The Few: The American "Knights of the Air" Who Risked Everything to Fight in the Battle of Britain
The Few tells the dramatic and unforgettable story of eight young Americans who joined Britain's Royal Air Force, defying their country's neutrality laws and risking their U.S. citizenship to fight side-by-side with England's finest pilots in the summer of 1940-over a year before America entered the war. Flying the lethal and elegant Spitfire, they became "knights of the air" and with minimal training but plenty of guts, they dueled the skilled and fearsome pilots of Germany's Luftwaffe. By...
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The never-before-told story of the American pilots--idealists, adventurers, romantics--who joined the RAF before America entered the war in order to fight Hitler and save Britain Richmond Times-Dispatch Brings the thrills and terrors of pre-computerized air combat strikingly to life.
Acknowledgments xiThe Fall of FranceSoldiers of Fortune 3The Ace of Spades 21Prelude 27Duel of EaglesPer Ardua ad Astra 51The Burning Blue 69First Blood 81The Channel 91Tally-Ho! 111That England Might Live 121The Narrowest MarginHuns in the Sun 139Achtung! Spitfeuer! 149The Blitz 165Their Finest Hour 173Last FlightsHorrido! 193The Eagles 203Dawn Patrol 223Epilogue-They Shall Not Grow Old 235The "Few" 239Battle of Britain 241Notes 245Bibliography 279Reader's Guide 289Index 293
\ From Barnes & NobleWe can now think of them as premature war heroes, but at the time, the American pilots who flew for the Royal Air Force before Pearl Harbor were ignored, dismissed as thrill-seeking Yankees, or castigated as a national nuisance. American ambassador Joseph Kennedy, viewing these mavericks as a threat to U.S. neutrality, tried to get them deported. But these "Knights of the Air" persisted, shooting down several fearsome German aces, and became national heroes in Great Britain. A rousing story for war buffs, well told by Alex Kershaw.\ \ \ \ \ American Profile"A stirring tale of adventure and derring-do that will make your spirits soar." -- 1/22/07\ \ \ Daily HeraldThoroughly researched, deeply touching, and compellingly well-written.\ \ \ \ \ Richmond Times-DispatchBrings the thrills and terrors of pre-computerized air combat strikingly to life.\ \ \ \ \ Roanoke TimesKershaw's attention to detail allows us to experience the dogfights and bombings...and appreciate the indomitable English spirit.\ \ \ \ \ St. Petersburg TimesOne of the most affecting short histories I have read in many a month.\ \ \ \ \ Publishers WeeklyWith his customary narrative drive, Kershaw (The Bedford Boys: One American Town's Ultimate D-Day Sacrifice) spotlights the handful of American pilots who joined the Royal Air Force and its fighter squadrons during the Battle of Britain. They have been overshadowed by or confused with the better-known Eagle Squadrons, which formed in the autumn of 1940 with the tacit consent of the U.S. government. Kershaw's "few" were a vanguard, enlisting individually to operate the British Spitfire planes as early as May 1940, when England stood alone and her odds of survival seemed long. Crusaders and adventurers, the pilots ignored U.S. neutrality acts to fight from a mixture of principled opposition to Nazism, vaguely defined Anglophilia and sheer love of air combat at a time when it still seemed glamorous. Scattered by ones and twos among different squadrons, each had his own story, which Kershaw admirably contextualizes within the climate of the Battle of Britain. Using personal vignettes to convey the extraordinary routines of life in the cockpits, in the squadrons and in England, Kershaw evokes the heroism of these pilots, only one of whom survived the war whose tide they helped turn. (Nov.) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.\ \ \ \ \ KLIATTThe Battle of Britain, which thwarted Nazi Germany's thrust to overrun the British Isles, was a major turning point of WW II. It also proved full of intense combat and human drama. Not surprisingly, numerous accounts have since been written of the duels between Spitfires, Messerschmitt 109s and Heinkel bombers in the skies over Southeastern England. This one, written by a best-selling author of popular history, is well suited to a generation now far removed from that combat epic. It is hard to play down the exciting spectacle of desperately outnumbered pilots flying their beautiful and deadly fighter planes, saving their nation from invasion and handing Adolph Hitler his first defeat. Like most who write about those days, Kershaw doesn't even try to restrain himself. What saves this book from being just another rehash, though, is the author's skillful portrayal of the handful of American pilots who fought alongside "The Few." US Neutrality Laws and the policies of the Roosevelt Administration forbade Americans from taking part in the European conflict, yet numbers of young men risked losing their citizenship by slipping into Canada, learning to fly, and making their way to a beleaguered Britain. Only seven of them were in time for the Battle of Britain, but they triumphed and died in the same proportion as their British comrades. Later, the battle won, fresh numbers of Americans were assembled into the famed Eagle Squadrons and fought the Germans until America finally joined the war. There's lots of excitement in this book along with much inevitable tragedy. Sharply drawn personality profiles help to bring those days home to readers to whom WW II is the stuff of a long-forgotten age.While written essentially for adults, interested YAs should have no trouble following the action. Age Range: Ages 12 to adult. REVIEWER: Raymond Puffer, Ph.D. (Vol. 42, No. 1)\ \ \ \ \ Library JournalOf the 2,917 pilots who served in Britain's Royal Air Force, fighting the German airborne assault during the Battle of Britain, seven were Americans who violated the neutrality laws of their own country by volunteering for the RAF. Eventually, over 200 U.S. citizens flew with the RAF's Eagle Squadrons, following the creation of all-American units, but only those who fought during the Battle of Britain were recognized by their grateful hosts as "the Few." Kershaw's (The Bedford Boys) fine study of this titanic aerial struggle and the Americans who participated is certainly not the first (see, e.g., Philip D. Caine's American Pilots in the RAF). But it is an admirable addition to the historiography, following the hair-raising odysseys of these expatriates from hometown America to the besieged RAF squadrons, where they endured ten-to-one odds in the sky and deplorable living conditions on the ground while serving Churchill as a propaganda tool to counter U.S. isolationism. Aviation specialists will find Kershaw a master of such details as the flying characteristics of the British Spitfire and the German Me-109 and the contents of G ring's obscenely lavish hunting lodge, Carinhall. His history hits the mark in Call respects; his annotated endnotes provide a virtual second volume. Recommended for all libraries, especially those with strong aviation and World War II collections. John Carver Edwards, Univ. of Georgia, Cleveland Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.\ \ \ \ \ Kirkus ReviewsRousing story of idealistic Americans who fought against the Nazis with Britain's Royal Air Force long before the U.S. entered World War II. British-born historian Kershaw (The Bedford Boys, 2003, etc.) tells the story of young Americans who, after making their way to Canada and then by ship to Europe, where, in the summer of 1940, among 571 foreigners flying RAF Spitfires against the German Luftwaffe in brutal dogfights over the English Channel. Recruited by Colonel Charles Sweeny, a colorful mercenary and Hemingway pal twice expelled from West Point, these few Americans who fought in the Battle of Britain consisted of Olympic gold-medalist Billy Fiske, 27; Brooklyn skydiver Shorty Keough, 26; former MGM-employed pilot Eugene Tobin, 23; and five others, all civilian pilots intent on flying the powerful Spitfires (their Rolls-Royce engines could exceed 400 miles an hour) and determined to avoid the anticipated American draft. Risking loss of their citizenship in the still-neutral U.S., the fighter pilots were deemed "grand fellows" by grateful Brits, and in a decisive air battle on Sept. 15, 1940, they helped halt Hitler's plans to invade Britain. The author draws on diaries, letters and interviews to recreate harrowing midair sorties against the background of Germany's blitzkrieg advance across Europe and Churchill's relentless efforts to coax the U.S. into the war. After the Battle of Britain, more than 200 Americans continued to serve in the RAF's three "American Eagle" squadrons, which later became part of the U.S. Army Air Force. They were never prosecuted by the State Department; a dozen are still living. A delight for military buffs. First printing of 150,000\ \
