| Kaoschallenged | 09 Dec 2012 12:49 p.m. PST |
American pilots in the Battle of Britain. "This study determines the extent of American pilot participation as members of the Royal Air Force flying in the Battle of Britain. It also examines the recruiting mechanism by which the Americans became involved in the war and documents their contributions as combat pilots during the battle itself. Research reveals that, while many American citizens were recruited to fly for Britain during the summer of 1940, only six Americans are known to have actually participated in the Battle of Britain, fought between 12 August and 15 September 1940. These men not only demonstrated America's determination to support her allies, but materially contributed to Britain's cause by destroying two and one half enemy aircraft, probably destroying five others, and damaging two more during their brief RAF careers." PDF link |
Tin Soldier Man  | 09 Dec 2012 2:12 p.m. PST |
Is that like remaining neutral until December 1941 "demonstrated America's determination to support her Allies"? |
| Kaoschallenged | 09 Dec 2012 3:25 p.m. PST |
Perhaps he should have said "his cousins across the sea"?  |
| jowady | 09 Dec 2012 4:31 p.m. PST |
Is that like remaining neutral until December 1941 "demonstrated America's determination to support her Allies"? Or you know providing lend-lease, sharing intelligence on things like the Bismarck, providing loans for arms and armaments and food, escorting convoys halfway across the Atlantic, you know, useless stuff like that. |
| 14Bore | 09 Dec 2012 5:37 p.m. PST |
I knew there were a few from reading my massive volume of Airwar which I haven't re-read in a long while. |
| Desert Rat | 09 Dec 2012 8:03 p.m. PST |
…contributed to Britain's cause by destroying two and one half enemy aircraft, probably destroying five others, and damaging two more… I thought Ben Affleck shot down half of the Luftwaffe… |
| BattlerBritain | 10 Dec 2012 3:19 a.m. PST |
That was on his Sunday afternoon off though. |
| SJDonovan | 10 Dec 2012 4:54 a.m. PST |
'The Few' by Alex Kershaw is an excellent book about the handful of American pilots who joined the RAF and fought in the Battle of Britain:
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| GarrisonMiniatures | 10 Dec 2012 8:50 a.m. PST |
Actually we pretty much paid for all the help we got in gold, leasing you overseas bases and a debt thst was only paid off a few years ago…… |
| Kaoschallenged | 14 Dec 2012 12:18 p.m. PST |
"The Battle of Britain: The American Connection
This story has appeared in WW II History Magazine"
link |
| Kaoschallenged | 16 Dec 2012 3:41 p.m. PST |
How the Battle of Britain
brought America into the war PDF link |
| number4 | 26 Dec 2012 8:30 a.m. PST |
The United States had no formal alliance with the British Empire in 1940, and had no obligation to send her young men overseas to die baling out foreign empires for the second time in two decades. Actually we pretty much paid for all the help we got in gold, leasing you overseas bases and a debt thst was only paid off a few years ago… Payment was actually only 10% of the value and interest free – this token charge had to be levied because Congress had not authorized outright gifts of war materials. An interest free repayment schedule, deferred to the end of hostilities and then spread over 50 years seems pretty generous to me. link And those naval bases (which will revert to British ownership although there is no longer a Royal Navy to use them), allowed Britain to redeploy it's naval assets to active theaters of war while Uncle Sam defended them for free. |
