Eagle Squadrons The Eagle Squadrons were three fighter squadrons of the Royal Air Force ( RAF ) , formed with volunteer pilots from the United States during the early days of World War II ( circa 1940 ) , prior to America ' s entry into the war in December 1941 . Before America ' s entry into the War , many US recruits simply crossed the border and joined the Royal Canadian Air Force ( RCAF ) to learn to fly and fight . Many early recruits had originally gone to Europe to fight for Finland against the Soviets in the Winter War . Some of the recruits were men rejected by the USAAF as " lacking in intrinsic flying ability " , who instead enlisted with the RCAF . Charles Sweeny , a wealthy businessman living in London , began recruiting American citizens to fight as a US volunteer detachment in the French Air force , echoing the Lafayette Escadrille of World War I . Following the Fall of France in 1940 , a dozen of these recruits joined the RAF . Sweeny ' s efforts were also coordinated in Canada by World War I air ace Billy Bishop and with artist Clayton Knight who formed the Clayton Knight Committee , who , by the time the United States entered the war in December 1941 , had processed and approved 6 , 700 applications from Americans to join the RCAF or RAF . Sweeny and his rich society contacts bore the cost ( over $ 100 , 000 ) of processing and bringing the US trainees to the United Kingdom for training . Training . The basic requirements for those interested in joining the Eagle Squadron were a high school diploma , being between 20 and 31 years of age , eyesight that was 20 / 40 correctable to 20 / 20 , and 300 hours of certified flying time . These requirements , with the exception of the flight time , were not as strict as those required for service in the U . S . Army Air Corps , which was a major reason why some of the pilots joined the squadron . Most Eagle Squadron pilots did not have a college education or prior military experience . Once in Britain , and having passed basic flight training , the newly qualified pilots were sent for advanced operational training to an operational training unit ( OTU ) for two to four weeks to learn to fly Miles Master trainers , Hawker Hurricane s , and Supermarine Spitfire s before being ostensibly commissioned as RAF officers and posted to front - line RAF fighter squadrons . The American pilots assigned to the Eagle Squadron never renounced their US citizenship , and although they wore the uniforms and held the rank titles of RAF officers , their dress and duty uniform coats were modified with the Eagle Squadron patch , a white bald eagle flanked by the letters " ES " for Eagle Squadron . Formation and evolution . The first Eagle Squadron , ( No . 71 Squadron ) , was formed in September 1940 as part of the RAF ' s buildup during the Battle of Britain , and became operational for defensive duties on 5 February 1941 . Eventually , a total of three Eagle Squadrons formed and were numbered 71 , 121 , and 133 , respectively . Of the thousands that volunteered , 244 Americans served with the three Eagle Squadrons ; 16 Britons also served as squadron and flight commanders . 71 Squadron commenced operations based at RAF Church Fenton in early 1941 , before a move to RAF Kirton - in - Lindsey . In April , the squadron transferred to RAF Martlesham Heath in Suffolk for operations over Europe . During May they suffered their first loss when Mike Kolendorski was killed during a fighter sweep over Holland . Intensity of operations stepped up with a move into No 11 Group of Fighter Command , being based at RAF North Weald by June 1941 . On 2 July , William J . Hall became the first Eagle Squadron pilot to become a Prisoner of War ( POW ) when he was shot down during an escort mission . The squadron ' s first confirmed victory came on 21 July 1941 when P / O William R . Dunn destroyed a Messerschmitt Bf 109 F over Lille . In August , the Spitfire Mk II replaced 71 Squadron ' s Hurricanes , before quickly re - equipping with the latest Spitfire Mk V . The unit soon established a high reputation , and numerous air kill claims were made in RAF fighter sweeps over the continent during the summer and autumn of 1941 . In December , the Squadron was rested back at Martlesham Heath , before a move to Debden in May 1942 . 121 Squadron were formed at RAF Kirton - in - Lindsey in May 1941 , flying Hurricanes on coastal convoy escort duties . On 15 September 1941 , it destroyed its first German aircraft . The Hurricanes were replaced with Spitfires and the Spitfire Mk V arrived in November 1941 . The following month the Squadron moved to RAF North Weald , replacing 71 Squadron . In 1942 , its offensive activities over the English Channel included bomber escorts and fighter sweeps . 133 Squadron was the last Eagle unit to be formed , standing up at RAF Coltishall in July 1941 and flying the Hurricane Mk IIb . A move to RAF Duxford followed in August , and re - equipment with the Spitfire Mk V occurred early in 1942 . In May , the Squadron became part of the famed RAF Biggin Hill Wing . On 31 July 1942 during a bomber escort mission to Abbeville , 52 - kill Luftwaffe ' ace ' Oblt . Rudolf Pflanz of 11 . / JG 2 engaged in combat with 133 ' s Spitfires , and after shooting down one was then shot down and killed in his Bf 109G - 1 over Berck - sur - Mer , France . 133 Squadron claimed 3 destroyed and one probable while losing 3 aircraft . P / O " Jessie " Taylor accounted for 2 of the claims ( a Bf 109F and a Fw 190 ) and P / O W . Baker was credited with a Fw 190 destroyed . On 26 September 1942 11 of the unit ' s 12 brand new Spitfire Mk IXs were lost on a mission over Morlaix , when escorting USAAF B - 17 Flying Fortress es in heavy cloud cover . Strong winds blew the unit further South than realised and short of fuel , the Squadron let down directly over Brest . Six of the squadron were shot down and taken prisoner , four were killed , one bailed and evaded capture , while one crash landed in England . One of the British pilots taken prisoner , Flt Lt Gordon Brettell , was to be shot as one of the escapees in The Great Escape from Stalag Luft III in 1944 . The Dieppe Raid was the only occasion that all three Eagle Squadrons saw action operating together . No . 71 moved from Debden to Gravesend in mid - August in anticipation of the Dieppe action , while No . 121 operated from South End . 133 Squadron moved with No . 401 Squadron of the RCAF from RAF Biggin Hill to Lympne , on the English south coast . 71 Squadron claimed a Ju 88 shot down , 121 a single Fw 190 , while 133 claimed 4 Fw 190s , a Ju 88 and a Dornier Do 217 downed . Six ' Eagle ' Spitfires were lost , with one pilot taken prisoner and one killed . Through to the end of September 1942 , the squadrons claimed to have destroyed 73½ German planes while 77 American and 5 British members were killed . 71 Squadron claimed 41 kills , 121 Squadron 18 kills , and 133 squadron 14½ kills . When informed of the attack on Pearl Harbor , most of the Eagle Squadron pilots wanted to immediately join the fight against Japan . Representatives from 71 and 121 Squadrons went to the American Embassy in London and offered their services to the United States . The pilots from 71 Squadron decided they wanted to go to Singapore to fight the Japanese and a proposal was put to RAF Fighter Command , but it was turned down . On 29 September 1942 , the three squadrons were officially turned over by the RAF to the fledgling Eighth Air Force of the U . S . Army Air Forces and became the 4th Fighter Group , with the American pilots becoming officers in the USAAF . The Eagle pilots had earned 12 Distinguished Flying Cross es and one Distinguished Service Order . Only four of the 34 original Eagle pilots were still present when the squadrons joined the USAAF . Typical were the fates of the eight original pilots in the third squadron : Four died during training , one was disqualified , two died in combat , and one was a prisoner of war . About 100 Eagle pilots had been killed , were missing , or were prisoners . Negotiations regarding the transfer between the Eagle Squadrons , USAAF , and the RAF had to resolve a number of issues . The RAF wanted some compensation for losing three front - line squadrons in which they had heavily invested . Determining what rank each pilot would assume in the USAAF also had to be negotiated , with most being given a rank equivalent to their RAF rank . For example , a Flight Lieutenant became a USAAF Captain , while a Wing Commander became a Lieutenant Colonel . None of the Eagle Squadron pilots had previously served in the USAAF and did not have US pilot wings . As such , it was decided that they be awarded USAAF pilot wings upon their transfer to the USAAF . By concession , the Eagle Squadron pilots who transferred to the USAAF Fourth Fighter Group were permitted to retain their RAF wings , reduced in size , on the opposite side of their uniform to their new USAAF pilots wings . They had insisted on being allowed to retain their RAF wings , which they had earned , when ordered to wear USAAF wings , which they had not directly earned in the normal way . Major General Carl Spaatz , head of the USAAF in Europe , wanted to spread the experience of the Eagles amongst various new US fighter squadrons . However , the pilots of the three Eagle Squadrons wanted to stay together . The 71 , 121 , and 133 squadrons were respectively designated by the USAAF as the 334th , 335th , and 336th and transferred as complete units , retaining their Spitfires until P - 47 Thunderbolt s became available in January 1943 . The 4th Fighter Group flew Spitfires until its conversion to P - 47s was completed in April 1943 . The 4th Fighter Wing , along with the 334th , 335th , and 336th Fighter Squadrons , exist today as F - 15E Strike Eagle units at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base in Goldsboro , North Carolina and are part of the Ninth Air Force . Individual pilots . The first three members of the Eagle Squadron obtained their transfers to No . 71 Squadron RAF in September 1940 . They were : All three men were Battle of Britain veterans , having served together in No . 609 Squadron RAF , at RAF Middle Wallop . They had joined the RAF Volunteer Reserve ( RAFVR ) together ( receiving consecutive service numbers ) , having been posted to 609 Squadron together , having fought the Battle of Britain together , and having transferred to 71 Squadron together . The trio had also all been killed by the time of the transfer of the Eagle Squadrons to the USAAF in 1942 ( from the database of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission ( CWGC ) : Another Battle of Britain veteran was Phillip Howard Leckrone , service number 84653 . He had served in another squadron with an Auxiliary Air Force heritage : No . 616 Squadron RAF . He was also killed before the USAAF took charge of the Eagle Squadrons : The lives of these four pilots have been described in " THE FEW " by Alex Kershaw . It is reported that Pilot Officer Art Donahue DFC stayed with the Eagle Squadron only a short time before requesting a transfer back to his original RAF unit . He did not appreciate the unruly behavior of many of the American pilots . He was KIA in 1942 . Captain Don Gentile , USAAF , was a pilot with 133 Squadron , claiming 2 air victories , and by March 1944 became the 4th FG ' s top ace in World War II with 22 aerial kills . Colonel Chesley ' Pete ' Peterson had 130 sorties with the Eagle Squadrons , he then became the youngest Squadron Commander in the RAF . When the Eagle Squadrons were transferred to the USAAC 4th Fighter Group , Peterson became the group ' s executive officer , succeeding to command of the group in April 1943 , and at 23 years of age the youngest ( at the time ) Colonel in the US Army Air Forces . Colonel Donald Blakeslee was a pilot in 121 and 133 Squadrons during 1942 , making 120 sorties and claiming 3 air kills . He became deputy commander of the 4th Fighter Group under Chesley Peterson , then commanded the group from January to October 1944 . Blakeslee flew briefly with the 354th and 357th Fighter Group s in January 1944 when the P - 51 Mustang was introduced to combat in Europe and immediately became the driving force behind conversion of all but one of the Eighth Air Force fighter groups to the Mustang . His insistence on converting to the Mustang resulted in a rapid turnover of airplanes , with the former Eagle squadrons flying their first Mustang mission on February 24 , 1944 . Flt Lt Charles A . Cook Jr . was a member of 133 Squadron . Shot down in September 1942 , he was a prisoner of war at Stalag Luft III until 1945 and was a member of what was known as " The Long March " , when German forces decided to empty the Allied POW camps in the face of the Soviet advance . Dedication . British composer Kenneth J . Alford wrote a march , " Eagle Squadron " , in honour of the pilots of the squadron . It is also a " thank you " to the American pilots : small sections of the " Star Spangled Banner " can be heard in the low brass during the trio .