Spitfires, Thunderbolts, and …: An American Fighter Pilot over Europe - Book Review

Richard N Story | February 25, 2006  | 0 comments  | Print  | E-mail

Unlike many of the American pilots; Lee’s first operational squadron was not one of the American Eagle squadrons (Numbers 71, 121 and 133), but instead sent to 66 Squadron, RAF. There Lee went to war and fired real bullets at the enemy. Lee was credited with two enemy aircraft while flying for the British. It was not until September, 1942 that the American Eagles were transferred to the USAAFE along with their Spitfires into the 4^th Fighter Group. Lee was assigned to the 336^th Fighter Squadron, 4^th Fighter Group, 8^th Air Force, United States Army Air Forces Europe. The book answered one question that had always puzzled the reviewer. Why were Spitfires transferred to the USAAF? The simple answer was that there were no suitable fighters to assign the former RAF units at that time and so the United States borrowed the planes till American fighters were ready.  Transitioning from the Spitfires into P-47 Thunderbolts; Lee continued to fly and claim another two enemy aircraft destroyed. Lee was promoted to Major during the war and Squadron Commanding Officer before rotating back to the United States as an instructor. Lee finished the war with 159 combat sorties with 233 hours and 55 minutes of combat flying time. At the time of the book was first written Lee had over 28,000 flying hours. His complete war record was 4 confirmed kills, 3 probables, 9 damaged. He had flown over the hell that was Dieppe and was awarded the Silver Star, 3 DFCs, 8 Air Medals, British DFC, French Croix de Guerre and a handful of victory and campaign medals. Lee went into the United States Air Force and retired a Colonel.

Spitfires, Thunderbolts, and Warm Beer was originally printed in 1995 by Brassey’s Books. This edition was printed in 2005 by Potomac Books (formerly Brassey’s) for the new ‘The Warriors’ series of books. Philip D. Crane, a former Air Force Brigadier General and pilot, interviewed LeRoy Gover and had access to his dairies and other sources. The text is flawless and absorbing and was very hard to put down. The illustrations substantially add to the text and they are plentiful for the size of the book. In fact; the illustrations are frequently referred to in the text. With a list price of $8.95 the book is well within the reach of every reader and is highly recommended for anybody who is interested in the RAF, Eagle Squadrons or the air war in Europe.

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