Caribbean Legion: And Its Mercenary Air Force, 1947-1950 By Dan Hagedorn

Dan Hagedorn º 7 REVIEW

They were the stuff of legends and, indeed, their exploits throughout the simmering Caribbean region of the late 1940s have gained a life of their own over the intervening years. They were a mix of the finest and brightest - true patriots - with a seasoning of ambitious politicians, soldiers of fortune and blatant arms merchants. But through it all, their often-splintered leadership recognized the pivotal value of air power, and so they organized one of the very first extra-national air forces - non-traditional in the extreme.

This in-depth examination goes beyond the politics and noble aspirations of the participants, whether patriot or despot, and reveals for the first time the lengths that the Legionaries went to in assembling an air strike force the likes of which the world had not yet witnessed. From B-24 Liberators to P-38 Lightnings, and down to non-lethal Vultee BT-13s and lumbering transports, the Legion's Air Force could well have been the pointy end of a political transformation that would shake entrenched dictators to the core.

Well-illustrated and documented by a team of award-winning aero historians, this latest addition to the excellent Helion Latin America @War series is a must for those seeking the rest of the story. Caribbean Legion: And Its Mercenary Air Force, 1947-1950

Welcome to the post-World War II world of the Caribbean Legion, an organisation dedicated to the overthrow of dictatorships in the region and the implementation of democracies. Dan Hagedorn and Maria Overall are experts in warfare in this part of the world, and in this book they guide us through the exploits of the Legion with an emphasis on their use of a makeshift airforce.
Hagedorn and Overall begin by establishing the political context of a Caribbean region in flux during and shortly after WWII. They trace the origins of that into the promotion of democracy from the 1920s onwards in opposition to dictatorships in the region. The Caribbean Legion would take up that mantle after the War and had coalesced into an organization by February 1946. Their first serious test was the Cayo Confites affair, an attempt to remove the Dominican Republic dictator Rafael Trujillo. This was a failure but created the first air component for the Legion, the ELA at this point, with a transport service and some US warplanes. In short order, they had themselves a handy little airforce. They also acquired a few ships to support their invasion of the Dominican Republic. And then it all fell apart, including their collective arrest and transfer to Guatemala.
The Legion’s next adventure in 1948 was more successful, helping to knock over the Costa Rican government as part of the civil war that swept that nation, though few of the men took part in the actual combat. Their makeshift airforce was again prominent with some interesting modifications to some of the planes to turn them into fighting craft. The Legion’s leaders had outstayed their welcome in Costa Rica by January 1949, though most of the men had left by then. The Legion’s followed that with a return to the Dominican Republic to remove Trujillo. The planned airborne ‘invasion’ was an unmitigated fiasco. Subsequent diplomatic moves in the region heralded the end of the Legion. The authors add appendices on the various airplanes of the Legion, the Dominican military, and the Nicaraguan Air Force.
Hagedorn and Overall tell a fascinating tale of high ideals and low skullduggery as they piece together the exploits of the Caribbean Legion. They do so in an almost journalistic style replete with personal commentary and asides that makes this a fast read; perhaps a bit too much at times as the uninitiated reader struggles to hold on to the details. I sensed that there was a much bigger book in this if more of the background could have been fleshed out. Nevertheless, they capture the chaotic events involving the Legion very well and they clearly know their material. They are supported in their endeavour by some excellent photographs of warplanes. Readers interested in air warfare and post-War Caribbean conflict will enjoy this very much.
History, Nonfiction

Caribbean