Airmen without portfolio
Subtitle: U.S. mercenaries in Civil War Spain
By: John Carver Edwards ; foreword by Robert Lee Scott.
Publisher: Praeger; ABC-CLIO, LLC
Published: 1997
Place of publication: Westport, Conn
Language: eng
Number of pages: 150
Subjects: Air pilots, Military -- Spain -- Biography.; Air pilots, Military -- United States -- Biography.; Americans -- Spain -- Biography.; Spain -- History -- Civil War, 1936-1939 -- Aerial operations.; Spain -- History -- Civil War, 1936-1939 -- Participation, American.
Description: Published to coincide with the 60th anniversary of the Spanish Civil War, this work chronicles the lives and military careers of 12 American mercenary pilots who flew for the Spanish Republican government against the combined air forces of Nationalist Spain, Italy, and Germany. Drawing upon the memoirs of these aviators and appropriate secondary scholarship, the author examines each U.S. flyer's political and personal motivation for opposing Fascism as the world prepared for World War II.

His findings are as surprising as they are varied. This book also offers an insightful glimpse into the day-to-day lives of these airmen at the squadron level during their eight month tour in Spain. It describes their interaction with their Spanish and Russian comrades, the types of aircraft they flew, the skill and resourcefulness of the enemy pilots they dogfought, the international repercussions of their presence abroad, and the hostile treatment they would incur from their own government.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. [131]-137) and index.