31st Fighter Group North American P-51 Mustang photo gallery

31st Fighter Group

31st Fighter Group Crest
USAAF 31st Fighter Group

31st Fighter Group

Constituted as 31st Pursuit Group (Interceptor) on 22 Dec 1939. Activated on 1 Feb 1940. Trained with P-39's and participated in maneuvers. Redesignated 31st Fighter Group in May 1942. Moved to England, May-Jun 1942. Assigned to Eighth AF and equipped with Spitfires. Entered combat in Aug 1942. Supported a raid made by Canadian, British, American, and French forces at Dieppe on 19 Aug. Escorted bombers and flew patrol and diversionary missions until Oct. Assigned to Twelfth AF for the invasion of North Africa, the pilots of the group flying Spitfires from Gibraltar to Algeria on 8 Nov 1942 and the ground echelon landing at Arzeu beach the same day. Attacked motor transports, gun positions, and troop concentrations during the three-day campaign for Algeria and French Morocco. Helped to defeat Axis forces in Tunisia by supporting ground troops and providing cover for bomber and fighter aircraft. During May and Jun 1943, provided escort for bombers on raids to Pantelleria and cover for naval convoys in the Mediterranean. Supported the landings on Sicily in July and took part in the conquest of that island. Covered the landings at Salerno early in Sep 1943 and at Anzio in Jan 1944. Also operated in close support of Allied ground forces in Italy and flew patrol and escort missions.

Assigned to Fifteenth AF in Apr 1944, converted to P-51's, and thereafter engaged primarily in escort work. Received a DUC for a mission on 21 Apr 1944 when the group, despite the severe weather that was encountered, provided cover for a force of heavy bombers during a raid on production centers in Rumania. On numerous other occasions escorted bombers that attacked objectives in Italy, France, Germany, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Austria, Hungary, Bulgaria, Rumania, Yugoslavia, and Greece. In addition provided escort for reconnaissance aircraft and for C-47's engaged in the airborne operation connected with the invasion of Southern France. Also flew strafing missions against airdromes and communications targets. Took part in an operation in which a task force from Fifteenth AF attacked targets in Rumania while flying to Russia on 22 Jul 1944 and while returning to Italy on 26 Jul; on 25 Jul, after escorting P-38's from a base in Russia for a raid on an airdrome in Poland, the 31st group made attacks on a convoy of German trucks and on a force of German fighter-bombers, being awarded a DUC for its performance. Strafed rail and highway traffic in northern Italy in Apr 1945 when Allied forces were engaged in their final offensive in that area. Returned to the US in Aug. Inactivated on 7 Nov 1945.

Activated in Germany on 20 Aug 1946. Assigned to United States Air Forces in Europe. Transferred, without personnel and equipment, to the US in Jun 1947. Assigned to Tactical Air Command and equipped with P-51's. Converted to F-84's in 1948. Redesignated 31st Fighter-Bomber Group in Jan 1950. Assigned to Strategic Air Command in Jul 1950. Redesignated 315t Fighter-Escort Group. Inactivated on 16 Jun 1952.

USAAF 31st Fighter Group 39th Fighter Squadron USAAF 31st Fighter Group 40th Fighter Squadron USAAF 31st Fighter Group 41st Fighter Squadron USAAF 31st Fighter Group 307th Fighter Squadron USAAF 31st Fighter Group 308th Fighter Squadron USAAF 31st Fighter Group 308th Fighter Squadron USAAF 31st Fighter Group 309th Fighter Squadron

39th Fighter Sqn - 40th Fighter Sqn - 41st Fighter Sqn - 307th Fighter Sqn - 308th Fighter Sqn - 308th Fighter Sqn var - 309th Fighter Sqn

Squadrons. 39th: 1940-1942. 40th: 1940-1942. 41st: 1940-1942. 307th: 1942-1945; 1946-1952. 308th: 1942-1945; 1946- 1952. 309th: 1942-1945; 1946-1952.

Stations. Selfridge Field, Mich, 1 Feb 1940; Baer Field, Ind, 6 Dec 1941; New Orleans AB, La, Feb-19 May 1942; Atcham, England, 11 Jun 1942; Westhampnett, England, 1 Aug 1942; Tafaraoui, Algeria, 8 Nov 1942; La Senia, Algeria, c. 12 Nov 1942; Thelepte, Tunisia, c. 7 Feb 1943; Tebessa, Algeria, 17 Feb 1943; Youks-les-Bains, Algeria, 21 Feb 1943; Kalaa Djerda, Tunisia, c. 25 Feb 1943; Thelepte, Tunisia, 11 Mar 1943; Djilma, Tunisia, 7 Apr 1943; Le Sers, Tunisia, 12 Apr 1943; Korba, Tunisia, 15 May 1943; Gozo, c. 30 Jun 1943; Ponte Olivo, Sicily, c. 13 Jul 1943; Agrigento, Sicily, 21 Jul 1943; Termini, Sicily, 2 Aug 1943; Milazzo, Sicily, 2 Sep 1943; Montecorvino, Italy, 20 Sep 1943; Pomigliano, Italy, 14 Oct 1943; Castel Volturno, Italy, 19 Jan 1944; San Severo, Italy, 2 Apr 1944; Mondolfo, Italy, 3 Mar 1945; Triolo Airfield, Italy, 15 Jul-Aug 1945; Drew Field, Fla, Aug-7 Nov 1945. Giebelstadt, Germany, 20 Aug 1946; Kitzingen, Germany, 30 Sep 1946; Langley Field, Va, 25 Jun 1947; Turner Field, Ga, 4 Sep 1947-16 Jun 1952.

Commanders. Lt Col Harold H George, Feb 1940; Col John R Hawkins, 1 Jul 1941; Col Fred M Dean, 5 Dec 1942; Lt Col Frank A Hill, c. Jul 1943; Col Charles M McCorkle, c. Sep 1943; Col Yancey S Tarrant, 4 Jul 1944; Col William A Daniel, Dec 1944-unkn. Lt Col Horace A Hanes, Aug 1946-unkn; Lt Col Frederick H LeFebre, Jan 1947; Maj Arland Stanton, Feb 1947; Col Dale D Fisher, Mar 1947; Lt Col Donald M Blakeslee, May 1947; Maj Leonard P Marks, 22 Oct 1947; Col Carroll W McColpin, 1 Nov 1947; Col Earl H Dunham, c. Dec 1949; Col David C Schilling, 1 Jun 1951-16 Jun 1952.

Campaigns. Air Combat, EAME Theater; Air Offensive, Europe; Algeria-French Morocco; Tunisia; Sicily; Naples-Foggia; Anzio; Rome-Arno; Normandy; Northern France; Southern France; North Apennines; Rhineland; Central Europe; Po Valley.

Decorations. Distinguished Unit Citations: Rumania, 21 Apr 1944; Poland, 25 Jul 1944.

Insigne Shield: Per bend nebule or and azure, in chief a wyvern, sans legs, wings endorsed of the second. Motto: Return With Honor. (Approved 28 Jun 1941.)

31st Fighter Group Operational history

USAAF 31st Fighter Group 39th Fighter Squadron USAAF 31st Fighter Group 40th Fighter Squadron USAAF 31st Fighter Group 41st Fighter Squadron

The 31st Pursuit Group, composed of a Headquarters squadron, and the 39th, 40th, and 41st Pursuit Squadrons was formed on February 1, 1940 at Selfridge Field, Michigan. They were initially equipped with P-39s. In January 1942 the 39th, 40th and 41st were transferred to the 35th PG and the 307th, 308th, and 309th Pursuit Squadrons were formed in their place to comprise the 31st. These three squadrons were equipped with the P-40B for three months then again re-equipped with the P-39.

USAAF 31st Fighter Group 307th Fighter Squadron USAAF 31st Fighter Group 308th Fighter Squadron USAAF 31st Fighter Group 308th Fighter Squadron USAAF 31st Fighter Group 309th Fighter Squadron

In June 1942 the Group's personnel were shipped to England with Headquarters, the 307th, and the 308th based at Atcham. The 309th was based at High Ercall. All three squadrons received Spitfire Vbs and assigned the squadron codes MX (307th), HL (308th), and WZ (309th). On August 1st the Group was deemed ready for action and the squadrons moved closer to the fighting, with the 307th moving to Biggin Hill, the 308th to Kenley, and the 309th to Westhampnett. Under RAF control, the squadrons sent sweeps to France during the first two weeks of August, took part in Circus 204 to Lille on the 17th and the big Dieppe Operation on the 19th. Group claims for the Dieppe Operation were 2 destroyed, 3 probable, and 1 damaged for the loss of 8 Spitfires. By the end of August the Group had all moved to the Westhampnett area and through September and early October participated in the usual patrols and Circuses of the time. The Circus operations were focused on Le Harve and Abbeville. On September 14 the 31st was transferred from the VIII AF to the XII AF. On Oct 13, 1942 the Group was declared non-operational and by the 23rd was on board ships bound for North Africa.

Operation TORCH, the invasion of North Africa, commenced on November 8, 1942. The 308th and 309th flew from Gibraltar into Tafaraoui Airfield, Algeria, with the 309th shooting down 3 French Dewoitine D.520s that were strafing the airfield as the group was landing. The group's ground echelons were disembarked at Arzeu on the 8th, and were trucked to Tafaraoui in the middle of the night. The 307th flew into Tafaraoui on the 9th. The Group was engaged in ground attack actions in their area up to November 11th when the French forces in the Oran area surrendered. By November 14 the group had moved the short distance to Le Senia and was tasked with capping Oran. For the rest of 1942 the rain and mud greatly limited operations, however the 307th did manage to move to Maison Blanche on December 21.

By January 11, 1943 the 308th had moved to Casablanca, Morocco in order to cover the arrival of President Roosevelt and Prime Minister Winston Churchill. The 308th considered this assignment to be an honor. On Feb 7, 1943 the entire 31st FG assembled at Thelepte, Tunisia, their new home in the desert within 50 miles of the front. Conditions at Thelepte were very difficult, with the men living in shelters and dugouts, while the Luftwaffe frequently raided the base. The Germans were on the move and the second week of February found the group very busy escorting P-39s tasked with strafing the German convoys and positions. The 15th was an action packed day for the group starting with the 307th being strafed on the runway followed by the Group destroying 6 Me 109s & Fw 190s during the course of the day. On February 17, with Thelepte in imminent danger of being overrun by the Germans, the entire Group was ordered to evacuate immediately and forced to leave much of their supplies behind.

During the next three weeks the 31st FG was scattered about North Africa in such places as Tebessa, Du Kouif, Youks-les-Bains, Canrobert, and Kalaa Djerda before they could reassemble at Thelepte. For the remainder of March through the first week of April the Group was principally tasked with escorting A-20s to the front. During this period the action was focused on El Guettar and LaFauconnerie and the 31st accounted for 15 Luftwaffe planes destroyed. On April 6 the 31st received its first Spitfire Mk IXs. The Germans were now on the run and the Group was moved to Djilma on the 7th, 15 miles from the front, then again on the 13th to Le Sers. Flying sweeps out of their new base at Le Sers, the 31st claimed 29 Luftwaffe planes destroyed by the time the last Germans surrendered in North Africa on May 11.

With the Germans out of North Africa, things slowed considerably for the 31st FG during the rest of May. Pilots were given rest leave and most of the Spitfire V's were replaced with Spitfire IXs and Spitfire Mk VIIIs. The 308th received the Mk VIIIs, which were nearly identical in performance to the Mk IX. By May 20 the Group had picked up and moved to Korba, a rough landing strip situated on the Gulf of Tunis, within site of the Allies next objective, Pantelleria. Pantelleria was a heavily fortified Island east of Cape Bon held by the Italians. Operational again by June 1st, the 31st was once again busy with escort missions to Pantelleria. The air battle really started to heat up on the 9th and by the time Pantelleria fell on June 11th the 31st FG had shot down 28 enemy aircraft, spanning three days, at little loss to themselves.

After Pantelleria, June was a slow month and not altogether pleasant given the rough conditions at Korba, although many of the men took leave in nearby Tunis. On July 1st the Group moved yet again, this time to Gozo, a small Island situated 2 miles off Malta and 80 miles from Sicily - the next Allied objective. Operation Husky, the invasion of Sicily, commenced on July 10. The 31st was tasked with providing coverage of the invasion fleet. On the 11th, 7 enemy planes attacking Allied shipping were intercepted and destroyed by the 31st . The Group moved to Ponte Olivo, Sicily on the 14th. They bounced through Agregento and Palermo before settling in at Termini East on the Northern Coast of Sicily by August 1st. The Group accounted for 6 enemy planes downed during the second week of August. Sicily surrendered on August 17, 1943. Termini East was the nicest base the Group had been at for a long while, but their stay only lasted a month. On September 2nd the 31st moved to Milazzo, a dusty, terrible airstrip, in order to cover the landings at Salerno on the 9th. Quite a few of the Spitfires pranged trying to negotiate the poor airstrip at Milazzo. The 31st downed 6 German planes flying over the landing beaches at Salerno during the first half of September. By the 20th the situation was secure enough in Italy for the 31st to move to Monte Corvino, Italy, just five miles from Salerno.

The activity at Monte Corvino consisted mostly of flying patrols over the Salerno beaches. That is until rain in the middle of the month turned the grass strip into a mud bog. On the 14th the 31st moved to Pomligliano which had a concrete runway. For the balance of October the Group flew bomber escort and infantry support missions to the front, along with many fruitless patrols. German air activity was nearly absent and the month ended with no scores for the Group. The most exiting event was the fighter sweeps to Rome on Oct 30 and 31st. Things picked up a bit during the second week of November when the Germans made a push towards Naples. German planes were seen again, in fact Pomligliano was bombed and strafed on two separate occasions on the 12th. In three days of fighting the 31st accounted for 6 German aircraft destroyed. The German advance stalled and the Allies consolidated their positions. For the balance of November the 31st was back to flying largely routine front line patrols, with the occasional Naval escort and sweep to Rome thrown in. Front line patrols were the most common mission type flown by the 31st through December; when the weather allowed for flying. Escorting of A-36 Invaders as well as B-25s, B-26s, and A-20s to the bombline was also a common occurrence. The missions took the 31st to the Liri and Garigliano Valleys and the Cassino Area. Flak was bad in the Cassino area and combat with German planes picked up during the second week of December. By the 15th the 31st had downed 11 Luftwaffe aircraft. The Cassino area was proving to be the hot spot. The constant front line patrolling was interrupted by a group move to Castel Volturno, a steel matted landing strip located in a march near Naples, on January 18, 1944.

On January 22 the Invasion at Anzio began and the Group was tasked with providing cover for the invasion force and beachhead. Patrolling the Anzio beachhead was to become the normal routine and primary mission of the 31st right up to the end of March. Unlike the last few months of 1943 where the Luftwaffe was relatively scarce, the Anzio Invasion brought out the Luftwaffe in droves and the 31st saw a lot of combat. In January the group accounted for 30 Luftwaffe destroyed, most of them in and around the Anzio beachhead. The 307th moved to a dirt strip at Nettuno on Feb 1, but unrelenting German shellfire and air raids resulted in a move back to Castel Volturno by the middle of the month. This was not the first time the 31st was based just a little too close to the front lines. The ground echelon of the 307th were not fully extricated from the dreadful bombardment at Nettuno until the end of the month. Being part of a tactical air force, as the 31st was, meant missions over or near the front lines. When the weather allowed for it, the squadrons flew 3 or 4 missions a day escorting medium bombers to tactical targets and patrolling over the beachhead. During February, Anzio was a real hot spot and the allied ground forces were not making much headway. The 31st FG was doing their best to help out though and ended the month with 23 1/2 Luftwaffe planes destroyed. By March the German drive to push the allies off the Anzio beachhead had stalled and the Luftwaffe was not seen in as great a number as the previous month. The allies made a drive to take Cassino in mid March and the group split its patrol time between the two sectors. By the end of the month the group had racked up another 15 victories over the Luftwaffe. During the last week of March missions were curtailed as the pilots were sent to North Africa to shuttle back the group's new airplane; the P-51. Most of the pilots were not too thrilled at first to have to give up their Spitfires. From the time they first went into action in August 1942, up to March 1944 when the finally traded in the Spitfires for P-51s, the group had destroyed 194 1/2 enemy planes and had grown quite fond of the Spitfire.

April brought big changes to the 31st. First they were transferred to the 15th Strategic Air Force, secondly they had re-equipped with the P-51B, and thirdly the Group had moved to San Servero, on the eastern side of Italy. The 15th Air Force was focusing its attention at this time on the enemy's railroad marshaling yards, aircraft factories and airfields. After two weeks of equipping, familiarization, and training missions in the new P-51 the 31st was tasked with bomber escort to these types of targets. In their Spitfire days the group's squadrons frequently flew missions independent of each other. The missions or patrols were over or near the front lines and an hour or two in duration. The bombers they escorted were usually light or medium types. Now with the P-51s, the 31st as a rule flew as a cohesive group escorting B-17 and B-24 heavy bombers. The distance flown was typically 500 miles or so and the mission time was twice that of what the Spitfire was capable. The big missions during April were to Turnal Severin and Ploesti (twice), Romania; Sofia, Bulgaria; Weiner Neustadt, Austria; Piombino, Milan, and Monfalcone, Italy; and Toulon, France. The group had big days during the Ploesti mission on the 21st and the Weiner Neustadt mission on the 23rd. Formations of as many as 50 German, Romanian, or Italian planes were encountered on some of these missions but by the end of April the 31st had downed 51 enemy aircraft.

The 15th Air Force continued to pound Romania during May and the 31st participated in missions to Brasov, Bucharest, and Ploesti, Romania (three times this month). Weiner Neustadt, Austria was targeted again on the 10th and it was estimated to be defended by 120 German planes. Around the middle of May the 15th AF began to hit targets in Northern Italy in an effort to support the summer ground offensive. Missions to the marshaling yards at Lyons, St Etienne, and Montpellier, France during the last week of May were unopposed. This certainly was is marked contrast to the large number of enemy fighters the 31st was encountering over Austria and Romania. Big days for the group were 9 destroyed at Ploesti on the 5th, 9 destroyed at Munchendorf, Austria on the 24th and a whopping 14 destroyed in another mission to Weiner Neustadt on the 29th. The tally for May was 47 enemy planes destroyed. What a change season, plane and target make! In their first two months flying the P-51 to Romania, Austria, France and Northern Italy the 31st FG had accounted for 98 enemy planes destroyed.

The enemy's marshaling yards in Romania, Hungary, France, and Italy continued to be targeted by the 15th Air Force during June. The 31st also flew escort for bombers targeting oil refineries at Treiste, Italy; Vienna, Austria; Ploesti, Romania; and Budapest, Hungary. Enemy airdromes were attacked at La Jasse, France, and Oberpfoffenhopen and Wessling (near Munich). The mission to Oberpfoffenhopen on the 9th of June was the first time the 31st flew inside Germany. The 31st began to receive new P-51Ds on the 17th of June and put them to good use, destroying 16 enemy aircraft during the June 26 mission to the Vienna, Austria airdrome & marshaling yards. By the end of the month the 31st had destroyed another 52 enemy aircraft.

The missions to Germany picked up during July with the 31st FG flying escort on missions to Blechhammer, Munich, Brux, and Freidrichshafen (twice). Now familiar targets were hit multiple times: Budapest, Hungary 4 times; Ploesti 4 times; and Bucharest, Romania twice, A big show for the 31st was Operation Frantic III, a shuttle mission to Russia. 47 P-51s left San Servero on July 22nd and while enroute to Piryatin in the Ukraine covered P-38s attacking airfields in Romania. Flying out of Piryatin on the 25th the 31st attacked airfields in Poland, with the 307th having a field day destroying 21 Ju 87s. By the time the 31st FG had returned home on the 26th, they had destroyed 37 enemy aircraft and suffered no losses. This was an outstanding success which was rewarded with a Presidential Unit citation. The group totaled 82 enemy planes destroyed for the month of July 44.

Missions to France by the 31st FG were met with very little enemy opposition. The 31st particitated in "Operation Anvil", the invasion of southern France during mid August, by flying escort for transports. There was still enemy opposition in Romania and Germany however. Ploesti was the target three more times in early August for the 31st where they shot down 15 enemy aircraft. Romania surrendered on the 23rd of August. The 31st was then tasked with escorting transports flying VIPs into Romania and POWs home. Three missions to Blechhammer yielded another 15 Luftwaffe destroyed. More Luftwffe were downed during a couple of missions to Czechoslovakia. All told the 31st destroyed 57 enemy aircraft during August.

With Romania out of the war the 15th Air Force stepped up their attacks on Hungary. The 31st flew their first mission to Greece in September but came up empty. Munich and Odertal were still high priority targets but the Luftwaffe was not putting up much of a defense. Bad weather at the end of summer grounded the group. The 5 enemy planes shot down during September was very disappointing after the great success of the summer.

With the coming of Autumn the weather in the MTO deteriorated and many days the missions were canceled and the group stood down. On days when the adverse weather let up the 31st flew escort on missions to hit the oil refineries at Vienna, Blechhammer and Brux, marshaling yards at Munich as well as strafing missions against airdromes and trains in Czechoslovakia. The 309th had a big day on October 16 when the squadron single handedly took on 100 plus German fighters at Brux, destroying 10 of them for no losses. Seeing the Luftwaffe in these numbers was becoming a rare thing and those raids that did get off in between bouts of bad weather were often unopposed. The oil refineries at Linz and Vienna, Austria were targeted by the 15th AF with the 31st flying escort four times during the first week of November. The Germans only bothered to try and intercept the raid on November 6, attacking with 30 to 40 Me 109s which the 31st drove off. Marshaling yards were targeted at Munich and Yugoslavia without much opposition. The 31st resorted to strafing locomotives and airdromes in order to find some action but these were inevitably costly. The second half of November was pretty much a wash out with all the rain and the Group only mangaged to destroy 28 planes during October and November combined. The weather improved sufficiently in December to allow missions to the oil refineries at Blechhammer, Odertal, Viennam, Brux, and Regensburg. It was during December that the 31st saw their first jet Me-262 with their first kill of a Me-262 coming on Dec 22. The squadrons of the 31st were now manned with about 50 pilots each which allowed for special missions escorting photo reconnaissance P-38s and Mosquitos on a near daily basis while the bulk of the group flew escort for the B-17s and B-24s to the oil refineries.

The 31st only managed to fly on five missions during January of 1945. The Group escorted 15th Air Force bombers to targets at Trento, Klagenfurt, Vienna, Regensburg, and Mossbierbaum. For the remainer of the month the group was stood down because of bad weather. San Severo was hit by a foot of snow late in the month. No enemy planes were encountered let alone shot down during January. The Luftwaffe was scarce again during February with a only couple of Me 262s sighted during two separate reconnaissance escort missions and two Me 109s spotted during a bomber escort mission to Fiume. Other than these encounters the Luftwaffe did not offer any opposition to the missions flown by the 31st during February, consequently the group came up empty again in aerial victories. The 31st flew bomber escort for the 15th Air Force which continued to target oil refineries, marshaling yards and assorted rail targets. Missions to Mossbierbaum, Regensburg, Vienna, Amstetten, Bolzano, and Zagreb went unopposed. The 31st became more active in stafing ground targets after relieved of their escort duties and suffered the inevitable losses from ground fire.

On March 3, 1945 the 31st FG moved to Mondolfo, 170 miles north of San Severo. Missions to Padua and Verona, Italy; Hegyshalom, Hungary; Regensburg and Weiner Neustadt were unopposed. Finally on the 18th of March the three month drought ended with the 31st downing two HE 111s near Lake Balaton, Hungary. The Group tangled with Me 262s on the mission to Muhldorf, Germay on the 19th but came up empty. On the 22nd the 31st claimed its second Me 262 victory during an escort mission to the Ruhland, Germany oil refinery. Berlin was the target on the 24th. This was the first time the 31st had flown to Berlin and they did it in style shooting down 5 Me-262s! The 31st was getting back into the swing of things and downed 6 FW 190s the next day. The 31st FG capped the month of March with a remarkable performance on the last day of March by shooting down 21 Luftwaffe planes. The 309th took on 30 ME 109s during a sweep to Prague, Czechoslovakia and shot 18 of them down in 20 minutes with no losses.

In April, in a throw back to their Spitfire days, the 31st changed tactics and concentrated their efforts against tactical targets in Northern Italy. Four or five missions a day were flown by each squadron escorting medium bombers of the 12th Air Force and carrying out armed reconnaissance patrols in support of Allied Armies. The fighting in Italy ended on May 2 and the War in Europe offically ended May 8. The 31st Fighter Group ended the war as the top scoring allied fighter group in the Mediterranean Theater of Operations and the 5th highest overall for the USAAF with 570 1/2 confirmed aerial victories. The last of the 31st personnel shipped out for home on August 13, 1945.

USAAF 31st Fighter Group 307th Fighter Squadron

31st Fighter Group - 307th Fighter Squadron

The 307th Fighter Squadron was activated as part of the 31st Fighter Group at Baer Field, Fort Wayne, Indiana on Jan 30, 1942. Lt Marvin L. McNickle was appointed the Squadron's first Commanding Officer. On Februay 6 they moved to New Orleans Army Air Field and were equipped with P-40B Tomahawks for a short while before switching to P-39s. Transferred to the 8th Air force in mid May, they shipped for England in early June and established themselves at Atcham, England on June 11, 1942. The Squadron was equipped with Spitfire Vbs and assigned the squadron code MX. They familiarized themselves with their new Spitfires, learned RAF methods and trained at Atcham until August 1 when they were deemed ready for combat and moved to Biggin Hill. The 307th's first operational mission took place on August 17 when they took part in Circus 204 to Lille. Major McNickle led the squadron which acted as rear support and cover. Three missions were flown during Operation Jubilee, the Dieppe operation on August 19. Lt. Torvea was taken POW and Lt. Wright was killed, however the squadron made its first claims against the enemy. Captain Robertson and Lt. John White were credited with 1 FW-190 destroyed and 1 FW-190 probable while Lt. Whisonant was given credit for 1 FW-190 damaged. Following the Dieppe raid the 307th took part in Circus missions to St Omer, France and Ostend, Belgium before moving to Merston on the 23rd. Captain George Lebreche replaced Major McNicke as squadron CO on the 30th. Under the control of the RAF, routine patrols and missions to Le Havre and Aldermaston occupied the 307th until October 13 when they were declared non-operational. On the 22nd the 307th had joined the rest of the 31st FG, now part of the 12th Air Force, on board ship enroute to North Africa.

Operation Torch, the Invasion of North Africa, commenced on November 8, 1942. The ground echelon went ashore at Arzeu that afternoon. The pilots flew their Spitfires from Gibralter to Tafaraoui, Algeria on the 9th. The 307th saw action against French ground targets prior to the French surrender on the 11th. The squadron moved the 5 miles to Le Senia, Algeria on the 12th where they flew routine and uneventful patrols in their sector for the next five weeks. On December 21 the 307th moved to Maison Blanche, Algeria. Operating independently of the rest of the 31st they were primarily tasked with escorting transports from Algeria to Tunisia. On February 7th the 307th rejoined the 31st FG when they moved to Thelepte, Tunisia. Flying 12 ship formations that were generally led by Major LaBreche the 307th was busy flying three to four missions a day escorting P-39s attacking German positions. On the 15th the squadron, led by 31st CO Dean, got into a scrap with the Luftwaffe with Lt. Jerry Collinsworth claiming a FW-190 destroyed, Lts. Marlin Mitchell and John White each claiming ME-109s destroyed and Lt. Malcolm Hormats damaging a FW-190. Due to the advancing German army, the 31st had to abandon Thelepte on the 17th. The 307th bounced through Tebessa, Youks-les-Bains on the 21st, Kalaa Djerda on the 24th, Du Kouif on March 7, and back to Thelepte on March 11. Despite all the moving the 307th still managed missions escorting P-39s and A-20s to the front. On February 23rd Lt. Mitchell claimed a ME-109 shot down near Kasserine Pass. Lt. Collinsworth claimed a FW-190 destroyed on March 8th during a patrol to Pichon, after the squadron was bounced and Lt Thomas shot down. The weather improved through March and daily missions were flown either escorting A-20s or flying sweeps to the following areas: Mezzouna, Maknassy, Gafsa, Gabes, El Guettar, Fondouk, and Faid. On the 21st the squadron got into a bit of a scrap near Maknassy, resulting in a Ju-87 claimed by Lt. Maurice Langsberg.

On April 2 while on an escort mission to La Fauconnerie, the 307th got into a fight with a mixed flight of 10 ME-109s and FW-190s with Lt Henry Huntington downing a Me-109. Escorting A-20s to La Fauconnerie again on the 5th the squadron tangled with FW-190s attacking the bombers, with Lts. Jerry Collinsworth and Charles Fischette each downing a FW-190. On the 6th the 307th received the first of their new Spitfire Mk IXs. The Germans were now in retreat in North Africa. In order to be able to reach the front lines the 307th moved to Djilma on the 7th and to Le Sers, along with the rest of the 31st FG, on the 12th. After a week of relative inactivity, the 307th had a good day on the 21st destroying 7 German aircraft. During the first sweep of the day to the Tunis area the 307th engaged 16 ME-109s and FW-190s with Lts. J. White and Hawkins each knocking down a ME-109. Engaging 6 to 8 FW-190s during their second sweep of the day, the 307th scored again with Lts. Roland Wooten, Willaim Bryson and J. White destroying FW-190s. Capt. Davis shot down 2 FW-190s. Another sweep to Tunis on May 6th was productive for the 307th. In a fierce battle directly over the city, Lts. Robert Chaddock, Hormats, Collinsworth, and Fischette each downed enemy fighters. On May 12th the Axis offically surrendered all forces remaining in North Africa.

On May 17 the Squadron began moving to Korba on the Gulf of Tunis. The 307th was back in action on June 10th escorting bombers to the Italian island stronghold of Pantelleria. In an engagment over the harbour against 30 plus enemy aircraft Lt. White destroyed an ME-109 and a FW-190, Capt. Bryson destroyed a FW-190 and Lt. Wooten destroyed a ME-109. Lt. Fischette destroyed one ME-109 and shared a probable with Lt. Wooten. Lt. Collinsworth accounted for a Me-109 probable and damaged another. The next day on the 11th Pantelleria fell but the 307th engaged a formation of bombers and fighters attacking the invasion fleet. Captains Collinsworth and Bryson and Lt. White each shot down an enemy plane. Lt. Fischette downed two. Jerry Collinsworth, John White, and Charles Fischette were all aces now. The 307th ended the North Africa Campaign with a total of 33 enemy aircraft destroyed

On June 30 the pilots flew their Spitfires to their new base on Gozo, located 2 miles from Malta and 80 miles from Sicily. On July 10 the 307th flew as cover for the invasion of Sicily, Operation Huskey. Lts. Johnson and Conley were shot down by American flak as most likely was Lt. Goldenberg the next day. On the 11th Capts. Collinsworth and John Winkler shot down two FW-190s with Capt. Wooten damaging another. On July 14 the squadron moved to Ponte Olivo, Sicily. A week later they were located at Agrigento then moved to Palermo on the 27th. On August 1 the 307th moved again to Termini on the northern coast of Sicily, putting Italy within the range of the Spitfires. During a mission covering shipping near Cape Orlando on the 11th, Lt. Chaddock downed an Macchi 202 while Lts. Carroll Pryblo and Delton Graham shared a FW-190 destroyed. Sicily offically surrendered on August 17, 1943. During the first week of September the 307th staged at Milazzo expecting to soon move to Italy with the upcoming invasion.

The invasion of Italy at Salerno took place on September 9. The 307th covered shipping and the landing beaches where Capt. Fields scored a probable of a DO-217. Return fire from the bomber's gunner hit his engine however, causing him to crash on the beach. He was fortunately picked up by a ship from the invasion fleet. Lt. Graham had to put down his overheating Spitfire during a mission over Italy on the 10th, was captured, but escaped arriving back at Milazzo on the 14th. Routine patrols continued over the Salerno beaches with Lt. Hormats downing a JU-88 on the 15th. Finally by September 23 the landing area around Salerno was secure enough for the 307th to make the move to Monte Corvino, Italy. On the 25th Lt. Johnston shot down a FW-190 directly over the airfield. On October 2 Major Davis was ordered back to the states leaving Lt. Virgil Fields in command of the squadron. On October 13th the squadron moved to Pomigliano located about nine miles northeast of Naples. The mud from all the rain in early October had made flying out of Monte Corvino practically impossible. The cement runway at Pomigliano was certainly an improvment. October proved to be a disappointing month for the 307th with the only score being a FW-190 probable awarded to Lt. Brown. Missions flown were primarily in direct support of the ground troops or escort of medium bombers. November started off better with Lt. Van Natta claiming a ME-109 near Segni on the 2nd. With the Germans making a push towards Naples early in November, the Luftwaffe, scarce in October, were once more to be seen. After a series of convoy patrols and uneventful sweeps over the lines, things picked up on the 12th. During a sweep over the lines the 307th engaged five FW-190s with Lts. John Clark and Storms each claiming FW-190s. Lts. Brown and Michael Adams shared a probable and one damaged. The next day, the 13th, Capt. Fields and Lt. Norman Tucker each bagged one on another sweep of the lines. The weather was poor for the remainder of November and the 307th only managed a few patrols, a sweep to Rome, and a strafing mission. With the weather clearing early in December the squadron was tasked with putting up two or three patrols a day over the front lines. On the 14th the 307th finally saw some action again with Capt. Fields downing an ME-190 over the lines. The next day Lt. Tucker shot down an ME-109 over the Liri river, however Lt. Archer was missing. After these actions the squadron returned to uneventful patrols of the bombline and finished off 1943 with no further engagements against the enemy.

On January 3, 1944 Col. McCorkle, the 31st FG CO, shot down a FW-190 near Cassino while leading the 307th on a patrol. On the 8th Capt. Fields destroyed a FW-190 when the squad encountered 15 190s during a bombline patrol. On January 18th the 307th moved to Castel Volturno, 21 miles northwest of Naples. Escorting A-20s hitting Pontecorvo on the 20th, the 307th engaged Luftwaffe fighters making for the bombers. In the melee that followed, Lt. Maurice Vaughn downed one, Lts. Frederick Bohl and Joseph Tyus shared one destroyed, and Capt. Fields damaged one. The invasion at Anzio took place on January 22 with the 307th flying two missions over the invasion fleet. Returning from escorting A-20s to Cisterna on the 26th, the 307th tangled with a gaggle of 109s and 190s over Nettuno. Major Fields downed a FW-190, Lt. Tucker destroyed a ME-109, and Lt. Moore damaged 2 FW-190s. Lts. Brown and Livingston each shot up a FW-190. Major Field's victory made him an ace. The German reaction to the Anzio landings was fierce. Two patrols over Anzio on the 28th brought heavy action for the 307th. Lt. Pryblo downed an FW-190 and damaged another. Major Fields claimed another destroyed. Lts. Bell, Rostron, and Beaver, each damaged one.

On the 1st of February, the squadron moved to Nettuno, a dirt airstrip along the coast near Anzio. Scrambled from Nettuno on the 5th, four Spitfires of the 307th climbed up to a formation of ten plus FW-190s. Lts. Robert Caid, Elmer Livingston and FO Reginald Gilbert each shot down a FW-190. The next day was a black day indeed. The 307th was bounced and Major Fields shot down & killed by a ME-109. In the ensuing fight, Lts. Tyus and Moore each destroyed a FW-190. Major Alvan Gillem transfered from the 309th to take command of the 307th. Operations were suspended at Nettuno on February 16. Nettuno had been bombed & shelled repeatedly since the squadron's arrival. Nettuno was no longer tenable as a base of operation so the pilots flew their Spitfires back to Castel Volturno. The ground echelon would spend a rather miserable couple of weeks more stuck at Nettuno before they could all be evacuated. The 307th engaged 20 ME-109s on the 27th during a patrol over Anzio. Capt. Clark downed a ME-109. Lts. Gfeller, Vaughn and F/O Gilbert claimed damage to Me109s. Daily patrols over the Anzio beach head continued into March. With the German push at Anzio slackening, the Luftwaffe was not seen as much during the first half of March, however on the 13th Lts. Vaughn and Livingston downed ME-109s near Circeo. Things were heating up at Cassino and the 307th got into a number of scraps with German fighters over the Liri Valley on the 18th. Lt. Hardage nailed a FW-190 that crashed. Lt. John Gfeller got to within 24 feet and tore up a 190 that crashed into the mountains. Lt. Kenneth Haydis downed a FW-190 and Lt Pryblo blew the wing off a 190 which went in. Unfortunatly Lt O'Brien was missing. For the rest of March patrols to Cassino and Anzio were routine and uneventful. Their last mission in Spitfires was a sweep to Rome on the 29th. They then parked their Spitfires. They were changing over to P-51s. Their time in Spitfires and the Twelth Air Force was over. The Spitfires had served the 307th well allowing the squadron to score 65 victories.

The 307th spent the first week of April picking up their new P-51s from Africa and moving to San Severo. As part of the 15th Air Force they would be escorting heavy bombers to strategic targets in Romania, Yugoslavia, Bulgaria, Italy, and Germany. They would be flying most of their missions with the entire 31st FG now. Their first mission in their new planes was to Turnal Severin, Yugoslavia on the 16th. On April 21 the 307th escorted bombers to Ploesti, Romania. In an engagment against 18 enemy fighters, Lt. Gilbert shot down two while Lt Bohl destroyed a FW-190 and damaged another. Lts. Dillard and Cottrell damaged ME-109s. On the 23rd, enroute to Weiner Neustadt, Austria, Lt. Gilbert downed two and Lts. Pryblo and Nelson each got a ME-109. Major James Goodson, visting the 31st from the 4th FG, flew with the 307th and destroyed two more. Another mission to Ploesti was flown on the 24th with Lt. Gilbert shooting down a He-111 and Lt. Bohl destroying a ME-109. Lt Riddle downed a ME-109 during the mission to Piombino, Italy on the 28th however Lt. Rostron was lost. On May 2 Major Gillem destroyed a Macchi during the mission to Castel Maggiore, Italy. On the 5th the 31st FG ran into 75 to 100 enemy fighters over Ploesti. The 307th knocked down four of them with Lts. McElroy, Shipman, Frazier and Major Gillem scoring. Major Gillem scored again on the May 7th mission to Bucharest, Romania. Lt. Nelson also destroyed a Me-109. Major Gillem was promoted to Lt Col, awarded the DFC and giving orders to return home. On May 17th Capt. Sam Brown took command of the 307th. The next day Capt. Brown led the 307th back to Ploesti where he claimed a probable. Lts Dillard and Brooks each claimed one destroyed. The 307th had a good day on the May 24 escort mission to Munchendorf, Austria downing 6 Luftwaffe planes. Lts. Brooks, White, Riddle, Dilliard, Boyd, and Bradley scored with Lt. White also accounting for 3 probables and a damaged. Escorting bombers to Weiner Neustadt Wallersdorf Airdrome on the 29th the 307th destroyed 5 more. Capt. Brown downed two ME-110s. In their first two months of flying the P-51 the 307th was credited with 32 1/2 enemy aircraft destroyed.

The enemy wasn't to be seen during the escort missions to marshaling yards at Oradea, Turin, and Castel Maggiore. They were still at Ploesti however when the 307th flew another mission there on the 6th of June. Lt. Carl Brown downed a ME-109 and shared one with Lt. Smith. The 307th flew its first mission to Germany on June 9th. Oberpfoffenhopen and Wessling airdromes near Munich, Germany were the targets. Oberpfoffenhopen airdrome was the target again on June 13. This time the enemy showed up and paid for it. Lt. Dillard knocked one down while Lts. Main & Shipman shared in the destruction of another. That brought the tally of victories to 100 for the squadron. The following day the squadron got into it again, tangling with a dozen ME-210s near the Drava River during a mission to the oil refineries at Budepest, Hungary. Capt. Brown, Lt. Col. Daniel, and Lt. Antonini each got one. The 307th re-equipped with the P-51D and flew their first mission in it to oil refineries at Triesti, Italy on June 22nd. The next day it was back to Ploesti for the seventh time. Lt. Riddle destroyed two FW-190s and damaged two others. Lts. Brooks and Maurice Surratt each downed a ME-109. The 31st FG flew a fighter sweep to Bucharest, Romania on the 24th. Unfortunately only one enemy aircraft was sighted which Lt Main promptly destroyed. Lt. Robert Riddle made ace when he knocked down his fifth enemy plane during the June 25 mission to the Avignon, France marshaling yards. Lt. Brown destroyed another as did Colonel McCorkle, the 31st CO, who flying with the 307th that day. The next day the 307th hammered the Germans at Vienna. Capt. Brown and his wingman F/O Jay attacked a formation of 30 ME-410s making for the bombers. Capt. Brown clobbered three of them plus a ME-109 that was covering. F/O Jay bagged two of the ME-410s. In the meantime the rest of the 307th chased a pack of ME-109s with Lt. Main destroying one while Lts. Shipley and Bradley teamed up for another. Lt. Schanning shot down a hapless trainer for good measure. On the down side Lt. Main never made it back. The month of June was rounded out with escort missions to Budapest, Bucharest, and a really long one to Blechhammer, Germany.

It was back to Budapest on July 2nd. This time the 307th scored with F/O Jay destroying two ME-109s and Lt. Shipman destroying one and claiming another probably destroyed. Lt. Shipman scored again on the July 7th mission to Blechhammer, Germany as did Lt. Riddle. Ploesti was the target on the 9th and the 15th with Lt. Riddle getting a ME-109 on the July 15 mission. Lt. Riddle continued his hot streak by downing another the next day during the mission to Vienna. The bombers didn't show up during the July 18th mission to Freidrichshafen, Germany so the 31st went hunting at Memminger Airdrome. Lt. Brooks and Dillard as well as Capt. Buck and F/O Edler downed FW-190s. Lt. Walz went missing however and Edler had to bail over northern Italy due to engine damgage. That was five for Lt. James Brooks placing him in the ranks of the aces. Lt. Ernest Shipman was next to make ace scoring his fifth victory during the July 21st mission to Brux, Germany. Capt. Buck got one that day as well.

Operation Frantic III a shuttle mission to Russia began July 22nd. The 31st FG provided cover for 71 P-38s of the 82nd and 14th FGs, tasked with pounding airdromes in Romania, on the trip to Russia. Five and a half hours later the 16 planes of the 307th landed at Piryatin, a soviet airdrome in the Ukrain 80 miles east of Kiev. On the 25th 12 P-51s from the 307th took off with the rest of the 31st FG to escort the P-38s on a strafing mission to the airfield at Mielec, Poland. Released from escort duties on the way back to Piryatin, the 307th went hunting and found a formation of 36 Ju-87 Stukas. During the wild flurry that followed the 307th shot down 21 of them, as well as claiming 3 probables and 6 more damaged! The next day the 307th left Russia for San Severo with the rest of the 31st. On the way back the 307th strafed the airfield at Buzau shooting up six Luftwaffe planes on the ground as well as three locomotives and rolling stock. On the way out Major Brown and Lt. Brooks each downed a ME-109, with Lts. House and Bradley sharing another destroyed.

Back to Ploesti for the tenth time on July 28th but no luck for the 307th this time. Bad luck befell the 307th the next day when Lt. Shipman was shot down by a P-38. He was however seen to bail out. The 307th brawled with 40 enemy fighters over Bucharest on the 31st with Lt. Edmund Antonini claiming two destroyed and one damaged, however Lt. Jones didn't return. Missions to Avignon, Freidrichshafen, and Lyon during the first week of Aufust were uneventful. The mission to Blechhammer however stirred up 30 German fighters which attacked the 307th. When the dust settled Lts. Riddle and Skogstad had each downed two and Capt. Buck another. Lt. Richards unfortunately was missing. From August 12 to 16 the 307th supported the invasion of southern France known as Operation Anvil. There sure wasn't much opposition to be seen and the missions were uneventful. Ploesti was the target again for three days in a row starting on August 17th. The 307th had a big fight with ME-109s on the 18th with Lt. Skogstad quickly adding two to his tally while Lt. Riddle scored his 11th victory. A series of uneventful missions followed to Auschwitz, Nis Yugoslavia, Blechhammer, Weiner Neusdorf, and Kolin Czechoslovakia. On August 25 the 307th beat up the airdrome at Prostejov-Kostelec, Czechoslovakia. Lt. Brooks shot down two in the fracas. Lt. Quigley was lost. Lt. Brooks was awarded a well deserved Silver Star the next day. On the way home from the mission to the Mossierbaum Chemical & cooking plant on the 28th the 307th destroyed 4 enemy transports, Lt. Surratt getting two and Lts. Hendel and Skogstad one apiece. Lt. Norman Skogstad's victory made him an ace in record time. On August 29th the 307th escorted bombers to Mostravka Ostrav, Czechoslovakia. Lt. James Brooks led the group and also knocked down two more enemy fighters bringing his victory tally to 13 destroyed. Lt Wolvern destroyed one and damaged another. The 307th was at their best during the summer months of June, July, and August 1944, being credited with 74 victories.

Romania surrendered in late August and Bulgaria went neutral. In September 44 the entire 31st FG would only account for 5 enemy planes shot down. Lts. Skogstad and Galiotto found two JU-52s over Yugoslavia on September 2nd, which they promtly shot down. That was all the scoring the 307th would do in September. Missions to Nyiregyhaza, Hungary, Munich, and the Odertal oil refinery were routine and unopposed. Lt. Walthman failed to return from the September 15th mission to Athens, Greece when his engine quit. Two of the 307th's aces, CO Major Sam Brown and Capt. Brooks left for home the next day. Capt. Gfeller took over command of the squadron. Missions to Budapest, Szab, Gyor, and Bekescaba, all in Hungary were unopposed. The 307th finished off September with two unopposed missions to Munich. It appeared that the actions of the summer had clean knocked the Luftwaffe from existance. Missions to Munich, Germany on October 4th and Vienna, Austria on the 7th were unopposed. On a strafing mission to Czechoslovakia on the 11th Lt. Galiotto came upon a FW-190. He made the most of this rare opportunity and shot it down. Unfortunately for the 307th that was the only opportunity, and victory, that the 307th had during the month of October. The 309th encountered 100 plus enemy planes during the Brux mission on the 16th. The 307th however missed all the fun where and didn't see a one. Through the rest of October, missions to Blechhammer, Brux, Plzen, and Regensburg were unopposed.

The 307th flew three missions to Vienna and others to Linz and Maribor, Yugoslavia during the first week of November. Lts. Beckman and Ryder shared a ME-109 destroyed near Lake Balaton during the November 6th mission to Vienna. Lt. Bush knocked down a ME-109 on the November 16th mission to the Munich, Germany marshaling yards. Lt Hodkinson failed to return from the stafing mission to Hungary on the 19th, however it was learned the next day that the partisans had picked him up. Three more missions to Munich, Czechoslovakia, and Yugoslavia rounded out November's activity before bad weather cancelled all operations during the last week of the month. Escort for photo reconnaissance P-38s and Mosquitos became common place during December. The big missions to Blechhammer, Vienna, Regensburg, and Rosenheim during the first half of the month went unopposed. The Luftwaffe was up in force for the December 17 mission to the Blechhammer & Odertal oil refineries. Lt. Skogstad downed two FW-190s making for the bombers. Lt. Weiler got another. The next day Lt. Zimmerman downed a JU-88 near Zagreb, Yugoslavia. For the remainder of December, missions to Blechhammer, Regensburg, Wels, Osweicim, Graz, Rosenheim, and the Kraloupy & Roundnice Czechoslovakia oil refineries were fairly routine and unopposed. A photo recon escort mission on December 26 was sure interesting though when the 307th saw their first ME-262.

The weather was bad in January 1945. When it wasn't raining it was snowing. At one point San Severo was buried under a foot of snow. Aside from a few photo recon escorts the only missions flown were to Trento, Klagenfurt, Vienna, Regensburg, and Mossbierbaum. These missions were flown without enemy opposition so the 307th finished the month with no victories, as did the entire 31st FG for that matter. The weather improved in February but not the opportunity to fight it out with the Luftwaffe. Me-262s were seen on three separate photo recon escort missions, which added a little excitement. A couple of ME-109s were chased away on the 17th, but that was about all the 307th saw of the Luftwaffe during February and so came up empty again. Missions to Mossbierbaum, Regensburg, Vienna, Fiume, Amstetten, Klagenfurt, Bolzano, Linz, Zagreb, and Augsburg were uneventful and routine.

The 307th, along with the rest of the 31st FG, moved to a new base at Mondolfo on March 3rd. The next day they flew their first mission from their new base, escorting C-87s dropping supplies to partisans in Yugoslavia. Escort missions to Hegyshalom, Hungary, Verona, Vienna, and a strafing mission to Yugoslavia were routine. Captain Antonini replaced Major Gfeller as the 307th commander on the 12th. Finally some action! On the 18th Lts. Bunn and Schara got lucky and ran across two JU-88s near Lake Balaton. They made the most of the opportunity and shot them both down. The next day the squadron flew a mission to the Muhldorf, Germay marshaling yards escort, where two ME-262s were seen. Missions to Wels and Munich were routine but during the March 22rd mission to Ruhland, Germany 25 to 30 ME-262s attacked the bombers. The 307th got a chance to tangle with the jets in a running battle lasting 30 minutes, with a couple of the pilots getting some shots off at them. March 24th was a big day for the 307th and 31st since the target was Berlin! ME-262s attacked the bombers and Lts. Wilson and Bunn got a squirt at them. The next day the 307th bounced six FW-190s taking off from Olomouc Airdrome in central Moravia. Lt. Skogstad shot four of them down in short order while Lts. Van Winkle and Pelt got the other two. The 307th kept up the pressure during a sweep and strafing mission to Pagensburg on the 31st with Major Ramsey, and Lts. Vernon and Womack each knocking down a FW-190. The 307th scored its last victory of the war April 4th 1945. Lt. Milton Varous sent a Do-217 down to crash near Lake Wurm. That brought the squadon's total for the war to 192, best in the 31st FG. The primary targts of the 15th Air Force, oil refineries and marshaling yards, were largely pulverized by this time in the war. The 307th switched to helping the 12th Air Force by escorting tactical bombers, as well as strafing ground targets, in Northern Italy for the remainder of April. The end of fighting in Italy was announced on May 2nd. The end of the war in Europe came when the Germans surrendered on May 7, 1945.

USAAF 31st Fighter Group 309th Fighter Squadron

31st Fighter Group - 309th Fighter Squadron

The 309th Fighter Squadron was activated as part of the 31st Fighter Group at Baer Field, Fort Wayne, Indiana on Jan 30, 1942. Lt. Harrison R. Thyng was appointed the Squadron's first Commanding Officer. On February 6 they moved to New Orleans Army Air Field and were equipped with P-40B Tomahawks for a short while before switching to P-39s. Transferred to the 8th Air force in mid May, they shipped for England in early June and established themselves at High Ercall, England on June 11, 1942. The Squadron was equipped with Spitfire Vbs and assigned the squadron code WZ. They familiarized themselves with their new Spitfires, training and learning RAF methods until August 1 when they moved to Westhampnett, near Tangmere, and became integrated with active RAF squadrons. No enemy aircraft were sighted during fighter sweeps to France on the 9th, 10th and 15th. The 309th's first official operational mission took place on August 17th when they flew a fighter sweep to Lille, France. The Luftwaffe did not oppose this mission either. Three missions were flown during Operation Jubilee, the Dieppe operation on August 19. Flying with Nos. 130 and 131 RAF on their first sortie of the day, the 309th got into a dogfight with about 25 FW-190s over the invasion ships. Lt. Sam Junkin shot down a FW-190 but then was himself shot up, wounded, baled out, and rescued. Lt. Junkin's victory was the first by an 8th AF fighter pilot flying from the UK. Major Thyng scored a probable. Unfortunately Lt. Collins was lost. For their second mission of the day the 309th flew with Nos. 81 and 131 squadrons escorting Boston bombers attacking gun positions. They met with little opposition this time. The 309th flew convoy cover for their third mission of the day where Capt. Thorsen teamed up with Lts. Biggard and Payne in damaging a Do-217. In the weeks following the Dieppe action the squadron flew routine patrols as well as Circus 221, an escort mission of A-20 Bostons, to Le Havre on October 2nd. Two weeks later the squadron was off operations, transferred from the 8th to 12th AF, and by October 23 were on board ships enroute to North Africa.

Operation Torch, the Invasion of North Africa, commenced on November 8, 1942. The ground echelon went ashore at Arzeu that afternoon. The pilots flew their Spitfires from Gibraltar to Tafaraoui, Algeria on the 9th. Just as the 309th was landing at Tafaraoui, four French Dewoitines bounced the squadron killing Lt. Byrd as he was touching down. The last flight of four up tore after the D.520s and shot down 3 of them with Major Thyng and Lts. Kenworthy and Payne scoring victories. The 309th saw action against French ground targets prior to the French surrender on the 11th. The squadron moved the 5 miles to Le Senia, Algeria on the 14th where they flew routine and uneventful patrols in their sector for the remainder of 1942. On February 7th the 309th moved to Thelepte, Tunisia, much closer to the fighting. Finally after months of waiting the 309th got a crack at the enemy on February 15. Returning from a P-39 escort mission the squadron engaged a mixed formation of 16 ME-109s & FW-190s attacking Thelepte. Major Thyng and Capt. Kenworthy each shot one down. Two days later the 309th had to evacuate Thelepte in a hurry as the field was about to be overrun by the advancing German Army. They moved to Tebessa, leaving much of their equipment and supplies behind at Thelepte. On the 21st they moved again to the British airfield at Canrobet, Algeria, then yet again to Kalaa Djerda, Tunisia on the 25th. Once the German drive had been thwarted the 309th was able to return to Thelepte, arriving on March 11. On the 20th six Spitfires of the 309th got into a scrap with eight ME-109s, claiming 3 damaged while Lt. Barber had to crash land. The next day they ran into 17 Stukas while escorting A-20s to Kairouan. The temptation was too great and the squadron went after them with Capts. Payne, McDonald, and Paulk each knocking one down. Staging out of Gafsa on the 29th Major Thyng and Lt. Lupton each destroyed a ME-109 in a battle over the front lines. Major Thyng got another ME-109 on April 1st. Lt. Kelly also claimed a 109, however Lts. Juhnke and Strole were both killed. With the German forces in retreat the 309th moved with the 31st to Djilma on April 7th, to be closer to the front lines. The allied advance was moving so fast that by the 14th the front line was now 50 miles away, so the 31st packed up and moved once again to Le Sers. The 309th also took possession of their first Spitfire Mk IXs on the 14th. The 309th came out on top of an engagement on April 22, with the squadron shooting down 3 enemy aircraft, Major Hill sharing two with Lts. Payne & Rahn, while Lt McRaven accounted for the third. Three days later Lt. Meldeau added to the 309th tally by shooting down a ME-109 while flying a sweep with P-39s over the lines. The 309th's best success of the war so far came on May 6 when they destroyed 7 enemy aircraft for no losses in a brawl over Tunis. Lt. Col. Harrison Thyng downed his fifth. Major Hill got three ME-109s, and a Macchi 202 probable. Capt. Payne, Lt. Shafer and Lt. McCarthy rounded out the scoring with one each. The Germans were through in North Africa and surrendered the last of their forces on May 11th. The next day Lt. Col. Thyng was promoted to 31st XO and Major Frank Hill took over command of the 309th. The final tally for the 309th up to the German surrender in North Africa was 27 victories against 5 pilots lost in combat, best in the entire 31st FG.

On May 17 the Squadron began moving to Korba on the Gulf of Tunis. Pantelleria, a heavily fortified Italian held Island east of Cape Bon, would be the focus of the 309th efforts during the period May 26 through June 11. The squadron's best day of the battle for Pantelleria came on June 10th. The 309th was flying a sweep over Pantelleria harbor when they saw 13 Macchi 202s attacking allied bombers. The 309th dove in and, despite being harassed by a covering force of ME-109s and FW-190s, shot down six of the Italian fighters. Major Hill, Capts. Payne and Chandler, and Lts. Shafer, Rahn, Keith were each given credit for downing a Macchi 202. In addition Lt. Swiger destroyed a ME-109 while Lt. Meldeau claimed one FW-190 as probably destroyed from the attacking Luftwaffe flight.

With the fall of Pantelleria on June 11th the allies next began making preparations for the invasion of Sicily. On June 30 the 309th flew their Spitfires onto the island of Gozo, located 2 miles from Malta and 80 miles from Sicily. On July 10 the 309th flew convoy cover for Operation Huskey, the invasion of Sicily. The next day Major Hill and Capt. Chandler teamed up to bring down a JU-88 attacking the convoy. Capt. Payne also knocked down one of the ME-109 escorts. On July 14 the squadron moved to Ponte Olivo, Sicily where Capt. Payne took over command of the 309th from Major Hill. A series of attacks by German Bombers however wrecked the field. A week later they were located at Agrigento then moved to Palermo on the 27th. All through this period the 309th was flying as many as six missions a day in support of the ground effort. On August 5 the 309th moved again to Termini on the northern coast of Sicily, putting Italy within the range of the Spitfires. Sicily fell on August 17 and the squadron anticipated moving to Italy right on the heels of the ground forces. This was becoming a familiar pattern. The squadron saw virtually no action flying from Termini, but it was a pleasant enough place. With the invasion of Italy imminent the squadron had moved to Milazzo, on the eastern tip of Sicily by September 5, expecting to stage there for a few days before moving to Italy. Milazzo was a dust bowl, the field was bad, and the squadron was stuck there longer they they liked. A number of the squadron's pilots pranged their Spitfires trying to negotiate Milazzo's rough landing strip.

The invasion of Italy at Salerno took place on September 9 with the 309th tasked with covering the beachhead. The next day the 309th attacked a mixed flight of 46 German and Italian 109s and 190s. Capt. Shafer shot one down and damaged another while Lts. Burton and Hughes shared one destroyed. Lt. Keith claimed one as a probable. Lt Weismuller got on the scoreboard when he shot down a FW-190 over the Salerno beachhead on the 14th. Finally by September 21 the Salerno beachhead was secure enough for the 309th to make the move to Monte Corvino, Italy. The Luftwaffe did not put up much of a fight at Salerno after the beachhead was secured. The 309th spent the next three weeks flying routine patrols in the Salerno area with little contact with axis aircraft. Heavy rains during the second week of October had turned the grass strip at Monte Corvino into a unserviceable mire of mud. By the 14th the 309th had moved to Pomligliano which had a concrete runway as well as much appreciated housing for the men. For the rest of October the 309th continued to perform tactical duties flying daily patrols, escorting medium bombers over the lines, and covering ground operations. The month ended with a disappointing no claims against enemy aircraft.

Major Garth Jared was named squadron leader on November 9. The German made a big push towards Naples starting on November 10, 1943. The Luftwaffe chose to participate in this fight. Pomigliano was rocked twice by Me-109s and FW-190s attacking the field two days later. The following day, the 13th, a four ship flight from the 309th engaged the Luftwaffe near Gaeta. Lt. Weismueller attacked a FW-190 sending it down into the sea. Lt. Hurter blew the left wing off of a ME-109 and witnessed the pilot bail. Towards the end of November the German offensive stalled and the ground battle was at a stalemate. The 309th was kept busy patrolling over the front lines, covering naval vessels, and escort duties. The 309th finally had a big day on December 7th when a flight of six of them attacked 12 German planes near Casorcia, destroying six of them. Lt. Ainley shot down a ME-109, blew the wing off a FW-190, and hammered another ME-109 claiming it as probably destroyed. Meanwhile Major Jared shot up a ME-109 which then disintegrated, put a good burst into a ME-109 which he claimed as probable and chased another 109 near Manani, peppering it until he saw it crash. Lt Blumenstock attacked a FW-190 and saw the pilot bail out. Captain Barr finished off the scoring by downing a ME-109. The squadron suffered no losses in this engagement. Not a bad days work! Given the opportunity to engage the enemy, which was frustratingly rare, the squadron certainly was capable of dishing out punishment. Their next crack at the Germans came on the 11th. Eight ME-109s bounced the low flight of Spitfire Mk Vs. The Mk IXs, flying higher cover, then dove into the fray with Lt. Potter sending one down to crash and shooting up another which was last seen spewing heavy white smoke. Lt. Faxon opened up on another at very close range, having to break off to avoid a collision. He only claimed this as damaged. A further engagement occurred 4 days later over Cassino when eight German fighters bounced the 309th from out of the sun. Lt. Lymans lost his engine and bailed over allied lines. Capt. Barr put a long burst into a FW-190 sending it down to crash. Lt. Walker, flying Capt. Barr's wing, became separated and didn't return to base. Deteriorating weather restricted flying the last two weeks of December. The missions that were flown during the remainder of 1943 were routine and uneventful.

The routine for the 309th was much the same with the advent of January 1944. The squadron was putting up three to four missions a day, primarily patrols of the front lines, with the occasional escort job thrown in. There were enemy about and the squadron got into a number of scraps with the Germans during the first couple of weeks of the year. On January 8 six Spitfires from the squadron tangled with a flight of twelve-plus Germans in the Cassino-Venafro area where F/O Belmont shot off the canopy and hit the engine of a ME-109 which he claimed as probably destroyed. On January 12 Lt. Blumenstock was credited with destroying an ME-109 near Pozilli. During another mission that day near Venafro Lt. McMillan knocked some pieces off a ME-109. On January 18 the 309th moved to Castel Volturno, a PSP covered strip located near the Volturno River on the Gulf of Gaeta, 21 miles northwest of Naples.

The Allies landed at Anzio on January 22. The 309th flew three missions covering the landings. During the last mission of the day the squadron intercepted 7 FW-190s attacking the invasion force, with Major Jared claiming one as damaged. The Luftwaffe was quite active over Anzio during the last week of January. Even though the 309th was very active flying beach patrols and escorting bombers to tactical targets they just were not having much luck. The 309th skirmished with the Luftwaffe over Anzio during the first week of February but didn't draw blood unit the 7th. On their first mission that day they sighted 35 enemy aircraft making for the beachhead. The 309th engaged this formation with Lt. Benzing closing to 100 yards of a FW-190 and firing. He saw the pilot bail out. Lts. Harmeyer and O'Brien each claimed FW-190s damaged in the ensuing brawl. Unfortunately two 309th pilots didn't return. On another mission later that day escorting B-26s the 309th engaged a flight of 18 enemy aircraft attacking the bombers, driving them off. Lt. Harmeyer had a bit of good luck on the 13th when he was able to saddle up behind two FW-190s that were apparently unaware of his presence. He opened up on the first from 250 yards and sent it down in flames then promptly moved over to the second and sent it down as well. Three days later the squadron got into a dogfight with four German planes thought to be strafing the lines. Major Jared scored by shooting up a FW-190 that crashed near Valmontone. The Germans were pressing hard at Anzio and sightings of Axis aircraft were becoming a rather commonplace occurrence. On the 18th while flying patrol over Anzio the squadron engaged a mixed flight of 12 to 18 bomb carrying 109s and 190s. Lt. Blumenstock was able to down one of the ME-109s. The following day the 309th had a series of encounters with flights of enemy aircraft, with F/O Belmont claiming a ME-109 destroyed and Lt. Ainley claiming another as damaged. More inconclusive sparing with the Germans continued over Anzio through February 29 when the 309th got into an all out dogfight with 10 to 15 FW-190s near Cisterna. Capt. Benzing dove down to clear a Spitfire that was being attacked. The 190 foolishly attempted to out turn Benzing's Spitfire and was sent down in flames. Lt. Faxon also knocked down a FW-190 that was taking violent evasive action. Lt. Porter fought a duel with another FW-190 and came out the victor but did sustain injuries in the process. Lt. Nisbet was forced to bail after being shot up. It was a hard fought battle with the 309th coming out on top. March was a disappointing month for the 309th. Despite daily patrols over Anzio and later in the month to Cassino, they were unable to score against the Axis. During the last week of March the pilots were sent to North Africa to ferry up the squadron's new plane; the P-51 Mustang.

The 309th parked their trusty Spitfires at Pomigliano and flew their P-51s to a new base at San Severo on April 4, 1944. San Severo was located on the eastern side of Italy, 20 miles north of Foggia. Transferred to the 15th Air Force, their primary task would now be escorting heavy bombers to strategic targets in Romania, Yugoslavia, Bulgaria, Italy, and Germany. They would also be flying most of their missions with the entire 31st FG. During their Spitfire days most of the missions were of squadron strength. The 309th's first mission in their new planes was a 4 3/4 hour bomber escort to marshaling yards at Turnal Severin, Yugoslavia on the 16th. No enemy aircraft were sighted, however a B-24 opened fire on Lt. Baetjer, forcing him to bail out. The next day the 309th flew with the 31st on a bomber escort mission to the marshaling yards at Sofia, Bulgaria. 25 to 35 109s and Macchi 202s made passes at the bombers. The 309th engaged the interceptors with Capt. Brown destroying one and Lt. Grose claiming one as damaged. Lt. Loving destroyed a Me-109 during a mission to the Udine area of Northern Italy on the 18th. The 309th suffered a terrible setback however when Major Jared, the squad CO, was hit by flak and lost. Major John Meader took over command of the 309th on the 19th and on the 21st led the squadron to Ploesti, Romania where they shot down 7 Axis aircraft. The pilots scoring on this first mission to Ploesti were Major Meader a Fw-190 destroyed, Capt. Brown 2 Fiat G-50s destroyed, Lt. Ainley a G-50 and 109 destroyed and a G-50 probable, Lt. Harmeyer a G-50 destroyed and another damaged, Lt. Felton a 109 destroyed, and Lt. Carey 1 109 probable. The aircraft factory at Weiner Neustadt Austria was the target on the 23rd. Lts. Ainley and Grose each shot down a ME-110 intent on attacking the B-17s. Lts. Ainley and Grose scored again the next day when they teamed up in shooting down a He 111 during the squadron's second mission to Ploesti. On the April 28 escort mission to Piombino, Italy Lt. Ainley shared another German plane destroyed, a ME-109, this time with Capt. Brown. Lt. Harmeyer also downed a 109 while Lt. Faxon damaged a third. Capt. Brown shot down a ME-109, as did Lt. McLaughlin, during an escort mission to marshaling yards at Toulon, France on the 29th. That made 20 1/2 victories for the 309th during their first month of flying the P-51!

The 309th kept their hot streak going into May. On the 2nd during a escort mission to Castel Maggiore, Italy they engaged 13 Macchis resulting in a victory for Lt. Faxon and another damaged by Capt. Brown The refineries at Ploesti were the target for the 15th AF on May 5. This was the third visit to Ploesti for the 31st FG and 309th FS. 75 to 100 enemy planes were reported to be attacking the bombers. The 309th managed to shoot down 4 of them with victories going to Lts. Mclaughlin, Wilhelm, Harmeyer, and Ainley. That made 8 all told for Lt. Ainley, who had made ace back on April 21. Lt. Richard Faxon made ace as did Capt. Sam Brown when they each shot down IAR-80s during a mission to Bucharest, Romania on May 7. Lt. Harmeyer was next to make ace when he scored on the May 10 mission to Wiener Austadt, Austria. It was estimated that the Germans had put up 120 fighters to counter this strike. Lt. Wilhelm also claimed one enemy aircraft destroyed while Lt. Adams claimed one as damaged. Three escort missions to Northern Italy during the second week of May were designed to help the summer ground offensive. Then it was back to Ploesti for the 4th time on May 18. The axis opposition was weaker this time and the only claims made by the 309th were IAR-80s damaged by Major Warford and Lt. Wilhelm. Three more uneventful missions to Northern Italy followed then one to Munchendorf, Austria on the 24th. Enemy resistance was fierce with an estimated 100 German aircraft putting up a fight. The other two squadrons in the 31st had good success but the 309th only managed 2 probables (Wilhelm and McLaughlin). Three escort missions to marshaling yards in France on May 25, 26, and 27 were notable for the distance, some 600 miles. The 309th met no enemy opposition. The Luftwaffe put up a fight however when the 309th flew the mission to Wallersdorf Airdrome, near Wiener Neustadt. Lt. McLaughlin destroyed a ME-110 and damaged another while Lt. Dustrude also accounted for a ME-110 destroyed. Uneventful escort missions to Ebreichsdorf Aircraft factory in Austria and marshaling yards at Oradea, Romania completed the 309th's activity for the month of May.

The marshaling yards at Oradea, Romania was the target again on June 2. The 309th met with no enemy opposition then nor during the next two missions to marshaling yards in Northern Italy. The enemy did make an appearance during the June 6 mission to Ploesti. 15 Axis planes attacked the bombers in the 309th coverage area, with Major Warford (now 309th CO) and Lt. Carey each shooting one down. The 309th flew their first mission to Germany, bomber escort to Oberpfoffenhopen and Wessling airdromes near Munich, on the ninth. Oberpfoffenhopen airdrome was targeted again on June 13, this time the enemy putting up some resistance. Capt. McLaughlin shot down 2 ME-109s making him an ace. Lt. Carey also scored shooting down an FW-190. Lts. Loving, Thompson, and Wilhelm all landed shots on other attackers. Missions to Budapest and La Jasse airdrome France were uneventful for the 309th. The squadron got some action during the June 16 mission to the synthetic oil refineries at Vienna, Austria. Lt. Grouse and Major Warford each shot down an ME-109. The 309th flew to Ploesti for the 7th time on June 23. The other two squadrons in the 31st had good success but the best the 309th could do was a probable claimed by Major Warford. They had better luck on the June 26 mission to Vienna, Austria with F/O Bratton and Lt. Loving claiming victories while Lts. Warren and Shropshire shared a third. Their luck was good the next day too during the mission to Budapest with Capt. Murray McLaughlin knocking down a JU-88 while Lt. Cloutier and F/O Shipley each destroyed ME-410s. The June 28 mission to the marshaling yards at Bucharest, Romania proved fruitful for Major Warford who shot down a ME-109. Lt. Vashina chipped in with a probable. June ended with an uneventful, but long, 650 mile mission to Blechhammer, Poland.

Capt. David Wilhelm was credited with his 5th victory after shooting down an enemy aircraft during the July 3 mission to Bucharest. The 309th began receiving P-51Ds in early July. Missions to Brazov, Ploesti, Blechhammer, Markersdorf airdrome, Austria were uneventful for the 309th. Lts. Bradley and House shared a ME-109 destroyed on the July 14 mission to Budapest. Major Warford shot down a FW-190 during the July 18 mission to Freidichshafen, Germany with Lts. Dustrude and Dorsch sharing another destroyed. The 309th took part in the Russia shuttle mission spanning the period July 22 through July 26. The 309th got into a scrap over Romania during the trip to Russia on the 22nd with Major Warford downing an FW-190 as well as a ME-109, and Lts. Thompson and Grouse getting one FW-190 each. Flying out of Piryatin, Ukraine to Mielec, Poland on the 25th Lt. Carey and F/O Shipley shared in the destruction of a Ju 88, with Capt. Loving and Lt. Zierenberg each bagging Ju 52s. The 309th didn't score on the return trip to San Severo but it was quite an accomplishment that all the planes that left for Russia made it back. Ploesti was the target on the 28th where Lt. Dorch downed a ME-109. July 31 was an outstanding day for the 309th. During the mission to Bucharest, Romania the squadron shot down ten enemy aircraft! Major Victor E. Warford knocked down two bringing his victory tally to eight. Capt. George G. Loving made ace by shooting down two. Lt. Dorch was credited with three destroyed. Lt Shropshire and F/O Bratton each downed one while Lt. Grouse and F/O Vashina teamed up for another.

The Luftwaffe was seldom present during missions to France, however on August 2 the 309th had a bit of luck when Lts. Thompson and Zierenberg shot down the only enemy planes seen; two ME-109s. Lt. Robert Thompson scored again on the 7th, knockng down two ME-109s during the mission to Blechhammer. Lt. Lanyon got one there as well. It was back to Ploesti yet again on August 10. The 309th fought with 12 ME-109s with Lt. Freddie Dorch making ace by shooting down two. Lt. Cloutier also shot down two in this engagement. The 309th moved to Voltone, north of Rome on the 14th. They operated there for 4 days covering the invasion of southern France. Ploesti was the target for three days in a row begining on August 17. On the 18th Lt. Beeman shot down a ME-109 despite the fact that his canopy came off in a dive. Lt. Busley also scored when he forced another 109 to crash. The 309th suffered their first losses in a long time when Lts. Bratton and Sandler failed to return from the August 22 mission to Odertal, Germany. Romania surrendered on August 23. The 309th flew three missions to Romania during the last week of August, actually landing at Popesti Airfield, Bucharest on the 29th. For the record, the 309th's victory tally for the summer months of June, July and August 1944 was 51 enemy aircraft destroyed. That made 141 victories total for the war, 84 of them while in P-51s.

September was a bust for the 309th with the squadron not able to score any victories at all. It seemed that the past couple of months had clean knocked the Luftwaffe out of the war. They still flew their missions but the enemy was rarely encountered. During the first week of September they were busy escorting C-47s into Bucharest. Missions to Munich, Athens, and to the Hungarian cities of Dobreczen, Budapest, Szab, Gyor, and Bekescaba were unopposed. Missions to Munich and Vienna during the first week of October were also unopposed. The 309th had a bad day on October 11 when their squadron CO, Lt. Col. Warford, was lost during a strafing mission near Vienna. Lt. Vashina shot down two FW-190s chasing after Warford but it was not enough and Warford's plane was seen to crash land. The next day Capt. George Buck transferred from the 307th to take command of the 309th. The 309th put in a sterling performance during the mission to the oil refineries at Brux, Czechoslovakia on October 16. Flying at 32,000 ft the squadron sighted a huge formation of over 100 ME-109s at 27,000 ft making for the bombers. The 309th attacked against overwhelming odds shooting down 10 of them and sending the rest of them running, all at no loss to themselves. Newly appointed CO Capt. Buck shot down 3 of the 109s. Lt. Zierenberg and Capt. Dorch each downed two. Lt. Swing, Lt. Hackney, and Lt. Beeman each accounted for a ME-109 destroyed. The weather turned sour for the last half of October and the 309th only managed to fly missions to Blechhammer, Brux, Plzen, and Regensburg, all of which were unopposed.

November was a washout for the 309th. There was plently of rain and no German fighters to rumble with. Missions to Vienna, Linz, Maribor, Yugoslavia, and Brux during the first half of the month went unopposed. Little resistance was encountered during escort missions to Munich and Northern Italy, and strafing mission to Yugoslavia, Hungary and Czechoslovakia during the second half of November. A couple of the pilots in the 309th had an unusual bit of excitement when they encountered a pair of ME-262s while escorting an F-5 on a Recon mission to Munich. They had heard about the jets, but this was the first time anyone saw one. The next encounter with the ME-262 came on December 12 when a 3 ship flight was escorting an F-5 to Nuremburg. As before they were unable to make any claims and suffered no losses. Photo recon escort duties become a primary task for the 309th in December. They still got in a number of full strength escort missions when the weather allowed for it. Oil refineries and marshaling yards at Regensburg, Veinna, Rosenheim, and Brux were hit. During an escort mission to the Blechhammer & Odertal oil refineries on the 17th the 309th finally encountered a flight of Germans with some fight left in them. The squadron engaged 15 to 20 ME-109s resulting in Lt. Rask downing 2 109s, while Lts. Cambell, Gibson, and Corwin destroyed one apiece. Escort duties to oil refineries at Osweicim, Blechhammer, Regensburg, Brux, Kraloupy, and Roundnice as well as missions to marshaling yards at Graz and Rosenheim completed the year's activity for the 309th.

The weather was bad in January 1945. When it wasn't raining it was snowing. At one point San Severo was buried under a foot of snow. The only missions flown were to Trento, Klagenfurt, Vienna, Regensburg, and Mossbierbaum. These missions were flown without enemy opposition so the 309th finished the month with no victories, as did the entire 31st FG for that matter. The weather improved in February but not the opportunity to fight it out with the Luftwaffe. In fact the 309th never even saw an enemy aircraft during the entire month of February! Missions to Mossbierbaum, Regensburg, Vienna, Fiume, Amstetten, Klagenfurt, Bolzano, Linz, Zagreb, and Augsburg were, on the whole, uneventful and routine. Major Simon Johnson took over command of the 309th from Major Buck on the 16th.

The 309th, along with the rest of the 31st FG, moved to a new base at Mondolfo on March 3rd. The first major mission flown from the new field was a routine bomber escort to marshaling yards at Hegyshalom, Hungary on March 8. The next day's mission called for strafing in Northern Yugoslavia and South Central Austria. Fortunately no planes were lost. On March 13 the mission was to Regensburg, Germany escorting bombers then strafing. Lt. Gumbert didn't make it back. An escort to the Weiner Neustadt marshaling yards in Austria went unopposed on the 16th. On the 19th the marshaling yards at Muhldorf, Germay were pounded. Four ME-262s were seen but nothing became of it. Neuberg Airdrome was the target on the 21st, and while 19 ME-262s were declared destroyed on the ground, the 309th saw no action in the air. The attack against the Ruhland, Germany oil refineries was significant in two ways. First it was the deepest into Germany the 15th AF had gone and secondly the ME-262s attacked the bombers with a force of 25 to 30. Up till then the ME-262s were only seen attacking recon flights in flights of two. Ruhland was the target again the following day only this time there was no opposition. The Daimler-Benz tank factory in Berlin was the target on March 24. The 309th saw nine ME-262s making passes at the bombers but none were lost to the jets. Prague-Kleby Airdrome was hit the next day but the 309th encountered no enemy aircraft. March 31, 1945 marked the 309th's best day of the war. Assigned to strafe targets of opportunity in Czechoslovakia the squadron encountered over 30 ME-109s near Prague. In the fracas that followed the P-51s shot down 18 of them! Lt. Col. Stoffel and Major Shivers from Headquaters got 6 between them. Lts. Barton, Blank, Hackney and Moore each destroyed two of the 109s. Major Johnson destroyed one as did Lts. A. Johnson, Maze and Wheeler. This turned out to be the last time the 309th would shoot down an enemy aircraft during the war. The squadron's tally was now complete at 173 victories. The primary targtes of the 15th Air Force, oil refineries and marshaling yards, were largely pulverized by this time in the war. The 309th switched to helping the 12th Air Force by escorting tactical bombers, as well as strafing ground targets, in Northern Italy during April. The end of the war in Europe came when the Germans surrendered on May 7, 1945.

North American P-51 Mustang

Operational history

Operational history

Eighth Air Force bomber operations 1942-1943

The 8th Air Force started operations from Britain in August 1942. At first, because of the limited scale of operations, no conclusive evidence showed American doctrine was failing. In the 26 operations flown to the end of 1942, the loss rate had been under 2%.[50]

In January 1943, at the Casablanca Conference, the Allies formulated the Combined Bomber Offensive (CBO) plan for 'round-the-clock' bombing - USAAF daytime operations complementing the RAF nighttime raids on industrial centers. In June 1943, the Combined Chiefs of Staff issued the Pointblank Directive to destroy the Luftwaffe's capacity before the planned invasion of Europe, putting the CBO into full implementation. German daytime fighter efforts were, at that time, focused on the Eastern Front and several other distant locations. Initial efforts by the 8th met limited and unorganized resistance, but with every mission, the Luftwaffe moved more aircraft to the west and quickly improved their battle direction. In fall 1943, the 8th Air Force's heavy bombers conducted a series of deep-penetration raids into Germany, beyond the range of escort fighters. The Schweinfurt-Regensburg mission in August lost 60 B-17s of a force of 376, the 14 October attack lost 77 of a force of 291—26% of the attacking force.

For the US, the very concept of self-defending bombers was called into question, but instead of abandoning daylight raids and turning to night bombing, as the RAF suggested, they chose other paths; at first, bombers converted to gunships (the Boeing YB-40) was believed to be able to escort the bomber formations, but when the concept proved to be unsuccessful, thoughts then turned to the Lockheed P-38 Lightning.[51] In early 1943, the USAAF also decided that the Republic P-47 Thunderbolt and P-51B be considered for the role of a smaller escort fighter, and in July, a report stated that the P-51B was 'the most promising plane' with an endurance of 4 hours 45 minutes with the standard internal fuel of 184 gallons plus 150 gallons carried externally.[52] In August, a P-51B was fitted with an extra internal 85-gallon tank but problems with longitudinal stability occurred so some compromises in performance with the tank full were made. Since the fuel from the fuselage tank would be used during the initial stages of a mission, the fuel tank would be fitted in all Mustangs destined for VIII Fighter Command.[53]

P-51 introduction

The P-51 Mustang was a solution to the need for an effective bomber escort. It used a common, reliable engine and had internal space for a larger-than-average fuel load. With external fuel tanks, it could accompany the bombers from England to Germany and back.[54]

By the time the Pointblank offensive resumed in early 1944, matters had changed. Bomber escort defenses were initially layered, using the shorter-range P-38s and P-47s to escort the bombers during the initial stages of the raid before handing over to the P-51s when they were forced to turn for home. This provided continuous coverage during the raid. The Mustang was so clearly superior to earlier US designs that the 8th Air Force began to steadily switch its fighter groups to the Mustang, first swapping arriving P-47 groups to the 9th Air Force in exchange for those that were using P-51s, then gradually converting its Thunderbolt and Lightning groups. By the end of 1944, 14 of its 15 groups flew the Mustang.[55]

The Luftwaffe's twin-engined Messerschmitt Bf 110 heavy fighters brought up to deal with the bombers proved to be easy prey for the Mustangs, and had to be quickly withdrawn from combat. The Focke-Wulf Fw 190A, already suffering from poor high-altitude performance, was outperformed by the Mustang at the B-17's altitude, and when laden with heavy bomber-hunting weapons as a replacement for the more vulnerable twin-engined Zerstörer heavy fighters, it suffered heavy losses. The Messerschmitt Bf 109 had comparable performance at high altitudes, but its lightweight airframe was even more greatly affected by increases in armament. The Mustang's much lighter armament, tuned for antifighter combat, allowed it to overcome these single-engined opponents.

Fighting the Luftwaffe

At the start of 1944, Major General James Doolittle, the new commander of the 8th Air Force, ordered many fighter pilots to stop flying in formation with the bombers and instead attack the Luftwaffe wherever it could be found. The aim was to achieve air supremacy. Mustang groups were sent far ahead of the bombers in a 'fighter sweep' to intercept attacking German fighters.

The Luftwaffe answered with the Gefechtsverband ('battle formation'). This consisted of a Sturmgruppe of heavily armed and armored Fw 190 As escorted by two Begleitgruppen of Messerschmitt Bf 109s, whose task was to keep the Mustangs away from the Fw 190 as they attacked the bombers. This strategy proved to be problematic, as the large German formation took a long time to assemble and was difficult to maneuver. It was often intercepted by the P-51 'fighter sweeps' before it could attack the bombers. However, German attacks against bombers could be effective when they did occur; the bomber-destroyer Fw 190As swept in from astern and often pressed their attacks to within 90 m (100 yd).[56]

While not always able to avoid contact with the escorts, the threat of mass attacks and later the 'company front' (eight abreast) assaults by armored Sturmgruppe Fw 190As brought an urgency to attacking the Luftwaffe wherever it could be found, either in the air or on the ground. Beginning in late February 1944, 8th Air Force fighter units began systematic strafing attacks on German airfields with increasing frequency and intensity throughout the spring, with the objective of gaining air supremacy over the Normandy battlefield. In general, these were conducted by units returning from escort missions but, beginning in March, many groups also were assigned airfield attacks instead of bomber support. The P-51, particularly with the advent of the K-14 Gyro gunsight and the development of 'Clobber Colleges'[57] for the training of fighter pilots in fall 1944, was a decisive element in Allied countermeasures against the Jagdverbände.

The numerical superiority of the USAAF fighters, superb flying characteristics of the P-51, and pilot proficiency helped cripple the Luftwaffe's fighter force. As a result, the fighter threat to the US, and later British, bombers was greatly diminished by July 1944. The RAF, long proponents of night bombing for protection, were able to reopen daylight bombing in 1944 as a result of the crippling of the Luftwaffe fighter arm. Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring, commander of the German Luftwaffe during the war, was quoted as saying, 'When I saw Mustangs over Berlin, I knew the jig was up.'[58][59][54]

Beyond Pointblank

On 15 April 1944, VIII Fighter Command began 'Operation Jackpot', attacks on Luftwaffe fighter airfields. As the efficacy of these missions increased, the number of fighters at the German airbases fell to the point where they were no longer considered worthwhile targets. On 21 May, targets were expanded to include railways, locomotives, and other rolling stock used by the Germans to transport materiel and troops, in missions dubbed 'Chattanooga'.[60] The P-51 excelled at this mission, although losses were much higher on strafing missions than in air-to-air combat, partially because the Mustang's liquid-cooled engine (particularly its liquid coolant system) was vulnerable to small-arms fire, unlike the air-cooled R-2800 radials of its Republic P-47 Thunderbolt stablemates based in England, regularly tasked with ground-strafing missions.

Given the overwhelming Allied air superiority, the Luftwaffe put its effort into the development of aircraft of such high performance that they could operate with impunity, but which also made bomber attack much more difficult, merely from the flight velocities they achieved. Foremost among these were the Messerschmitt Me 163B point-defense rocket interceptors, which started their operations with JG 400 near the end of July 1944, and the longer-endurance Messerschmitt Me 262A jet fighter, first flying with the Gruppe-strength Kommando Nowotny unit by the end of September 1944. In action, the Me 163 proved to be more dangerous to the Luftwaffe than to the Allies and was never a serious threat. The Me 262A was a serious threat, but attacks on their airfields neutralized them. The pioneering Junkers Jumo 004 axial-flow jet engines of the Me 262As needed careful nursing by their pilots, and these aircraft were particularly vulnerable during takeoff and landing.[61] Lt. Chuck Yeager of the 357th Fighter Group was one of the first American pilots to shoot down an Me 262, which he caught during its landing approach. On 7 October 1944, Lt. Urban L. Drew of the 361st Fighter Group shot down two Me 262s that were taking off, while on the same day Lt. Col. Hubert Zemke, who had transferred to the Mustang-equipped 479th Fighter Group, shot down what he thought was a Bf 109, only to have his gun camera film reveal that it may have been an Me 262.[62] On 25 February 1945, Mustangs of the 55th Fighter Group surprised an entire Staffel of Me 262As at takeoff and destroyed six jets.[63]

The Mustang also proved useful against the V-1s launched toward London. P-51B/Cs using 150-octane fuel were fast enough to catch the V-1 and operated in concert with shorter-range aircraft such as advanced marks of the Supermarine Spitfire and Hawker Tempest.

By 8 May 1945,[64] the 8th, 9th, and 15th Air Force's P-51 groups [note 6] claimed some 4,950 aircraft shot down (about half of all USAAF claims in the European theater, the most claimed by any Allied fighter in air-to-air combat)[64] and 4,131 destroyed on the ground. Losses were about 2,520 aircraft.[65] The 8th Air Force's 4th Fighter Group was the top-scoring fighter group in Europe, with 1,016 enemy aircraft claimed destroyed. This included 550 claimed in aerial combat and 466 on the ground.[66]

In air combat, the top-scoring P-51 units (both of which exclusively flew Mustangs) were the 357th Fighter Group of the 8th Air Force with 565 air-to-air combat victories and the 9th Air Force's 354th Fighter Group with 664, which made it one of the top-scoring fighter groups. The top Mustang ace was the USAAF's George Preddy, whose final tally stood at 26.83 victories (a number that includes shared one half- and one third victory credits), 23 of which were scored with the P-51. Preddy was shot down and killed by friendly fire on Christmas Day 1944 during the Battle of the Bulge.[64]

Specifications (P-51D Mustang)

Data from Erection and Maintenance Manual for P-51D and P-51K,[140]
P-51 Tactical Planning Characteristics & Performance Chart,[141]
The Great Book of Fighters,[142] and Quest for Performance[143]

General characteristics

Crew: 1
Length: 32 ft 3 in (9.83 m)
Wingspan: 37 ft (11 m)
Height: 13 ft 4.5 in (4.077 m) tail wheel on ground, vertical propeller blade
Wing area: 235 sq ft (21.8 m2)
Aspect ratio: 5.83
Airfoil: NAA/NACA 45-100 / NAA/NACA 45-100
Empty weight: 7,635 lb (3,463 kg)
Gross weight: 9,200 lb (4,173 kg)
Max takeoff weight: 12,100 lb (5,488 kg) 5,490
Fuel capacity: 269 US gal (224 imp gal; 1,020 l)
Zero-lift drag coefficient: 0.0163
Drag area: 3.80 sqft (0.35 m²)
Powerplant: 1 × Packard (Rolls Royce) V-1650-7 Merlin 12-cylinder liquid cooled engine,
1,490 hp (1,110 kW) at 3,000 rpm;[144] 1,720 hp (1,280 kW) at WEP
Propellers: 4-bladed Hamilton Standard constant-speed, variable-pitch, 11 ft 2 in (3.40 m) diameter

Performance

Maximum speed: 440 mph (710 km/h, 383 kn)
Cruise speed: 362 mph (583 km/h, 315 kn)
Stall speed: 100 mph (160 km/h, 87 kn)
Range: 1,650 mi (2,660 km, 1,434 nmi) with external tanks
Service ceiling: 41,900 ft (12,800 m)
Rate of climb: 3,200 ft/min (16 m/s)
Lift-to-drag: 14.6
Wing loading: 39 lb/sq ft (190 kg/m2)
Power/mass: 0.18 hp/lb (300 W/kg)
Recommended Mach limit 0.8

Armament

Guns:
6 × 0.50 caliber (12.7mm) AN/M2 Browning machine guns with 1,840 total rounds (380 rounds for each on the inboard pair and 270 rounds for each of the outer two pair)
Rockets:
6 or 10 × 5.0 in (127 mm) T64 HVAR rockets (P-51D-25, P-51K-10 on)[note 8]
Bombs:
1 × 100 lb (45 kg) or 250 lb (110 kg) bomb or 500 lb (230 kg) bomb on hardpoint under each wing[145]

 Flight Simulators
 

   IL-2 Sturmovik 'Cliff's of Dover' Blitz

   IL-2 Sturmovik Battle of Stalingrad

   DCS World - has no 3D model

 



 

 Royal Air Force Debden Map

 Moscow Russia Map

 

    North American P-51 Mustang Notes

  1. Among Allied aircraft, the P-51's claimed victory total in World War II was second to the carrier-borne Grumman F6F Hellcat.[12]
  2. Because the new fighter was designed to a British, rather than an American or USAAC specification, it was allocated a private-venture civil designation instead of the more usual XP- (eXperimental Pursuit) group.
  3. For more specific information on the P-51's airfoil, known as the NAA/NACA 45-100 series, see[21]
  4. This was one of the last US applications of gun synchronization - later American single piston-engined fighters, including later models of the Mustang, all had their gun armament concentrated in the wings.
  5. One of the NA-73s given to the army, s/n 41-038 is still in existence and last flew in 1982.[29]
  6. All but three of these FGs flew P-38s, P-40s or P-47s before converting to the Mustang.
  7. Ziemi Czerwieńskiej = Land of Czerwien, RAF Polish units retained the name and the logo of a squadron from the Polish Air Force which fought the Germans in 1939.
  8. The P-51D and K Maintenance manual notes that carrying 1,000 lb bombs was not recommended, because the racks were not designed for them.[146] Six rockets could be carried on removable Zero Rail launchers with the wing racks installed, 10 without wing racks.[147]

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    North American P-51 Mustang Bibliography:

  • Aerei da combattimento della Seconda Guerra Mondiale (in Italian). Novara, Italy: De Agostini Editore, 2005.
  • Anderson, Peter N. Mustangs of the RAAF and RNZAF. Sydney, Australia: A.H. & A.W. Reed Pty Ltd, 1975. ISBN 0-589-07130-0.
  • Angelucci, Enzo and Peter Bowers. The American Fighter: The Definitive Guide to American Fighter Aircraft from 1917 to the Present. New York: Orion Books, 1985. ISBN 0-517-56588-9.
  • Aro, Chuck and Colin Aro. World's Fastest Mustangs. Air Enthusiast. No. 13, August-November 1980. pp. 56-62. ISSN 0143-5450
  • Birch, David. Rolls-Royce and the Mustang. Derby, UK: Rolls-Royce Heritage Trust, 1987. ISBN 0-9511710-0-3.
  • Bowen, Ezra. Knights of the Air (Epic of Flight). New York: Time-Life Books, 1980. ISBN 0-8094-3252-8.
  • Borth, Christy. Masters of Mass Production. Indianapolis, Indiana: Bobbs-Merrill Co., 1945.
  • Bowman, Martin W. P-51 Mustang vs Fw 190: Europe 1943-45. Oxford, UK: Osprey Publishing, 2007. ISBN 1-84603-189-3.
  • Boylan, Bernard. Development of the Long Range Escort Fighter. Washington, D.C: USAF Historical Division, Research Studies Institute, Air University, 1955. Retrieved: 15 July 2014.
  • Boyne, Walter J. Clash of Wings. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1994. ISBN 0-684-83915-6.
  • Breffort, Dominique with André Jouineau. Le North-American P-51 Mustang - de 1940 à 1980 (Avions et Pilotes 5)(in French). Paris: Histoire et Collections, 2003. ISBN 2-913903-80-0.
  • Bridgman, Leonard, ed. The North American Mustang. Jane's Fighting Aircraft of World War II. London: Studio, 1946. ISBN 1-85170-493-0.
  • Caldwell, Donald and Richard Muller. The Luftwaffe over Germany - Defense of the Reich. St. Paul, Minnesota: Greenhill books, MBI Publishing, 2007. ISBN 978-185367-712-0.
  • Carson, Leonard Kit. Pursue & Destroy. Granada Hills, California: Sentry Books Inc., 1978. ISBN 0-913194-05-0.
  • Carter, Dustin W. and Birch J. Matthews.Mustang: The Racing Thoroughbred. West Chester, Pennsylvania: Schiffer Publishing Company, 1992. ISBN 978-0-88740-391-0.
  • Cleaver, Tom (April-July 1982). Return of the Razorbacks. Air Enthusiast. No. 18. pp. 26-31. ISSN 0143-5450.
  • Craven, Wesley and James Cate. The Army Air Forces in World War II, Volume Two: Europe, Torch to Pointblank, August 1942 to December 1943. Chicago: University of Chicago, 1949.
  • Darling, Kev. P-51 Mustang (Combat Legend). Shrewsbury, UK: Airlife, 2002. ISBN 1-84037-357-1.
  • Davis, Larry. P-51 Mustang. Carrollton, Texas: Squadron/Signal Publications, Inc., 1995. ISBN 0-89747-350-7.
  • Dean, Francis H. America's Hundred Thousand. Atglen, Pennsylvania: Schiffer Publishing Ltd., 1997. ISBN 0-7643-0072-5.
  • Delve, Ken. The Mustang Story. London: Cassell & Co., 1999. ISBN 1-85409-259-6.
  • Delve, Ken. The Source Book of the RAF. Shrewsbury, Shropshire, UK: Airlife Publishing, 1994. ISBN 1-85310-451-5.
  • Dienst, John and Dan Hagedorn. North American F-51 Mustangs in Latin American Air Force Service. London: Aerofax, 1985. ISBN 0-942548-33-7.
  • Donald, David, ed. Encyclopedia of World Aircraft. Etobicoke, Ontario: Prospero, 1997. ISBN 1-85605-375-X.
  • Dorr, Robert F.. P-51 Mustang (Warbird History). St. Paul, Minnesota: Motorbooks International Publishers, 1995. ISBN 0-7603-0002-X.
  • Ethell, Jeffrey L. Mustang: A Documentary History of the P-51. London: Jane's Publishing, 1981. ISBN 0-531-03736-3
  • Ethell, Jeffrey L. P-51 Mustang: In Color, Photos from World War II and Korea. St. Paul, Minnesota: Motorbooks International Publishers & Wholesalers, 1993. ISBN 0-87938-818-8.
  • Ethell, Jeffrey and Robert Sand. World War II Fighters. Minneapolis, Minnesota: Zenith Imprint, 2002. ISBN 978-0-7603-1354-1.
  • Forsyth, Robert. JV44: The Galland Circus. Burgess Hill, West Sussex, UK: Classic Publications, 1996. ISBN 0-9526867-0-8
  • Furse, Anthony. Wilfrid Freeman: The Genius Behind Allied Survival and Air Supremacy, 1939 to 1945. Staplehurst, UK: Spellmount, 1999. ISBN 1-86227-079-1.
  • Gilman J.D. and J. Clive. KG 200. London: Pan Books Ltd., 1978. ISBN 0-85177-819-4.
  • Glancey, Jonathan. Spitfire: The Illustrated Biography. London: Atlantic Books, 2006. ISBN 978-1-84354-528-6.
  • Gordon, Doug (July-August 2001). Tac Recon Masters: The 66th Tactical Reconnaissance Wing in Europe, Part One. Air Enthusiast (94): 31-39. ISSN 0143-5450.
  • Gordon, Yefim. Soviet Air Power in World War 2. Hinckley, UK: Midland Ian Allan Publishing, 2008. ISBN 978-1-85780-304-4.
  • Grant, William Newby. P-51 Mustang. London: Bison Books, 1980. ISBN 0-89009-320-2.
  • Green, William and Gordon Swanborough. The Great Book of Fighters. St. Paul, Minnesota: MBI Publishing, 2001. ISBN 0-7603-1194-3.
  • Gruenhagen, Robert W. Mustang: The Story of the P-51 Fighter (rev. ed.). New York: Arco Publishing Company, Inc., 1980. ISBN 0-668-04884-0.
  • Gunston, Bill. An Illustrated Guide to Allied Fighters of World War II. London: Salamander Books Ltd, 1981. ISBN 0-668-05228-7.
  • Gunston, Bill. Aerei della seconda guerra mondiale (in Italian). Milan: Peruzzo editore, 1984. No ISBN.
  • Gunston, Bill and Mike Spick. Modern Air Combat. Crescent Books, 1983, ISBN 91-972803-8-0.
  • Gunston, Bill. North American P-51 Mustang. New York: Gallery Books, 1990. ISBN 0-8317-1402-6.
  • Gunston, Bill and Robert F. Dorr. North American P-51 Mustang: The Fighter That Won the War. Wings of Fame, Volume 1. London: Aerospace, 1995, pp. 56-115. ISBN 1-874023-74-3.
  • Hagedorn, Dan. Central American and Caribbean Air Forces. Tonbridge, Kent, UK: Air-Britain (Historians), 1993. ISBN 0-85130-210-6.
  • Hagedorn, Dan. Latin American Air Wars & Aircraft. Crowborough, UK: Hikoki, 2006. ISBN 1-902109-44-9.
  • Hammond, Grant. The Mind of War: John Boyd and American Security, Smithsonian Institution Press, 2001, ISBN 1-56098-941-6.
  • Hastings, Max. Bomber Command. Minneapolis, Minnesota: Zenith Press, 1979. ISBN 978-0-76034-520-7.
  • Hatch, Gardner N.; Winter, Frank H. (1993). P-51 Mustang. Paducah, KY: Turner Publishing Company. ISBN 978-1-56311-080-1.
  • Hess, William N. Fighting Mustang: The Chronicle of the P-51. New York: Doubleday and Company, 1970. ISBN 0-912173-04-1.
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    Magazine References: +

  • Airfix Magazines (English) - http://www.airfix.com/
  • Avions (French) - http://www.aerostories.org/~aerobiblio/rubrique10.html
  • FlyPast (English) - http://www.flypast.com/
  • Flugzeug Publikations GmbH (German) - http://vdmedien.com/flugzeug-publikations-gmbh-hersteller_verlag-vdm-heinz-nickel-33.html
  • Flugzeug Classic (German) - http://www.flugzeugclassic.de/
  • Klassiker (German) - http://shop.flugrevue.de/abo/klassiker-der-luftfahrt
  • Le Fana de L'Aviation (French) - http://boutique.editions-lariviere.fr/site/abonnement-le-fana-de-l-aviation-626-4-6.html
  • Le Fana de L'Aviation (French) - http://www.pdfmagazines.org/tags/Le+Fana+De+L+Aviation/
  • Osprey (English) - http://www.ospreypublishing.com/
  • Revi Magazines (Czech) - http://www.revi.cz/

    Web References: +

  • History of 4th Fighter Group: http://www.4thfightergroupassociation.org/special-collections.html
  • Wikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_American_P-51_Mustang
  • Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/

This webpage was updated 11th August 2022

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