The United States had remained neutral in the European war through 1940 as France was defeated by Nazi Germany and Britain stood alone against them. But some American pilots would not wait for Germany to bring war to the U.S. and instead volunteered to fight with the English. The Royal Air Force placed the 244 Americans who completed the training into three new “Eagle” Squadrons; with the first, No. 71 Squadron, beginning operations in February 1941. 121 and 133 Squadrons would become operational later 1941, as the British began to conduct larger and more frequent raids into German occupied France, Belgium, and the Netherlands. Originally outfitted with Hawker Hurricanes, the Eagle Squadrons would all transfer into Spitfires by early 1942. By that point, Japan and Nazi Germany had declared war on the United States, and the men of the Eagle Squadrons were then living symbols of American and British unity.
Back in the States, the U.S. military began its expansion to a genuine war power. Created in early 1942 was VIII Bomber Command, tasked with conducting bomber raids in German territory from Bases in Britain. The first combat units began arriving in the summer of 1942; with A-20’s the 15th Bombardment Squadron conducting the first American bomb raid on July 4th. The first riad of B-17’s was August 17th, when the 97th Bombardment Group attacked the Rouen marshalling yards in France.
In September 1942, it was decided to transfer the Eagle Squadrons over to the USAAF, with the pilots receiving new American ranks equivalent to their RAF ones. They became the 334th, 335th and 336th Fighter Squadrons of the 4th Fighter Group and were subordinated to VIII Bomber Command. These units formed the back bone of the soon-to-be-named 8th Air Force, “The Mighty Eighth”
This FSO will recreate the first missions of the 8th Air Force in September and October 1942.
https://ahevents.net/index.php/fso-setups/85-western-european-theatre/1379-when-eagles-daredFRAME 1: 02 October 2026
FRAME 2: 09 October 2026
FRAME 3: 16 October 2026
