Airmen without Portfolio : U.S.Mercenaries in Civil War Spain

Published to coincide with the 60th anniversary of the Spanish Civil War, this work chronicles the lives and military careers of 12 American mercenary pilots who flew for the Spanish Republican government against the combined air forces of Nationalist Spain, Italy and Germany.

Drawing upon the memoirs of these aviators and appropriate secondary scholarship, the author examines each US flyer's political and personal motivation for opposing fascism as the world prepared for World War II.

The book also offers a glimpse into the day-to-day lives of these airmen at the squadron level during their eight-month tour in Spain.

It describes their interaction with their Spanish and Russian comrades, the types of aircraft they flew, the skill and resourcefulness of the enemy pilots they dogfought, the international repercussions of their presence abroad, and the hostile treatment they would incur from their own government.