Spitfires, Thunderbolts and Warm Beer: An American Fighter Pilot over Europe

With war on America's horizon in 1941, LeRoy Gover was determined to be a fighter pilot. Lacking the qualifications that would guarantee him US Army Air Corps wings, the young Californian signed on with the Royal Air Force. By the end of the war, Gover was one of the most experienced American pilots in England, having flown with both the RAF and the Air Corps. This book weaves together the young flyer's letters and diary entries to create a portrait of the kind of man who helped win World War II. After training in the United States, Gover soaks in the atmosphere of indomitable, war-battered Britain, whose hospitable people are eager to show their appreciation to the curious Yank. There, he flies the plane of his dreams, the sleek Spitfire. The reader follows his missions, including the raid on Dieppe, after which Gover is the only squadron member still flying. Between combat flights, he unwinds by exploring England and Wales, with their thatched-roof cottages, air-raid comraderie, smoky pubs and friendly, young women. After transferring to an American unit and transitioning to the powerful P-47 Thunderbolt, he flies on its first European mission. By the end of his war, Gover had flown 159 combat missions, won numerous medals and made seven confirmed kills. Of the 13 men who graduated from his training class, he is one of only two still flying. Philip D. Caine is the author of "American Pilots in the RAF: The WWII Eagle Squadrons".