Although the museum is currently closed, there is plenty to explore in our online archive.
The American Air Museum is a charity - Find out how you can support us
Military
No 71 (Eagle) Sqn Hawker Hurricane Mk I XR-A Z3781 personal A/C of Fl Lt George A Brown, whilst commander of A flight, at dispersal hooked up in preparation with the trolley ack and with parachute left at hand for a fast scramble on the tail plane. Part of the fifth production batch produced by Hawker Aircraft Limited at Langley, to contract # 62305/39, between 14th January, 1941 and 28th July, 1941. Lost on 8th October 1941, Fl Lt Andrew Beck Mamedoff was flying with 133 Squadron on a standard transit flight from Fowlmere Airfield to RAF Eglinton in Northern Ireland in his Hurricane Z3781. The wreckage of his plane was found near Maughold on the Isle of Man and it is thought that he crashed due to poor weather conditions.
Sq Ldr George Alfred Brown DFC:
Assigned 66 Squadron RAF
Transferred to 253 Squadron RAF.
Took part in the first Spitfire v Bf 109 dogfight of the war over Rotterdam and, claimed a Ju 87 destroyed.
Flight commander [A Flight] 71[Eagle] Squadron RAF.
Commanded 133[Eagle] Squadron RAF on its formation.
Transferred to HQ Fighter Command.
Posted to 55 OTU Annan as Chief Flying Instructor.
On the staff at HQ Eastern Mediterranean at Alexandria.
Commanded RAF Gaza.
Commanded RAF Nicosia.
George Brown stayed in the RAF postwar, retired on 6-Jul-62 as Group Captain.
1962-67 - Regional Liaison Officer with Wales ATC.
1967-77 Commandant Wales ATC.
DFC Award Citation:
Sq. Ldr. Brown has been actively engaged in Fighter Command since the beginning of hostilities and has shown the highest devotion to duty over a long period. Within the past six months he has partaken in nine sorties over occupied France as close escort to bombers, and has proved himself an able leader and an inspiration to his subordinates. He has destroyed one enemy aircraft. In addition he has taken part in the training of all three Eagle Squadrons and has assisted in bringing them to a high state of operational efficiency.
Squadron
'On 19 September 1940, No. 71 was reformed at Church Fenton as the first 'Eagle' Squadron to be manned by American personnel. The Squadron received Hurricanes in November and became operational on defensive duties on 5 February 1941. No. 71 converted...
Squadron
'On 1 August 1941, No. 133 reformed at Coltishall as the third 'Eagle' Squadron manned by American personnel. Equipped with Hurricanes it became operational at the end of September. The next month the Squadron moved to Northern Ireland, returning to...
Military site : airfield
An RAF Station with US lodger units. USAAF Spitfires and P-38s were attached to RAF No 11 Group stations in mid-1942 for training; also used for special operations by British and US forces.
Military site : airfield
RAF Duxford, now a museum and still a working airfield, was operated by the USAAF from 1943 to 1945. The base was briefly the home of the 350th Fighter Group in late 1942, but it was not until April 1943 that it became a fully American station when the...
Military site : airfield
Used as an RFC and RAF Home Defence landing ground during the First World War, Kirton-in-Lindsey was built during 1938-40 as an RAF fighter station. It had two grass runways, 10 hardstandings, three grouped C hangars and four over-blister hangars....
Military site : airfield
Opened in 1917 as home to the RFC Aeroplane Experimental Unit, Martlesham Heath became well known during the 1920s-30s as home to the Aircraft and Armament Experimental Establishment. Used as an RAF fighter station from 1939, with only a grass airfield...
| Event | Location | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Born | India | 6 July 1912 |
| Enlisted | United Kingdom | April 1937 |
|
Joined the RAF on a short service commission |
||
| Flight training | England, UK | April 1937 – 29 January 1939 |
|
Elementary flight training: |
||
| Assigned | Duxford, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire CB22, UK | 30 January 1939 – May 1940 |
|
Assigned to 66 Squadron. |
||
| Transferred | Kirton in Lindsey, Gainsborough, North Lincolnshire DN21, UK | May 1940 – October 1940 |
|
Transferred to 253 Squadron. |
||
| Wounded In Action WIA | Maidstone, Maidstone, Kent, UK | 30 August 1940 |
|
Wounded In Action. Forced landing Maidstone, after combat with Bf109's. Suffered wounds in a shoulder and both legs. |
||
| Transferred | Church Fenton, Tadcaster, North Yorkshire LS24, UK | October 1940 – 1 August 1941 |
|
Transferred to 71[Eagle] Sqn RAF as A flight commander. |
||
| Transferred | Coltishall, Norwich, Norfolk NR12, UK | 1 August 1941 – November 1941 |
|
Transferred to command 133[Eagle] Sqn RAF. |
||
| Transferred | RAF Bentley Priory | November 1941 |
|
Transferred to HQ Fighter Command. |
||
| DFC | Buckingham Palace, London UK | 26 December 1941 |
|
Awarded the DFC [gazetted 26-Dec-41]. |
||
| Date | Contributor | Update |
|---|---|---|
| 27 February 2016 09:04:10 | Al_Skiff | Changes to service number, highest rank, biography and events |
| Sources | ||
http://www.bbm.org.uk/BrownGA.htm |
||
| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 27 February 2016 08:39:05 | Al_Skiff | Changes to unit associations and place associations |
| Sources | ||
http://www.uswarmemorials.org/html/monument_details.php?SiteID=202&MemID... |
||
| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 22 February 2016 23:01:29 | Al_Skiff | Created entry with surname, middlename, firstname, nationality, highest rank, role, biography, events, unit associations and place associations |
| Sources | ||
http://www.uswarmemorials.org/html/monument_details.php?SiteID=202&MemID... |
||
