The impact of World War II on aviation is hard to overstate , and while the United States easily led production (overtaking the other juggernauts of the United Kingdom, Germany, and the USSR), there were plenty of other nations with notable air forces. Some of these air forces didn't actually produce any aircraft, but their aircrews made significant contributions. In the case of Poland , the Polish aviators made the greatest impact on WWII right when it mattered the most.
1 Brazilian Air Force Brazil entered the war on 22 August 1942 Notable aircraft: P-47 Thunderbolt (flown by Brazilian airmen in Italy) Aircraft produced: None (Brazil didn't produce aircraft until 1935) Notable for: Largest Latin American contribution Brazil is perhaps the largest yet mostly forgotten Ally in World War II . Brazil declared war on Germany in August 1942 after German submarines sank several of its merchant ships (and other political machinations). Brazil mostly fought in the Mediterranean Theater, where its Brazilian Expeditionary Force (which numbered around 25,900) included a fighter squadron equipped with US aircraft.
The National Museum of the United States Air Force states, " From the fall of 1944 to the end of the war, an all-volunteer group of 48 Brazilian fighter pilots flew as a squadron attached to the U.S. Army Air Forces' 350th Fighter Group, 12th Air Force, in Italy.
Designated the 1o Grupo de Aviação de Caça (1o GAC), these P-47 Thunderbolt pilots amassed an impressive comb.
