American Spitfire Aces of World War 2 (Aircraft of the Aces)
Andrew Thomas
Language: English
Pages: 96
ISBN: 1846032024
Format: PDF / Kindle (mobi) / ePub
The first few American volunteers flew Spitfires with the RAF during the Battle of Britain. Many more joined their ranks, often posing as "Canadians", eventually forming three Eagle squadrons who earned a fierce fighting reputation. When the United States entered the war the Eagle fighter sections were issued with Spitfires and eventually transferred to the Eighth Air Force. In just two years of service with the USAAF, 22 pilots claimed five or more victories flying the Spitfire, whilst a further two dozen aces claimed part of their total flying them, a testament to their skill and success at the controls of this legendary warbird.
Discover the experiences of a variety of American aces in their own words through first-hand accounts, interviews and combat reports, in a thrilling read that transports the reader from the Battle of Britain to the deserts of North Africa to Fortress Europe itself.
Empire Lost: Britain, the Dominions and the Second World War
No Easy Mission (Maddox, Book 3)
Primo Levi: The Matter of a Life (Jewish Lives)
The Americans on D-Day: A Photographic History of the Normandy Invasion
Metz 1944: Patton's fortified nemesis (Campaign, Volume 242)
Fighter. On 16 March 1943 the 4th FG's remaining Spitfires were officially taken off operations and stored in the 336th FS dispersal, although most of them continued to fly with the latter unit until the end of the month due to shortage ofP-47s. The 4th FG, flying the Thunderbolt and later the Mustang, went on to become the most successful US fighter group in the ETO in terms of the number of aerial victories it claimed. Although Spitfires no longer served as operational fighters with the USAAF.
Dove for the deck. My No 4 man, Lt Aitken, called the break for my section, and I broke right and down and got onto the tail ofone ofthe aeroplanes. Mter two short bursts the Me 109 caught fire and crashed in flames.' The unit's Spitfires then fought numerous engagements over Tunisia during the next week, and on 2 December one of the 52nd FG's most distinguished future aces opened his account. Capt 'Vince' Vinson of the 2nd FS described how he downed an Fw 190 west ofBizerte; 'I gave the enemy.
West end of the runway was directly south of our tent. 'I watched him take-off, and as soon as he got offthe ground and picked up his wheels, he did a slow roll. He remained low and did a 180-degree left hand turn. He came back parallel to the runway, between our tent and the runway, and started another slow roll. He fell out of this one right before my eyes. His left wing hit the ground and the aeroplane crashed and burned furiously. Lance had no chance. The Spitfire V he was flying was used.
Until it crashed into a small hill. The share was the American's first success. 1944 had ended well for No 442 Sqn, and the New Year also began in spectacular fashion. The squadron was airborne when the Luftwaffe launched its massive attack on Allied air bases at dawn, and just west of Venlo its pilots encountered around 40 enemy fighters. The squadron shot down a number of them, with two Focke-Wulfs falling to Pieri, who also damaged two more. On 18 March he joined No 412 Sqn at B 88 Heesch, and.
- he shared another probable too. The following day, Flt Lt Don Blakeslee, who, somewhat reluctantly, had recently transferred to No 133 Sqn, claimed his second victory when he shot down an Fw 190 of 2./JG 26, flown by Ltn Rahardt. m ):> G"') r m C/) o < m ::0 m Z G"') r - - - - - - DIEPPE BATTLE - - - - - - ):> Z The first taste of real action for the USAAF Spitfire groups came on 19 August, when the 31 st FG formed part of the fighter cover for the large-scale raid on the French.