American Top Gun Fighter Pilot Academy Set Up By British

The British contribution of a dozen instructors was a substantial help to the Americans struggling for aerial success over Vietnam

From The Telegraph:

The American Top Gun fighter pilot academy was inspired by the Royal Navy elite flying instructors, a new book has revealed.

Despite the all-American hero imagery of the film starring Tom Cruise, the US Navy's expertise was in large part due to their instruction by aviators from the Fleet Air Arm.

When British pilots arrived at Miramar airbase in California in the early 1960s the Americans were losing a large number of dogfights in their multi-million Phantom fighters to the enemy's relatively "cheap" MiG 21s.

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My Comment: The beginning of the U.S. Navy had its roots from the British. U.S. Special Commando/Elite squads came from a Canadian/British contribution. CIA and Counter Intelligence came from MI5 and MI6.

And now we learn that the U.S. Air Force must give some credit to the Brits.

None of this news surprises me. The British ruled the world for centuries through the use of smart diplomats and a very effective and smart military. That knowledge was priceless for super power wannabes like the U.S. in the 50s and 60s, and to their credit the U.S. took it .... flight school included.