As the AVG and their British Allies were forced to retreat away from Burma at the end of April 1942, their Japanese pursuers gave chase.
On May 7th, the Japanese Army began building a pontoon bridge across the upper Salween River, which would have allowed them to move troops and supplies into China and push towards Kunming.
Historically, 2nd Squadron Leader David Lee “Tex” Hill led a flight of four AVG P-40Es into the Salween River Gorge to check the Japanese advance and destroy the bridge. Over the span of four days, the AVG would fly almost around the clock, and the Japanese army would never advance any farther into China.
Flying Tigers: Shadows Over China compresses this four day timeframe into a single mission, and understandably so. It’s one of the most exciting moments of the short campaign, even if I did have some difficulty hitting the broad side of a mountain with a bomb.