THE CNAC CHUNG
(1942 - 1949)

(From Wings Over Asia Vol 1) THE CHUNG by W.C. McDonald, Jr. In the latter part of July 1942 General Chennault sent CNAC a message, urging us to adopt an insignia and put it on all our planes to help the 14th Air force pilots in identification. Captain Sharp called in Z.M. Wong, Y.Y. Zee and me and directed us to get this job done immediately. After considerable discussion our CHUNG was born. We painted the CHUNG on all our aircraft in short order, so advised General Chennault and sent him photographs of our planes with this character on them. I believe it is fitting to include the story of the CHUNG in this first issue because it is this symbol which saved many of us from being shot down by Allied pilots and because it has also played a vital role in keeping the CNAC Association together. CHUNG is a Chinese character which means "in the middle of" or "the center," or, as applied to our CNAC aircraft, "MIDDLE KINGDOM SPACE MACHINE FAMILY." The CHUNG has adorned many CNAC aircraft: DC-3's, C-47's, C-53's, C-46's and DC-4's. Its real claim to fame is the thousands of flights it made with precious cargo over the Himalayas. It has also flown the Pacific and around the world and is still "in the center" of the hearts of CNAC people. If you would like to share any information about the CHUNG or would like to be added to the CNAC e-mail distirbution list, please let the CNAC Web Editor, Tom Moore, know. Thanks!

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