Hagedorn, Dan The Forgotten American Volunteer Group. US Volunteers in the Colombia Peru War, 1932

While volumes have been devoted to the Legendary "Flying Tigers," the ultimate American Volunteer Group, another virtually unknown band of flyers preceded them in 1932, in an entirely different conflict and even more remote part of the world. When Colombia and Peru became embroiled in what is usualy cited as the "Leticia Affair," a Little-heralded arms race ensued as the political and nationalistic forces of the two nations turned to force of arms to settle a territorial dispute. The Colombians engaged expatriate German veterans of World War One and the highly efficient SCADTA organization but became wary of the power held by these elements, especially when mated with some of the most state­ of-the-art German aircraft available at the time. The hard-charging Curtiss-Wright Export Corporation saw an opening and soon had not only sold the Colombians on an impressive assortment of capable aircraft types with which they could train an air force and go to war with confidence, but also an American cadre to bridge the gap until their own crews were ready. Illustrated with rare contemporary illustrations, this books tells the fascinating story of these oft-forgotten men and the aircraft they flew.

At that time, armed conflicts broke out between Colombia and Peru over disputed territorial issues. On the Colombian side, German veterans of the First World War who had emigrated and deployed some of the most modern German aeroplanes of the time were fighting. Concerned about the growing influence of these and other militant groups in the country, Colombia bought aircraft from the American "Curtiss-Wright Export Corporation" in order to build up its own air force. These aircraft were followed by a group of skilled American pilots who were to bridge the time gap until Colombian pilots could be trained for the purchased aircraft. This book is illustrated with rare contemporary photographs and tells the fascinating story of these often forgotten American pilots on foreign missions and their aircraft.