Yankee Squadron
| Yankee Squadron | |
|---|---|
 The No. 56 Chato flown by F. G. Tinker | |
| Active | 1936–1937 |
| Country |  United States |
| Allegiance |  Spain |
| Branch | Spanish Republican Air Force |
| Type | Air Force Squadron |
| Size | 6 |
The Yankee Squadron was a group of mercenary American military aviators who flew for the Spanish Republican Air Force during the Spanish Civil War.[1][2][3]
History
In November 1936, representatives of the Second Spanish Republic (Spanish Republicans, or Loyalists) began a campaign to hire American pilots to fight in the Spanish Civil War.[4] They used a New York lawyer to find American pilots.[5][6] Time magazine reported on December 21, 1936, that six U.S. fliers were on the ocean liner SS Normandie, headed for Spain, to join their leader, Bert Acosta. They were to be paid $1,500 a month, plus $1,000 for each Aviación Nacional plane destroyed.[1][7][8]
Time reported that the six men were: "[h]ilariously celebrating in the ship's bar of the Normandie with their first advance pay checks from Spain's Radical Government ... en route last week for Madrid to join Bert Acosta, pilot of Admiral Byrd's transatlantic flight, in doing battle against Generalissimo Francisco Franco's White planes."[7]
British and French pilots were given two weeks of training, but the Americans were expected to fly as soon as they arrived.
Return to United States
Four of them resigned and returned to the United States in January.
The fliers later told the
Eddie August Schneider explained his motives in flying for the Republic: "I was broke, hungry, jobless ... yet despite the fact that all three of us are old-time aviators who did our part for the development of the industry, we were left out in the cold in the Administration's program of job making. Can you blame us for accepting the lucrative Spanish offer?"[1] The flyers had their passports confiscated, and they were to be returned when they attested that they had never withdrawn their allegiance to the United States.[13]
The flyers claimed that they were not paid what was promised them by the Spanish government. Acosta and Berry started legal proceedings against the Spanish steamship Mar Cantabrico to try to collect the back pay that was due each of them.[11] The consul general for the Spanish government, Luis Careaga, arrived in the US and paid some of the money, and declared that they were now paid in full.[14] Their lawyer, Lewis Landes, claimed Acosta and Berry were still owed $1,500 and Schneider $1,200.[11]
Members
- Orteig prize(1927).[15]
- Gordon Berry (1898–?), he is sometimes listed as "George F. Berry" or "Gordon K. Berry" or "Gordon O. Berry". He was a 39-year-old flying and drinking companion of Bert Acosta, who served in the RAF towards the end of World War I. He was from New York.[11][15][16][17]
- Frederic Ives Lord (1897–1967), a.k.a. Frank I. Frederick Lord[16][18]
- Eddie August Schneider (1911–1940)[1][2][15]
- Eddie Semons, sometimes listed as "Edwin Semons" or "Edwin L. Semons". He may have helped recruit other pilots.[15][17]
-
Acosta -
Lord -
Schneider
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See also
- Spanish Republican Air Force
- Frank Glasgow Tinker, fighter pilot for the Spanish Republican Air Force
- Lincoln Battalion
- XV International Brigade
References
- ^ a b c d e f g "3 U.S. Airmen Here to Explain Aid to Loyalists; Acosta, Berry, Schneider Fly to Capital With Their Attorney". Washington Post. January 20, 1937.
- ^ a b "Flier Says Lawyer Sent Him to Spain". New York Times. January 16, 1937.
- ^ a b c "American Aviators Through with Spain". Associated Press in Oshkosh Northwestern. January 6, 1937.
- Valencia, Spain, where they will go through a hurried course in military flying before taking the air against the Rebels, it was revealed here yesterday. ...
- Washington Post. January 17, 1937.
- Washington Post. January 16, 1937.
- ^ a b "Pilots, Death, Plebiscite". Time. December 21, 1936. Archived from the original on December 15, 2008. Retrieved August 21, 2007.
- ^ "Fliers Fully Paid, Spain's Agent Says". New York Times. January 17, 1937. Retrieved September 25, 2007.
- The Charleston Daily Mail. January 5, 1937.
- ^ "Yankee Fliers Quit". Washington Post. January 7, 1937.
- ^ ISBN 0-374-97849-2.
American fighting in Spain dramatically ... Two American flyers, Bert Acosta and Gordon Berry, instituted legal proceedings against the Spanish steamship Mar Cantabrico in an effort to collect $1,200 in back pay due them by the Spanish Government. ... It was stated in an official American quarter that no American planes of any kind were being used in the Spanish Civil War.
- ISBN 1-85780-131-8.
- ^ "The Post's New Yorker". Washington Post. September 22, 1937.
- ^ "Fliers Fully Paid, Spain's Agent Says. Declares Terms Of Contracts Were Met And No Money Is Now Due Them. Denial By Their Lawyer. He Asserts Acosta, Schneider And Berry Got Some Funds On Friday, But Not Enough". New York Times. January 17, 1937. Retrieved September 25, 2007.
- ^ a b c d Knoblaugh, H. Edward (1937). Correspondent in Spain. Sheed and Ward.
- ^ a b "Lincoln Brigade archives at the Tamiment Library & Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives". New York University. Retrieved June 14, 2007.
Bert Blanchard Acosta; George F. Berry; Frank I. Frederick Lord; Eddie August Schneider; Eddie Semons
- ^ ISBN 1-85421-054-8.
- ^ "4 Americans in Spain to Fly for Madrid. Acosta and Three Mates Reach Valencia to Take Course in Military Aviation". New York Times. November 21, 1936. Retrieved September 25, 2007.