Art Donahue
| Arthur Gerald Donahue | |
|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | Art |
| Born |
29 January 1913 St. Charles, Minnesota, United States |
| Died | 11 September 1942 (aged 29) Killed in action over the English Channel |
| Allegiance |
 United Kingdom
|
| Service/branch |
 Royal Air Force
|
| Years of service | 1940–1942 |
| Rank | Flight Lieutenant |
| Service number | 81624 |
| Unit |
No. 64 Squadron RAF No. 71 Squadron RAF No. 91 Squadron RAF No. 258 Squadron RAF |
| Battles/wars | |
| Awards | Distinguished Flying Cross |
| Other work | Author |
Flight Lieutenant Arthur Gerald "Art" Donahue DFC (29 January 1913 – 11 September 1942) was an American fighter pilot who volunteered to fly for the British Royal Air Force in World War II. He was one of 11 American pilots who flew with RAF Fighter Command between 10 July and 31 October 1940, thereby qualifying for the Battle of Britain clasp to the 1939–45 campaign star. He was killed in action in September 1942.
Donahue was born to Frank and Ada Donahue in 1913 and was raised on a dairy farm near St. Charles, Minnesota. He learned to fly as a teenager at the Conrad Flying Service, operated by Max Conrad, an aviator known as the "Flying Grandfather" who had set numerous world records for distance and endurance. Becoming Minnesota's youngest commercially certificated pilot at the age of 19, Donahue helped Conrad run the flight school until he left to enlist in the Royal Air Force. He traveled to Canada, claimed to be Canadian, and was accepted.
After training with No. 7 Operational Training Unit, he was assigned to No. 64 Squadron at RAF Kenley on 3 August 1940. Two days later, he saw combat against Messerschmitt Bf 109s off the French coast, and suffered serious damage to his aircraft, forcing him to land at RAF Hawkinge. Donahue thus became one of ten Americans to fly for the RAF in the Battle of Britain in 1940.
A week later, on 12 August, he was wounded in combat over England's south coast in his Supermarine Spitfire Mk. I. He was forced to bail out of his burning aircraft, and suffered burns and leg injuries.
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