NEW! Photos of the author at the official rededication of the American Air Museum in Britain, at Duxford, Essex, United Kingdom, September 27th, 2002
Price of Freedom...
Freedom is not free. Each aircraft etched onto these glass panels near the entrance to the American Air Museum in Britain represents an American aircraft that took off from Britain and never returned.
Price of Freedom 2...
Continuing on the other side, the visitor is struck by the enormity of the air war in Europe. Some 30,000 American airmen perished in the skies over Nazi-held Europe.
Gibraltar Gun
"Gibraltar Gun" - a coastal defense gun moved, brick-by-brick, piece by piece, from its mount on the rock of Gibraltar to the American Air Museum in Britain at Duxford. This gun once defended the Straights of Gibraltar, between Spain and Africa.
Gibraltar Gun Front...
Looking down the business end of the massive gun.
133 Sqdn HQ
The  Author in front of the building that was once the headquarters of 133 Squadron RAF (American Eagles) that became the 336th Fighter Squadron, 4th Fighter Group, USAAF. This building is featured prominently in the Novel, Never Lark nor Eagle: A Fighter Pilot's Story.
P-51A Mustang
  A fully-restored - and flyable - P-51A Mustang (very rare), painted in the livery of 336th FS Ace Don Gentile, prior to his more famous Mustang Shangri-La. NOTE: "Boxing Eagle" logo, designed at Gentile's request by Walt Disney. Inexplicably, this 336th commander's personal logo was "adopted" by the 4th FG's 334th FS, which it still uses today.
  Jug
Republic P-47D Thunderbolt starting up for the airshow in honor of former President George H.W. Bush.
Hurricane & Merlin
  The author posing in front of a Battle of Britain Hawker Hurricane and its Rolls Royce Merlin engine.
A good Messerschmitt
  To paraphrase the old U.S. Cavalry expression: "The only good Messerschmitt is a dead Messerschmitt." This particular Bf-109 was made "good" by an American pilot in the RAF.
Vampire
This is the British De Haviland D.H.100 Vampire F.1. Like the American Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star, it arrived too late to be used in combat against the German Me-262 jet. The Top Secret testing of this aircraft in 1945 is also described in
Never Lark nor Eagle: A Fighter Pilot's Story.
Spitfire 1
 The Author by an absolutely beautiful example of a Supermarine Spitfire! And, it flies too!
Flyable Hurricane
This Hurricane flies at Duxford air shows as well.

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