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In late 1941, before the United States has entered World
War II, Jim Gordon leads a team of American pilots who have volunteered
to help the Chinese people fight off their Japanese attackers. Jim
despairs at the losses his outnumbered men sustain, but is supported by
his right-hand man, Hap Davis, and his sweetheart, Red Cross nurse
Brooke Elliott.
Desperate for more pilots, Jim goes to Rangoon, in Burma,
where he is approached by Blackie Bales. Jim turns down Blackie's
request to join his group, who are known as "The Flying Tigers," because
Blackie once caused the death of another pilot through his drunken
negligence. Blackie's wife Verna pleads with Jim, telling him that
her husband is no longer a drunk and needs to regain his self-esteem.
Jim decides to take a chance on Blackie, and also enlists Alabama Smith
and Woody Jason, a grandstanding daredevil who has quit a Chinese
airline.
Back at the base, Woody makes it clear that he is only
interested in the money the pilots receive for shooting down Japanese
fighters, and that he cares nothing about the war. Woody's
attitude alienates the other pilots, especially as he ignores the usual
teamwork procedures. Meanwhile, Blackie proves that he has
reformed, and his fellow pilots accept him as a friend.
One afternoon, the squadron goes up after the base is
bombed, and Blackie's plane is hit. Blackie is forced to bail out,
and Woody, intent on racking up another kill, does not protect him after
he opens his parachute, resulting in Blackie's death when a Japanese
pilot shoots him. Woody insists that he could not have saved
Blackie, and Jim grudgingly allows him to stay.
Soon after, the men are notified that they must begin
continuous day and night reconnaissance patrols. Jim splits the
squadron up into two teams, and when he is forced to ground Hap, whose
depth perception has been growing worse, he appoints Woody as his
second-in-command.
One night, Woody persuades Brooke to go out with him, and
the pair sneak off base. Woody does not return in time for the
night patrol, and Hap, trying to cover for Woody, goes up in his place.
Hap's sight problems are his undoing, however, and he is killed while
protecting Jim's flank. Jim orders Woody to leave in two days, but
his departure is forestalled when they learn of the Japanese attack on
Pearl Harbor. Colonel Lindsay orders Jim to attack and destroy a
crucial bridge across a canyon, along which the Japanese are sending
supplies. Devastated by Hap's death and wrongly believing that
Brooke loves Woody instead of him, Jim volunteers for the suicide
mission. Woody sneaks aboard Jim's plane, which is loaded with
nitroglycerin, and tells Jim that he has grown up, and wishes to carry
on with the fight. Jim allows him to go along, and does not notice
that Woody is wounded when they are attacked by anti-aircraft guns after
blowing up the bridge. A supply train has gotten through, however,
and after Jim puts on a parachute, Woody pushes him out of the plane and
dives into the train, destroying it, as well as himself.
Later, Jim reconciles with Brooke and passes on Woody's
silk scarf to new recruit Barrett to inspire the youngster. |
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