THE “FIGHTING COCKS”

Grey River Argus, 25 February 1943, Page 3

THE “FIGHTING COCKS”

LONDON, Feb.. 22 The “fighting cocks” an all-Empire Hurricane Squadron established such a reputation over the Mediterranean area that the Luftwaffe refuses to engage it, says the Air Ministry News Service. The “fighting cocks” include New Zealanders, Australians and Canadians. The first Allied Squadron to arrive in North Africa, touched down at Maison Blanche shortly after the capture of the airfield. The Squadron has flown a thousand hours on sea convoy patrols in which not a single Allied ship was lost. It shot down more than 130 enemy planes. The “fighting cocks” took a prominent part in the battle for Britain. Camp Griffiss, headquarters of the United States Army Eighth Air Force in England, has been turned over formally to the United States Army Air Force by the British Government, in a ceremony also commemorating Washington’s Birthday. The camp was named after Lieu-tenant-Colonel Townsend Griffiss, one of the first American airmen to die in the line of duty in the European theatre.