My friends in the York & District PMS shared this photo of 71 Squadron in 1941 with me.
Caption reads:
"American pilots of No.71 'Eagle' Squadron "scrambling" to their Hawker Hurricanes at RAF Kirton in Lindsey, Lincolnshire - 17/3/41. In the foreground is Eugene Quimby "Red" Tobin of Los Angeles, he was one of 11 American pilots who flew with RAF Fighter Command between 10 July and 31 October 1940, thereby qualifying for the Battle of Britain clasp to the 1939–45 campaign star. On the 7th September 1941, Tobin was killed in combat with Be109's of JG 26 on 71 Squadron's first sweep over northern France, one of three Spitfires shot down. He crashed into a hillside near Boulogne-sur-Mer and was buried in Boulogne Eastern Cemetery, France. He was 24 years old."
Great photo, Steve! Note how muddy it is and how much is carried by the boots of the pilots and ground crew onto the wing.
Lee K
Does anyone know if there is a complete list of Eagle Squadron Pilots and aircraft they flew? Might make an interesting addition to our website.
RonV
Not the same kind of list your looking for but the USAF has some books so some of that work could be done.
http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a264356.pdf
http://www.afhso.af.mil/shared/media/document/AFD-100928-005.pdf
Ryan's first reference has a list in the back of the Eagle Squadron members as an appendix. I am working to get the PDF file converted to a Word document so I can convert the list to a sortable table - I have seen at least 2 names of individuals that were in NC when they joined.
I have tried to locate the Eagle Squadron Association on the web, but no luck. Does any one have the email address of the SJAFB historian? Maybe he can be of assistance.
Regards