A Californian In Churchill's Armed Forces

I was considering yesterday whether, between the books I've discussed on the subject, and the video games related to it, I ought to make a label for "world war 2 aviation", or just "aviation". Haven't made up my mind. In the meantime, Spitfires, Thunderbolts, and Warm Beer.

Philip D. Caine explains that while he was doing research for another book on American pilots in the Royal Air Force (RAF), he had the opportunity to talk with one LeRoy Gover. Over the course of those discussions, Caine decided that Gover would make a excellent subject for a book all by himself, and after much prodding, Gover agreed. So the book is the story of Gover's time in the RAF, and later on, his time in the 8th Army Air Force*. There's a bit at the beginning about Gover's early love of flying, and how he had logged 800 hours in the air before he applied to join the RAF, and the end details what he did after he was transferred out of combat**.

What makes the book work is that Gover kept a diary (which had reached nine volumes by the time he received a 30-day leave to go home in early 1944) which provided an idea of the day-to-day life of a pilot, as well as his reactions to some of the hazards of his work. Also, his mother saved all the letters he wrote home over the course of the war, so it can be interesting to compare how he describes a weekend in London in the diary to how he describes it to his family (his prowess with the ladies was not something he told the folks about).

These records allow the reader to note the changes in LeRoy (or "Lee", as he's normally called), as he begins to be more forthright with his family about the hazards he faced, especially as he begins flying P-47s (the Thunderbolts) on escort missions over Germany. It seems he needs to let it out to someone, and the other pilots weren't an option. Part of that may have been he was feeling the responsibility of moving up the ladder, and didn't feel he could let the men following him see his stress, or it could owe to the fact not many of the fellows he trained with and developed strong bonds with were around. Another thing about the diary entries, his awareness of how many of his friends are gone, dead, captured, over-stressed. In his earlier diary entries, there's a sense of whistling through the graveyard, trying to convince himself the risks don't bother him. Later it's more of a glum resignation, and a frustration when he can't be up there helping.

Most of what's covered were things I'd picked up in other accounts of pilots in WWII, but the bit I did find new was Gover's discussion of how the people in England embraced Americans who had joined the RAF. The civilians would use a week's rations to prepare a meal in their homes for these fellows who came over to help defend their country. It gave Gover an appreciation for the people, something he tried (without success) to impress upon the other Americans once he was transferred to the USAAF, and so he also notes the reaction of the English to the American fighting units, once they arrived, which was less positive. Leave it to Americans to make their allies wish they'd go home.

* After the U.S. officially entered the war, all American pilots in the RAF were transferred to American units, along with their Spitfires initially, since the U.S. didn't have any fighters that were more than target practice against the Germans.

** He flew over 150 missions, and the worst injury he suffered was a burst eardrum when he tried too many aerobatics to escape a Focke Wulf-190 with some sort of sinus infection.