Chinese-American Composite Wing (Provisional)

The Chinese-American Composite Wing (Provisional) (abbreviated CACW; Chinese: 中美空軍混合團) was a combined Chinese and American fighter and bomber unit that operated during World War II, from 1943 to 1945. The CACW was administratively part of the Fourteenth Air Force, United States Army Air Forces (USAAF), while its individual units were part of the Chinese Nationalist Air Force. The wing and its component groups and squadrons were each led by an American officer who was assisted by a Chinese officer as the deputy commander, and the other personnel were a mix of Chinese and American pilots and ground crew.

The CACW is also sometimes referred to as the "Flying Tigers," the famous nickname of the 1st American Volunteer Group that was disbanded in 1942, though they were separate units. The Fourteenth Air Force that the wing was part of was commanded by Claire Chennault, the founder of the original Flying Tigers.

After being formed in August 1943, the Chinese-American Wing's squadrons were individually trained at an air base in Karachi, India, before flying over the Himalayas to China and carrying out operations against the Japanese. During the Japanese offensives of 1944 and the 1945 campaigns, the CACW provided support to the Chinese National Revolutionary Army by attacking Japanese ground forces and their logistical infrastructure. In the final two years of World War II the CACW flew more missions than the rest of the Chinese Air Force combined.

The CACW was dissolved in September 1945, at which point its two fighter groups and the bomber group were transferred to the ROC Air Force Command. They went on to fight in the Chinese Civil War and later retreated to Taiwan in 1949, becoming part of the Taiwanese ROC Air Force. Today, the 1st, 3rd, and 5th Tactical Fighter Wings of the ROCAF trace their lineage to the CACW.