Why Did America Use British Spitfires? The Full Story

The legendary Spitfire has become synonymous with the RAF, and all things British, but they of course were not the sole operators of the aircraft during the Second World War. The US, being close allies, also made use of the aircraft, although use that is admittedly underreported on. Here is the story of Americans in the seat of the British legend. Consider supporting us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/AviationDeepDive Join our Discord community: https://discord.com/invite/WCevgcufwJ Donations to support the channel: https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=U3F6D98ZXY48N Sources: https://www.spitfires.com/post/american-spitfires-and-the-dieppe-raid https://www.iwm.org.uk/history/9-iconic-aircraft-from-the-battle-of- britain#:~:text=The%20Spitfire%20entered%20service%20with,of%20230%20of%20 their%20own https://theaviationgeekclub.com/the-day-legendary-luftwaffe-ace-adolf-galland- asked-reich-marshal-hermann-goering-a-squadron-of-spitfires/ https://www.rafmuseum.org.uk/research/online-exhibitions/history-of-the-battle-of- britain/battle-of-the- nations/#:~:text=303%20Squadron%2C%20was%20one%20of,in%20the%20Battle %20of%20Britain. https://www.americanairmuseum.com/archive/unit/no-121-eagle-squadron https://www.americanairmuseum.com/archive/person/robert-e-smith-10 https://aircrewremembered.com/smith-robert.html https://aircrewremembered.com/brettell-edward.html https://www.londonremembers.com/subjects/richard-beaty https://www.americanairmuseum.com/archive/person/carroll-w-mccolpin https://www.americanairmuseum.com/archive/person/arthur-gerald-donahue https://www.markhillier.net/to-war-in-a-spitfire.php https://www.airuniversity.af.edu/News/Display/Article/1537690/phoenix-wings- tradition-carries-on-through-third-aviator/ https://weaponsandwarfare.com/2019/04/12/spitfires-in-north-africa-i/ https://ww2aircraft.net/forum/threads/p-51d-shu-shu-chuck-o-mjr-norman-mcdonald- 325th-fg-aircraft-of-the-aces-gb.30302/ https://www.kenleyrevival.org/content/history/raf-kenley/world-war-ii/american- spitfires-over-dieppe-the-308th-fighter-squadron-at-raf-kenley https://www.goodwood.com/flying/latest-news/dieppe-raid/ https://warisboring.com/americas- spitfires/#:~:text=The%20American%20Spitfire%20pilots%20were,American%20land ings%20at%20Salerno%2C%20Italy https://www.ghostbombers.com/JG2/52FG190344.html https://www.key.aero/article/white-star-spitfires