Three Eagle Squadrons flew for the RAF, in the fall of 1942 these Americans were transferred to the US Eighth Air Force. It was not a marriage made in heaven. This is a novel about this transition, the men and their women.
Nine young Americans spent the Summer of 1940 in England. It was no vacation, one of them died fighting with the RAF. It was the Battle of Britain. Men from all over the British Commonwealth, Europe, and North America joined together in the RAF to fight Germany and its Lufwaffe. So many Americans joined, that an Eagle Squadron was formed by the RAF. By the middle of 1941, there were three Eagle Squadrons. They formed their own Wing, serving in the RAF until the fall of 1942. They were transferred to the US Eighth Air Force, which did not seem to know what to do with them. They flew Spitfires, Mark 5b
models because the US had nothing for them to fly. They used English equipment and ate British food, because that was what was availible. Some of them had British wives or girlfriends, many of the British lads were dead or
overseas. They flew their missions and suffered their loses. The Spring of 1943
brought a new aircraft, the P-47. Since this aircraft was nearly twice as heavy
as their Spitfires, there was little joy in the 4th Fighter Group. New title and a new aircraft, which was more acceptable when it was found to be much faster
then thier Spitfires! So began a new era for the Eagles.
I'm assuming this is historical fiction based on fact. If not, forgive me. If it is history, it certainly is something that should be preserved in books like this. The last remaining survivors of that era are rapidly leaving us, so it's important to get their stories down before they are all gone.
My uncle, 98 and still healthy, joined the U.S. Army Air Corps in 1941 and served 20 years, leaving as a major and an Air Force consultant for another 10 years. For some reason, he didn't fly until after the Air Force, but has built experimental aircraft and flown them. He also surprised me when he told me that during World War II he never went overseas. That changed during Korea and Vietnam, where he was a consultant to the South Vietnamese Air Force.
