Originally posted by JDK
However the officers of occupied countries (entirely different to the Commonwealth) and non-combatant countries (e.g. USA pre ’41, Sweden, etc,) could NOT be members of their country’s armed forces – so they joined the RAF. Officers from occupied countries often kept their original force’s structure, but this had no validity under the Geneva Convention as I understand it, so they HAD to also be in the RAF.
JDK
You think it’s simple, then it ‘aint! I’m in the middle of this very discussion with one of my authors (he’s not here!)
There were at least two different kinds of occupied countries in terms of their exiled armed forces.
1)
Those, like Poland and Norway, for example, were the legal government was that in the exile. Their armed forces were very much independent formally. You may recall that in order to start forming the Polish Army in Britain in 1940, the Parliament has actually passed a new Law, to permit foreign armed forces to be stationed on British soil (this was illegal before, with exception of formal visits of pre-arranged duration). So the Poles and Norwegians, for example, did not have to (and for most did not) join the RAF.
2)
Then those, like France, where the legal government was the one collaborating with Germany, or like Czechs, who were technically citizens of the Third Reich. They did have to join the RAF, because legally speaking they were traitors of their internationally recognised authorities. This, BTW, explains why only the French used the “Free” label (which is now incorrectly used with respect to all the occupied countries’ forces). They had to use it, because the Vichy France did have its own armed forces, so legally speaking such terms as French Air Force, for example, were already “taken”. Other nations (Czechs, for example) did not have their own pro-German armed forces, so were free to use the Czechoslovak Air Force label, although it did not mean much legally speaking until about mid-war when HM Government finally admitted that the Munich thing was a shame and should not be regarded as legally valid.
2a)
And then of course the “Eagles” who could not use the “US Air Force” name, or even anything referring to “US” or “American”, as that would be a provocation towards the neutral USA.
If you want to learn more about the exiled air forces, follow the advice of EN830. Alan Brown’s book is a fascinating reading.
Originally posted by EN830
Prof Alan Brown wrote an excellent book on the subject of Airmen in Exile that illustrates how these airmen were integrated into the RAF, but also how the various national Air Forces were able to keep their own structure.
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