Remembering the Eagle Squadrons

Eagle Squadron symbol, from Churchill Memorial.

For more than a year before the United States entered World War II some of its young men violated the neutrality acts and went through Canada to enlisted in the Royal Air Force (RAF) to fight Germany alongside the British. That was 70 years ago this month.

During the Battle of Britain, the RAF accepted a few young American pilots, but the effort was not well organized. Nonetheless, eight Americans fought in the RAF during the Battle of Britain, most of them serving with No. 609 Squadron. At first incorporated into all British units, as more pilots volunteered for the RAF the British decided to organize three squadrons of Americans, the so‑called Eagle Squadrons.

The Eagle Squadron concept was first proposed by Charles Sweeny, a wealthy American in London, and was accepted by the Secretary of State for Air because of its public relations value. It conjured up images of a similar venture in World War I, the Lafayette Escadrille, and lent credibility to the role of Britain as a leader of an international coalition to defeat the Nazis. In antitipation of the flow of recruits from the United States, the RAF established Squadron No. 71, the first Eagle Squadron, at Church Fenton, 180 miles north of London in September 1940. The first men to join the squadron arrived on 19 September 1940: Eugene Q. Tobin, Los Angeles; Andrew Mamedoff, of Connecticut; and Vernnon Keough, Brooklyn, all ex‑patriots who had fought with the RAF in France and in No. 609 Squadron during the Battle of Britain. No. 71 Squadron’s first commander was Squadron Leader Walter Myers Churchill, an English pilot and war hero. During the fall of 1940 No. 71’s personnel continued to grow. On 7 November 1940 the first aircraft arrived for the squadron, nine Hawker Hurricanes, as well as several additional American volunteers.

Chesley G. Peterson

Among the new pilots was a tall, raw‑boned Utah native, Chesley G. Peterson, who would become one of the youngest aces of the war and would command the Eagle Squadrons after their incorporation into the United States Army Air Forces in 1942. I had the pleasure of conducting an oral history with Peterson in the mid-1980s and his story was fascinating.

In January 1941 Squadron Leader Churchill was placed in charge of an RAF wing and was succeeded by American William E.G. Taylor, who had fought with the British since early in the war. The RAF declared the squadron operational early in February 1941, and moved it to Martlesham Heath, some 65 miles northeast of London, for combat activities.

The RAF formed the second Eagle Squadron, number 121, in mid‑May 1941 at a Kirton‑on‑Lindsey base. RAF Fighter Command also appointed another Battle of Britain hero to lead No. 121 Squadron, Peter Powell, an ace with seven enemy planes to his credit. A third Eagle Squadron, number 133, was activated on 1 August 1941 and stationed near RAF Station Duxford, five miles south of Cambridge. Its British commander, Squadron Leader George A. Brown, had been associated with No. 71 Squadron and proved to be an exceptional commander. Both squadrons were equipped with Hawker Hurricanes. In August 1941 the RAF began swapping out the Hurricanes for the newer Spitefires in the Eagle Squadrons.

In all, 243 Americans fought in these three Eagle Squadrons while associated with the RAF. Almost one‑third of these men were killed in action during World War II. The Eagle Squadrons acquitted themselves ably in combat. No. 71 Squadron, for example, accounted for three Messerschmitt 109 fighters on its first combat engagement on 2 July 1941. Throughout the remainder of 1941 and most of 1942 the three Eagle Squadrons continued to serve in the RAF.

Digital Art by Kevin Jongen, representing a pair of Vb's of 71 "Eagle" Squadron. XR-C is Sqn Ldr Chesley Peterson's aircraft circa August 1942.

On the night of 7 December 1941, after they received news of the Pearl Harbor attack, representatives of the Eagle Squadrons visited the American Ambassader in London to offer their service to the United States Army Air Forces. While continuing to operate with the RAF, during the spring and summer of 1942 the Army Air Forces sent representatives to the Eagle Squadrons to gather information on tactics and organization and to lay the groundwork with the British for combined air operations against Germany. On 12 September 1942 the three Eagle Squadrons were incorporated into the Army Air Forces as the 334th, 335th, and 336th Fighter Squadrons. These units were combined into the newly activated 4th Fighter Group of the American Eighth Air Force. Although they first operated with Spitefires, in March 1943 the group transi­tioned to P‑47s and in April 1944 to P‑51s. The 4th Fighter Group served in combat in Europe from October 1942 through April 1945 and destroyed more enemy aircraft in the air and on the ground than any other fighter group of the Eighth Air Force.