Product Description

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.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #711869 in Books
• Brand: Osprey Publishing Limited
• Published on: 2007-10-23
• Released on: 2007-10-23
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Dimensions: .0" h x .0" w x .0" l, .0 pounds
• Binding: Paperback
• 96 pages

Review
"It provides the usual content of these Aces books, with a detailed description of Griffon Spitfire operations, illustrated with a huge selection of photographs of not just the aircraft, but also the men who flew them."- Scale Aircraft Modeling (July 2008)

"Andrew Thomas' American Spitfire Aces of World War II surveys the first Spitfire volunteers and the development of units which began flying Spitfires to gain fame during the ear and joins others in Osprey's 'Aircraft of the Aces' series..." -California Bookwatch (December 2007)

"Author Andrew Thompson does a fine job of telling this little-known story about US Spitfire aces... A book that I found to be a superb read and a great reference. I'm sure you will as well." - Scott Van Aken, modelingmadness.com (October 2007)

About the Author
Andrew Thomas is one of Britain's most pre-eminent RAF researchers, having published numerous squadron histories. He is presently a serving officer in the RAF. The author lives in Sleaford, UK.

Customer Reviews

A Winning Combination - Yanks in Spits!
Almost all WWII American aces flew U.S. aircraft to reach 'five down and glory' status. The exploits of the two dozen Yank pilots to make ace while flying Spitfires is told in this entertaining, informative book by Andrew Thomas, #80 in Osprey's 'Aircraft of the Aces' series.

The select band of U.S. Spitfire aces either flew Spitfires as regular members of RAF squadrons or were assigned to American units such as the 4th, 31st and 52nd Fighter Groups which were initially equipped with Spitfires, a case of lend lease in reverse! Included in the former group were pilots like Lance Wade, Claude Weaver and John Lynch. The latter group boasted aces like Frank Hill, Harrison Thyng, Jerry Collinsworth and Sylvan Feld. Other pilots like Don Blakeslee, 'Dixie' Alexander and Don Gentile claimed their initial kills in Spits before scoring the magic fifth kill in other aircraft.

Thomas relates the combat exploits of this disparate group in an engaging style; he's one of Osprey's better authors. I especially appreciated the numerous first-hand accounts of dogfights he included in the book. The text is illustrated with over 100 black and white photographs of the pilots and their 'kites' along with eight pages of nicely done color profiles by Chris Davey.

An interesting subject well-presented; definitely a five-star effort.

From Britian to North Africa, they covered it all.
Starting with the early Spitfire models, the American air group, known as the 'Eagle' squadron, suffered heavy losses in 1940 and 1941. But with newer models of the Spitfire later in the war, the Americans steadily gained the upper hand.
The book starts with the first Americans to join British squadrons, (Later flying for the USAAF), in Britian, then in North Africa.
These Americans fight in Britian, North Africa, Corsica, Malta, Sicily and then Italy.
With well drawn, (as always), color plates of Spitfires.
This book has pilots like Donald Blakeslee, John Lynch, Dale Shafer, Lance Wade, Jerry Collinsworth and more.
I found this book very informative, with 85 pages of pictures, color plates and information on aces.
I have bought 10 Osprey books for far, and have liked or loved every one of them.
This book has another 5 stars from me.