Consequences for MIA Eagle Squadron Officer

[cheriola]

And a question of my own:
This one is for the Doctor Who / Torchwood fandom, which, as far as my very limited understanding goes, plays fast and loose with World War Two military details, but as I have literally no experience with military culture, I'd thought I better ask anyway.

So, here goes: January 1941, a young American volunteer (71st Eagle

Comments

[cheriola]

Thanks!

I was going by this comparison chart:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Kingdom_and_United_States_military_ranks_compared

So maybe he could have made it to Major in the USAF, then resigned when he found out about the US' neutrality in the beginning of the war, in order to volunteer with the RAF and enter at Squadron Leader level. After a few months with the 71st Eagle Squadron and a quick battlefield promotion to Wing Commander, he got offered the position of Group Captain in the 133rd Squadron, based on his leadership abilities. (Canon has only one episode with him for me to draw on, but it's pretty clear that he's the one keeping the younger, hot-headed volunteers in line by force of will and by being their commanding officer.)

Does that work?

(Though I'm still wondering - wouldn't a squadron only have one Squadron Leader, and a Group Captain should therefore stand above that level in the organisational pyramid? How can he be reassigned from one squadron to another?)

[pierceheart]

I'm not sure how the RAF did things back then, but I have seen modern USAF squadrons where there was a squadron commander (LTC) and a director of operations (LTC). Oddly enough, it was the current USAF squadron descended from No. 133 Eagle Squadron "Let us to the Battle" - I worked for them for about six months in the 'Stan.

I was SO psyched to get a "challenge coin" from 133 Eagle/336 FS.