The Few

[Ghostdancer]

I am currently reading The Few by Alex Kershaw. I purchased this from Borders a couple of months ago. This book is about a handful of Americans who flew for the RAF in the Battle Of Britain. I haven't yet finished the book, but some of these guys later flew with the Eagle Squadron, but so far this book mainly details the period prior to that.

 

[P-Popsie]

You may be interested to know that there was an american Pilot on the Famous Dams raid conducted by 617 Sqdn. His name was Joe McCarthy Ex 97Sqdn. PFF . He went on to be one of the Flight leaders with 617. Retired from active service after aprox 100 or so Ops. He did roughly three tours but i can remember a story of when he was in 97Sqdn where he did two extra ops with his crew so they couls all finish together. His was one of the few complete crews to come to 617.

 

[pbfoot]

You may be interested to know that there was an american Pilot on the Famous Dams raid conducted by 617 Sqdn. His name was Ex 97Sqdn. PFF . He went on to be one of the Flight leaders with 617. Retired from active service after aprox 100 or so Ops. He did roughly three tours but i can remember a story of when he was in 97Sqdn where he did two extra ops with his crew so they couls all finish together. His was one of the few complete crews to come to 617.

Was not Joe RCAF , he become Canadian and remained with the RCAF post war retiring in the 60's or 70's with 407 sqn

 

[P-Popsie]

Not sure if Joe McCarthy transfered over to the RCAF after 617 service what i have read so far indicates that he was born and raised in New York and that he traveled to the UK to join the RAF. But if you have different info Please let me know as accuracy is everything.

 

[pbfoot]

Not sure if Joe McCarthy transfered over to the RCAF after 617 service what i have read so far indicates that he was born and raised in New York and that he traveled to the UK to join the RAF. But if you have different info Please let me know as accuracy is everything.

Joe McCarthy was born on Long Island, New York in 1919 and grew up in New York City. Fascinated by aircraft and flying, he worked as a lifeguard at Coney Island and many other beaches in the New York area and at other odd jobs to pay for flying lessons. On three occasions he attempted to join the Army Air Corps. Each time he was told that he would hear back from them but he never did. The Air Corps knew that it had to expand but the US military was simply unprepared for any large-scale expansion.

During May 1941, twenty months after the beginning of the war and with the United States still neutral, Joe's good friend Don Curtin suggested that they head up to Canada and join the Royal Canadian Air Force. "Within two days," McCarthy recalled, "we were boarding a bus and heading for Ottawa. We spent the night at the Ottawa YMCA and the following morning proceeded to the air force recruiting office." There they were told that they'd have to come back at a later date. Their response was, "Take us today as we don't have the money to return again." The warrant officer in charge took a second look at the lads from the States. He wouldn't likely see a healthier, stronger pair of prospects for a while and the next day they were at Manning Depot in Toronto.
He was RCAF for the rest of his career

 

[P-Popsie]

There you go cheers for that i gratefully accept all corrections as facts are no good un less they are true.LOL always looking for info on these guys

Also there is a personal message for you.

 

[vikingBerserker]

This was an excellent read!

 

[hedge hopper]

I too recently have read Alex Kershaws 'The Few' it's a very good book. The only criticism being that it says Sydney Camm, designer of the Hurricane died before he could see the results of his aircraft in action. Of course he really meant R.J. Mitchell, designer of the Spitfire.