The Eagle Squadrons: Yanks in the RAF, 1940-1942 by Vern Haugland - 1979

Ziff-Davis Flying Books, 1979. Book. Near Fine. Hardcover. Signed by Author(s). 1st Edition.. This copy is signed and inscribed by one of the books subjects, Reade Tilley. Tilley has 16 citations in the index at the rear of the book. "25 May 1942 - Towering Reade Tilley Jr., Clearwater RAF fighter pilot who couldn't join the U.S. Air Corps because he was too tall, has been awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for valor in recent air battles over Malta, one of two Americans so honored. Associated Press dispatches from Cairo, Egypt, yesterday telling of Tilley's decoration credited the former local Junior college student with destroying four enemy aircraft and almost certainly downing a fifth, although it was not officially claimed. On three occasions, although he had run out of ammunition, he drove off enemy fighters attempting to shoot British fighters as they landed, the British citation revealed. Previously he had been credited officially with shooting down (one FW190 probable -jf) an Axis plane in an air battle over the English Channel. His total score to date, five, makes him the first ace of World War II in this area..