited in the infirmary by General Claire Lee Chennault, a fellow American, to whom he offered to exchange the machine gun for a new aircraft.

Lieutenant Teng Chung-Kai was killed in action on November 4th, 1939, when he was shot down while defending the airfields of Fenghuang Shan and Wenjiang. He was reportedly a likable man, and achieved 2 solo victories, 1 enemy aircraft damaged solo, 2 shared victories, and 1 enemy aircraft damaged solo.

Major Arthur Chin survived the war, in large part due to the selfless bravery of his wife, Eva Chin. After being shot down near Nanning on December 27th, 1939, and enduring several days lying in a rice paddy with severe burns, Major Chin was incapacitated by his wounds and blinded by his bandages. Mrs. Chin took care of him and their two children, Gilbert Chin and Steve Chin, at their home near Liuzhou airfield. When Japanese bombers approached, Mrs. Chin ensured that her children were in a shelter, then rushed to her husband's aid. As the sound of exploding bombs grew closer, Mrs. Chin shielded her husband's body with her own, and was killed by shrapnel. Major Chin later said 'I held her body to mine until help came.'

Major Chin and his children were in Hong Kong when it fell to the Japanese, but they were able to escape and return to the USA. After fully recovering from his injuries, Major Chin flew supplies from India to China over 'the Hump' with the Chinese National Aviation Corporation. He met another CNAC employee, Vivienne Yang, who he went on to marry. They had a son together, Matthew Chin. On February 24th, 1995, Major Chin was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal by the US government, and is now recognised as the first American fighter ace of WWII. He passed away on September 3rd, 1997, at the age of 83. He is credited with 8 solo victories, 2 enemy aircraft damaged solo, 1 shared victory, and 1 enemy aircraft shared damaged.

Lieutenant Fan seems to have survived the war, sharing in the destruction of one enemy aircraft and damaging two more.

General Louie, who was born in Seattle, USA, also survived the war. However, his wife, WASP Hazel Ying Lee, was involved in a collision caused by heavy air traffic on November 23rd, 1944, and she died in hospital two days later. Three days later, her brother, Technician 5th Grade Victor Ying Lee, was killed in action while serving with the 607th Tank Destroyer Battalion of the US Army in France. The death of his wife seems to have affected General Louie greatly, and he reportedly became reclusive.

He rose to become Deputy Chief of the General Staff in the Ministry of Defence of the Republic of China (Taiwan) before retiring in 1974, and became chairman of the board of China Air Lines until 1978. He passed away on October 19th, 1999, at the age of 84 or 85. He achieved 3 solo victories and 2 shared victories.

Sources:

http://surfcity.kund.dalnet.se/china_deng.htm

http://surfcity.kund.dalnet.se/china_chin.htm

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Chin

https://www.faa.gov/sites/faa.gov/fi...rthur_Chin.pdf

http://surfcity.kund.dalnet.se/china_hsin-min.htm

http://surfcity.kund.dalnet.se/china_louie.htm

*Possibly the same man as the aforementioned Shen Mu-Hsiu, but with his name misspelt in the source at one point.

This download also includes a generic Chinese Air Force Gladiator with no tactical markings.

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