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| Signatures on this item | |
| *The value given for each signature has been calculated by us based on the historical significance and rarity of the signature. Values of many pilot signatures have risen in recent years and will likely continue to rise as they become more and more rare. | |
| Name | Info |
 Brigadier General Wiltz Segura (deceased) *Signature Value : £50 (matted) | After combat training with the Army Air Corps in 1943, Wiltz Segura joined the Flying Tigers in China, serving with the 75th Fighter Squadron/ 23rd Fighter Group. Glying over 102 combat missions he was twice shot down by ground fire but managed to parachute from his disabled P-40 and evade capture by the Japanese. He finished the war with 6 air victories. General Segura was born in 1921 in New Iberia, La., where he graduated from New Iberia High School in January 1940 and attended Louisiana State University and the University of Southwestern Louisiana prior to entering the Army Air Corps in 1942 as an aviation cadet. He received his flying training in the Southeastern Training Command and graduated at Craig Field, Ala., with a commission as a second lieutenant in the Army Air Corps and his pilot wings in April 1943. He then attended a three month fighter transition training at Sarasota, Fla. Sadly, he died on 9th April 1999. |
 Captain Ronald M Phillips *Signature Value : £25 | 23rd Fighter Group Flying Tigers pilot. Ron Philips was drafted a few months after Pearl Harbor, graduated from the Airplane and Engine School in Glendale, Caligornia and began training as a pilot. Commissioned in 1943 he was posted to the 23rd Fighter Group - The Flying Tigers - and part of the 14th Air Force. Arriving in Kweilin in the summer of 1944 he flew with the 118th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron - the Black Lightnings - the fourth squadron of the 23rd Fighter Group, equipped with P-51 Mustangs. |
  Colonel Charles Older (deceased) *Signature Value : £70 | Charles Herman Older, born on 29 September 1917 in Hanford, California, graduated from the University of California in 1939 with a degree in political science. No the 1st April 1940 Charles Herman Older joined the Marine Corps for flight training, he received his wings and commission at Pensacola. Resigning from the Marine Corps in 1941 to join the A.V.G., Chuck Older took part in the great 'Christmas' air battles over Rangoon shooting down 5 Japanese aircraft. With 10.25 victories to his credit he joined the 23rd F G when the A.V.G. was disbanded, flying P-51s. He led the first strike against Shanghai resulting in the destruction of 77 Japanese aircraft. He completed the war with 18.25 air victories. After leaving the Air Force Colonel Chuck Older obtained a law degree from the University of Southern California and subsequently became a superior court judge in Los Angeles, California. He gained prominence as the presiding judge in the Charles Manson mass murder trial in 1970-71. Charles Older died on the 17th June 2006. |
 Colonel Ed Rector (deceased) *Signature Value : £50 (matted) | Born 28th September 1916, Ed Rector originally flew dive bombers off carriers before being recruited into the A.V.G. flying with the 2nd Squadron. Ed Rector was one of the five pilots who volunteered for continuous service in China after 4th July, 1942 and joined the 23rd Fighter Group. He returned to China later for a 2nd tour of duty. He had a total of 10.5 air victories. He died on 26th April 2001. |
 Colonel Robert T Smith (deceased) *Signature Value : £50 (matted) | R T Smith was a flight instructor in the US Army Air Corps when he resigned his commission in July 1941 to join the AVG. Flying first as a wingman and then as a Flight Leader he took part in the great air battles over Rangoon on 23rd and 25th December 1941, and was credited with 8.66 air victories with the Flying Tigers. Recommissioned into the USAAF he flew a further combat tour in P-51s and commanded a squadron of B-52s. After the war he became Vice-President of the Flying Tigers Line in the Far East. Robert T Smith passed away on 21st August 1995. |
  Colonel Tex Hill (deceased) *Signature Value : £75 | Tex Hill was born in Korea on 13th July 1915. Tex Hill graduated as a Naval Aviator in 1939, and after serving as a Navy Pilot, Tex Hill volunteered for the A.V.G., becoming Squadron Leader in the 2nd Sqn (Panda Bears) until disbandment in 1942, by which time he had 12.25 air victories, making him the second highest ranking Ace in the American Volunteer Group. He remained in China, as the first squadron commander of the 75th F S /23rd F G before returning to the U.S. He went back to China to command the 23rd F G, increasing his total to 18.25 victories. In late 1943 he led a group of 30 aircraft on the first strike against Formosa. During this mission, 42 enemy aircraft were confirmed destroyed, with a possible 12 more, while all 30 aircraft under Tex Hill's command returned safely. Returning to the US, he commanded the 412th Fighter Group, the first jet aircraft group. Here, he flew P-80 Shooting Stars and YP-59 Airacomets. His decorations include a Distinguished Service Cross, Silver Star, Legion of Merit, 4 Distinguished Flying Crosses, 2 Air Medals, 2 Presidential Unit Citations, 6 decorations awarded by China, and a Distinguished Flying Cross from the UK. Sadly, Tex Hill died on 11th October 2007. |
  Flight Leader Dick Rossi (deceased) *Signature Value : £65 | Dick Rossi was born in 1915 in Placerville, California. He entered the Navy for flight training in the fall of 1939 and soon became a Flight Instructor at Pensacola. Dick responded to the allure of adventure and resigned his Navy commission in 1941 to join the AVG. Serving with the First Pursuit Adam & Eves squadron, he engaged in his first combat mission over Burma in January 1942. Most of his missions were flown over Rangoon, although he was also assigned detached duty for the 2nd and 3rd squadrons as well, serving under all three AVG squadron commanders. His last AVG mission was flown over the East China front in July 1942, by which time he had achieved an official tally of 6.25 confirmed kills. After the AVG, Dick flew for CNAC and spent much of the remainder of the war flying critical supplies over The Hump. By wars end, he had flown this perilous route over 735 times. Since the war, Dick Rossi has been involved in many various aspects of aviation and has carried on the AVG legacy, speaking worldwide and serving many years as President of the Flying Tigers Association. He died April 17th 2008. |
 Flight Leader Erik Shilling (deceased) *Signature Value : £55 | Erik Shilling was amongst the first volunteer pilots with the A.V.G. Although credited with only one air victory, Erik flew many dangerous photo missions in his P-40 modified for vital camera work, which included the removal of 4 of his machine guns. In 1942 he joined the China National Airways flying 700 round trips over the Hump. He died 19th March 2002. |
  Gen. Charles R. Bond (deceased) *Signature Value : £50 (matted) | Bond was born in 1915 in Dallas, Texas. His military career began in the Texas National Guard, and he was commissioned in 1939 at Randolph Field, Texas. His first assignment was flying B-17s based at Langley Field, Virginia. During this period, he participated in one of the first good-will flights to South America in 1939. After joining the AVG, he was assigned to the Adam & Eves, and recalls being the first to introduce the painted shark mouth motif on AVG P-40s. One of the Tigers great aces, he was credited with shooting down three Japanese aircraft in one mission in the defense of Rangoon. While serving with the AVG, Bond was shot down twice, and was ultimately credited with 8.77 victories. In 1942, Barld rejoined the U.S. Army Air Corps and began teaching combat skills to new pilots. A year later he served as an Ambassadors aide in the U.S. Military Mission to the U.S.S.R. in Moscow. In 1949, Bond graduated from Texas A&M with a degree in Management Engineering. He then completed nearly 20 years in military leadersnip positions throughout the United States, Europe and Far East. After serving as Commander 12th Air Force, USAF, he retired with at the rank of Maj. General in 1968. Sadly, Charles Bond passed away on 18th August 2009. |
 Lieutenant Wayne G Johnson *Signature Value : £25 | 23rd Fighter Group Flying Tigers pilot. Whitey Johnson enlisted in the Air Corps on 8th December 1941, the day after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, and trained as a fighter pilot. After completing training he was posted to China to join the 23rd Fighter Group - The Flying Tigers - where he flew with the 188th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron. He was one of the sixteen P-51 Mustang pilots who participated in the first strike against Japanese airfields near Shanghai, where they destroyed 97 planes on the ground without any losses. |
 Lt Colonel Don Lopez (deceased) *Signature Value : £35 (matted) | In October 1943, Don was assigned to the 75th Fighter Squadron/ 23 F G Flying Tigers, in Hengyang, China, and was soon in the thick of the fighting, scoring a victory in his very first air combat. he completed his tour in 1945 as Squadron Operations Officer, having scored 5 air victories. He later became Deputy Director of the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum in Washington. |
 Major General John Alison (deceased) *Signature Value : £35 (matted) | John Alison served as Assistant Military Attache in England and later Russia. His first combat tour was with the Flying Tigers in China, serving with the 23rd F G where he became an Ace. He returned to China for a 2nd tour as Commander of the 1st Air Commando Force and led the glider assault carrying General Orde Wingate's forces behind enemy lines in Burma. He finished the war with 8 victories. Sadly, John Alison passed away on 6th June 2011. |
 Squadron Leader Bob Neale (deceased) *Signature Value : £45 (matted) | Bob Neale was the top scoring ace of the American Volunteer Group, with 15.5 air victories - a remarkable record in such a short period of combat. An ex navy pilot, Neale had volunteered for action in April 1941, and by the time he took command of the 1st Squadron (Adam and Eves) he had built a reputation as a fierce competitor in the air. After the fall of Rangoon, Bob Neale became Chennault's right hand man, directing most of the AVG's field operations. Following disbandment he joined American Export Airlines and flew between New York and Ireland. |
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Rossi, Dick 
(signed in person)
Rossi, Dick 
(signed in person)
