Eagle Squadrons Memorial

This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (March 2017) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

Eagle Squadrons Memorial
United Kingdom/United States
For military personnel who served in the three RAF Eagle Squadrons prior to the United States' participation in World War II
Unveiled	12 May 1986[1]
Location	Grosvenor Square, London
Designed by	T. A. Kempster of Trehearne and Norman, Preston & Partners; Elisabeth Frink (bronze sculpture)[1]
Listed Building – Grade II
Official name	Eagle Squadrons Memorial
Designated	19 January 2016
Reference no.	1430215[2]

The Eagle Squadrons Memorial is a

US pilots were recruited to serve in Europe by Charles F. Sweeny from 1939. A unit staffed by US citizens was accepted by the RAF in July 1940, and No. 71 Squadron RAF was formed in September 1940, becoming operational in February 1941. It was followed by No. 121 Squadron RAF in May 1941 and No. 133 Squadron RAF in July 1941, flying initially Hawker Hurricanes and later Supermarine Spitfires. Efforts to recruit US citizens to serve in the RAF continued on a more organised basis under the aegis of the Clayton Knight Committee, which recruited around 7,000 US citizens to serve in the RAF or Royal Canadian Air Force by the time the US joined the war in December 1941, after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.

The three Eagle Squadrons transferred to the United States Army Air Forces in September 1942, becoming 334th, 335th and 336th Fighter Squadrons in the 4th Fighter Group in VIII Fighter Command.

Memorial

The memorial comprises a tapering 4.6 metres (15 ft)–high obelisk of pale sandstone, topped by a 2.6 metres (8 ft 6 in)–high bronze sculpture of an eagle holding its wings aloft. The head of the eagle is painted white, so that it resembles an American bald eagle. It was commissioned by the American newspaper owner William Randolph Hearst and designed by Tim Kempster, who was also involved in the design of the Fleet Air Arm Memorial. The bronze sculpture is by Elisabeth Frink.

The four sides of the stone column each bear inscriptions. The main side, to the north, has a

• 
  Detail of the bronze eagle
• 
  Dedication on the memorial
• 
  Names inscribed on the memorial
• 
  Names inscribed on the memorial

References

• The Eagle Squadrons Memorial, The Royal Parks
• Eagle Squadron Memorial, National Heritage List for England, Historic England
• United States Eagle Squadrons Memorial, Imperial War Museum
• Eagle Squadrons Memorial, War Memorials Online
• Eagle Squadrons Memorial, London Remembers
• Eagle Squadron Memorial, American War Memorials Overseas, Inc.

External links

• Media related to Eagle Squadron Memorial at Wikimedia Commons

51°30′40″N 0°09′04″W / 51.5111°N 0.1512°W / 51.5111; -0.1512