Warbirds of Liberty: The Fantastic Fighting 4th - The Eagle Squadrons (Part 1)

WW2 Pod: We Have Ways of Making You Talk

Goalhanger Podcasts

History, Education, Society & Culture

4.8 • 5.3K Ratings

🗓️ 10 February 2026

⏱️ 52 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Why did American pilots fight for Britain before the US entered WW2? When were the American 'Eagle Squadrons' formed in the UK? How did Don Blakeslee rise to prominence among his fellow pilots? Join Al Murray and James Holland for Part 1 of this new series looking at the larger-than-life American aces that flew to every corner of the Nazi empire, starting with Spitfires in the dark days of The Battle Of Britain to P-51 Mustangs at the closing stages of WW2. Start your free trial at ⁠patreon.com/wehaveways⁠ and unlock exclusive content and more. Enjoy livestreams, early access, ad-free listening, bonus episodes, and a weekly newsletter packed with book deals and behind-the-scenes insights. Members also get priority access and discounts to live events. A Goalhanger Production Produced by James Regan Editor: Charlie Rodwell Exec Producer: Tony Pastor Social: @WeHaveWaysPod Social Producer: Harry Balden Email: wehaveways@goalhanger.com Membership Club: patreon.com/wehaveways Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Thank you for listening to We Have Ways of Making You Talk.
0:05.4	Sign up to our Patreon to receive bonus content, live streams and our weekly newsletter with money off books and museum visits as well.
0:13.5	Plus early access to all live show tickets.
0:16.0	That's patreon.com slash we have ways. Blakesley spoke for himself and for the fourth group's star performers when he said,
0:38.3	We love fighting. Fighting is a grand sport.
0:41.3	Can you imagine a bomber pilot, an infantryman or a medic saying that fighting was a grand sport?
0:48.3	Their only thrill came with surviving another day's combat.
0:51.3	The fighter pilot, Blakesley in particular, found dogfighting six miles above the earth
0:57.0	about the same as knights jousting and breaking lances
0:59.0	before the ladies of the court in a tournament.
1:02.0	At 7am, a Debson pilot might be eating fresh eggs
1:06.0	and reading the Daily Express.
1:08.0	At 9am, diving on a focker wolf at top a cumulus cloud at 600 miles per hour.
1:13.0	At 8pm, standing in the glitter of the bar at the Savoy,
1:17.0	telling his goat friend how he did it.
1:19.9	And that was written by Grover C. Hall Jr. in 1000 destroyed,
1:24.4	which was a brilliant book that was published
1:27.4	just after the end of the
1:28.5	Second World War about the US fourth fighter group. And I'm just going to start off by saying,
1:33.6	for me, these boys are the daddies. They're absolutely the business. I've always been
1:38.0	rather overly enthralled to them. I have to. My hand up right here and now. Well, that's why people listen to this podcast, Jim, really, to enjoy your thrills.
1:48.9	Let's, let's be honest now.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Goalhanger Podcasts, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Goalhanger Podcasts and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.