Here is some information about Brazil's and Mexico's involvement in WW2.
FORGOTTEN LATINOS
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Latin America is often overlooked in history books about the Second World War. Typically people will remember that Argentina maintained a relationship with Germany, and also remember the Battle of River Plate. There were only two Latin American countries that significantly participated in battle during WW2 and provided people and materiel (albeit mostly from US stock) for the Allied effort: Brazil from South America, and Mexico from North/Central America
BRAZIL
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(Picture Source: Wikipedia - public domain)
In numbers, Brazil was the most significant Latin American contributor, with Air Force and Army contribution, as well as providing its own territorial protection, and a corridor for ferrying war materiel. Brazil, like other countries of Latin America, maintained a neutral stance, while keeping a relationship with Axis countries. After several cargo ships were sunk by German U-boats off its coast, Brazil decided to join the war effort. Brazil declared war against Germany and Italy, but not Japan. A little known fact is that Brazil has the largest Japanese population outside of Japan. It was challenging to keep vital shipping information from reaching the Germans because the Japanese Empire had infiltrated the Japanese-Brazilian population with informants, who would pass information to Japanese agents who would then relay information to Germany. Brazil maintained this uneasy relationship with Japan even though it was the main cause it had to get involved in the war in the first place. Thus, U-boats had a field day with Brazilian cargo ships until Brazil started fighting back.
Once committed to the war, the United States opened arms sales to Brazil, providing weapons, training, and most significantly, aircraft. Brazil was provided with several state of the art American aircraft, including P-40s, P-47s, T-6 Texans, B-25s, and PBY Catalinas, to name a few. Aircraft such as the Catalinas were very significant for the patrol of the vast Brazilian Atlantic coastline. In an unusual sighting, a Brazilian Catalina and a Brazilian Hudson, along with an US Navy Mariner were credited with attacking the German U-boat U-199 in 1943. The Catalina dealt the depth charge blow which sank the U-boat. Brazil also provided a ferry conduit for American bombers. US bombers would fly South, land on the northern territory of Amapa, or at Belem in the state of Para, then would proceed to Natal, in the state of Rio Grande do Norte, as the final stop. B-17s and B-24s would then start their ferry journey over the Atlantic to Northern Africa / Mediterranean / Italy.
The Brazilian Army and Air Force fought in Italy against the Axis. The most well known group of Brazilian warriors were the pilots of the 1st Brazilian Fighter Squadron/Group, known as "Jambock", and sporting the "Senta A Pua" unit emblem. (The slogan is not easily translated, but it means something along the lines of giving someone Hell and giving them a beating of a lifetime, but in a concise way. It is a warrior call to instigate morale before, during, and after battle.) The Brazilian fighter pilots were trained in Florida. As it was expected, the Brazilians encountered prejudice and racism, even though they were fighting for the same cause as the US. It is said that when they arrived in Italy, the US commander that was receiving them stated he did not have a need or use for those "Spaniards." The prejudice against the Brazilians was overcome a lot quicker than the prejudice against the Red Tail Tuskegee Squadron Black Pilots, who interestingly were American citizens; but it was done the same way: by fighting well.
The Brazilian pilots could overcome any obstacle, including prejudice, but they had one major challenge: American food. It is said that American food depressed them so much that it actually affected their training in Florida. It was not until they used a Brazilian cook for their meals that morale and training finally started to improve.
The 1st Brazilian Fighter Group was stationed in Tarquinia, Italy. They were responsible for a large share of ground targets destroyed, including trains, tanks, vehicles, bridges, aircraft. Their biggest enemy was ground fire, but they claimed a few aircraft destroyed. Outside on an Australian unit, the Brazilian 1st Fighter Group was the only foreign unit to receive the Presidential Unit Citation for that conflict. They are a source of great pride to the Brazilian population even today, particularly after US-educated Brazilian filmmaker Erik de Castro released the acclaimed documentary "Senta A Pua".
Read more below:
Brazilian Air Force WW2 Statistics:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brazilian_Air_ForceFate of U-199:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_submarine_U-199Brazilian Site:
http://www.sentandoapua.com.br/portal/About "Senta A Pua" movie:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0320443/MEXICO
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(Picture Source: Wikipedia - public domain)
Mexico also lost cargo ships to German U-boats, leading to a declaration of war against the Axis. It took some convincing by the United States for Mexico to join the fight, particularly because most Mexicans still held negative views of the US due to recent wars between the two countries. The US leveraged their relationship with Brazil to convince Mexico that fighting the war was the right thing for a Latin American country to do. The US already had Brazil in the European Theater, and they wanted to get an additional commitment for the war efforts in the Pacific, and Mexico was the right candidate.
Mexico was provided with aircraft for the patrol and protection of their coastlines. Notably, the US provided the P-47D Thunderbolt for their primary fighter unit, the 201st Fighter Squadron, also known as the "Aztec Eagles". The Mexican fighter pilots trained in Texas.
The Aztec Eagles were deployed to the Pacific Theater, and they participated in ground attack operations in support of the Philippines' Liberation. They operated from Clark Field in the main Island of Luzon, North of Manila. Their aircraft had both United States Army Air Force (USSAF) and Mexican Air Force markings. The 201st Fighter Squadron was credited with several targets damaged or destroyed on the ground. It is said that their first few missions were very long, and flown under the harshest heat conditions and battle stress; by the time the pilots returned, they were dehydrated, and had to be basically hoisted out of their cockpits.
Some of the Mexican fighter pilots earned (American) Air Medals, indicating they did their share of combat missions over the Pacific, with 96 combat missions. When they returned to Mexico at the end of the War, they were received as heroes, and are still viewed that way today, as the only Mexican military unit to ever fight outside of Mexico.
Read more below:
201st Fighter Squadron and Statistics:
http://www.dutcheastindies.webs.com/201squadron.htmlRemembering the Aztec Eagles (USAF Article):
http://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123192836Surviving Aztec Eagles (US Dept. of Defense Article):
http://www.defense.gov/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=28282Best Regards,
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