There has been nothing like it ever before—this Foreign Legion of the Air that brings free men from many ands to fight side by side with Britain against the common foe of Freedom.
Poles and Czechs who a few months ago spoke no word of English ere daily helping to defend the skies wer London or nightly assisting the Royal Air Force to bomb Berlin, Dutchmen and Norwegians with intimate knowledge of their own coasts and countries are serving with the British Coastal Command Free Frenchmen, working under General de Gaulle, are forming their squadrons for service on special tasks aimed at ultimately liberating France.
A volunteer All-American squadron taking the air with the Royal Air Force, They have offered themselves en bloc—The Eagle Squadron ey are calling themselves, AH are quali-te. pilots, familiar with American planes, and some of them ex-pilots of the United States' Air Force.
Then, among the 200 men pilots of the Air Transport Auxiliary, are American, Canadian, Polish and Spanish, as well as British flyers. These men are not in the Royal Air Force, but are employed directly under Lord Beaverbrook, the Minister for Aircraft Production. Their job s to ferry planes, including fighters and bombers of various types, from the factories to the aerodromes in various parts of Great Britain.
"Ferry Pilots"
Picture (1) shows Ferry Pilots arriving at a factory. Picture (2) shows the Chief Ferry Officer arranging the schedule of fights for the day. Pilots names and the types of aircraft they are, (o ferry are shown on the chart he 1b seen consulting.
Picture (3) shows officers examining the records of the flights made by Ferry Pilots the previous day, while in Picture (4) pilots of various nationality are seen resting and playing games in the Recreation Room.
Each is proud of his place in this Greater Foreign Legion of the Air.
Within that is the Foreign Legion proper—the squadrons composed entirely of pilots of one nationality, with or without a British leader.
Still more are in training.
Actively operating are four squadrons of Poles, two fighter, two bomber; three of Czechs, one fighter, one bomber, and one in the Middle East, Their stations are as diverse as their nationalities.
Somewhere east, of mid-England a countryside aerodrome echoes with the strange voices of men who in September, 1939, fought in the skies over Poland, escaped to Rumania, Syria, France, then came on to Britai.
Scarcely any of them could speak English. Interpreters were engaged so that they could understand Royal Air Force instructors who were training them to man British bombers. Some of the coaching was done by hand signs.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.