Between The World Wars
There were two theaters of war that produced flying aces between the two world wars. They were the Spanish Civil War and the Second Sino-Japanese War.
Part of the outside intervention of in the Spanish Civil War was the supply of "volunteer" foreign pilots to both sides. Russian and American aces joined the Republican air force, while the Nationalists included Germans and Italians.
The Soviet Volunteer Group began operations in the Second Sino-Japanese War as early as 2 December 1937, resulting in 28 Soviet aces. The Flying Tigers were American military pilots recruited sub rosa to aid the Chinese Nationalists. They spent the summer and autumn of 1941 in transit to China, and did not begin flying combat missions until 20 December 1941.
Read more about this topic: Flying Ace, History
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