353rd Fighter Group

Add links
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

353rd Fighter Group
P-51 Mustang
1944–1945

The 353rd Fighter Group, nicknamed the Slybird Group,

352nd Fighter Squadrons
. It pioneered the P-47 dive-bombing and ground attack technique adopted by both Eighth and Ninth Air Forces. The group flew 447 combat missions and claimed 330 air and 414 ground aircraft destroyed. Group markings were black, yellow, black, yellow spinners, with a 48-inch black and yellow checker band around the cowling to the end of the exhaust stubs.

Organization and training

North American P-51D-10-NA Mustang Serial 44-14593 (VJ-V) "Kitten", flown by Lt. John Gaglan of the 351st Fighter Squadron.

The 353rd Fighter Group was constituted on 29 Sep 1942 and activated on 1 Oct 1942. The group trained for duty overseas with

Baltimore Army Airfield
from October 1942 to May 1943.

European Theatre

The 353rd Fighter Group moved to England in June 1943 and was assigned to the 66th Fighter Wing of the VIII Fighter Command at Sawston Hall, Cambridge. The group was at RAF Goxhill from June to August 1943 then moved to RAF Metfield in August 1943.

Equipped with P-47D Thunderbolts, operations commenced on 12 August 1943. It was the fourth P-47 unit to join the Eighth Air Force. From Metfield the 353rd flew numerous counter-air missions and provided escort for bombers that attacked targets in western Europe, made counter-air sweeps over France and the Low Countries, and dive-bombed targets in France.

Battle of Normandy

Republic P-47D-25-RE Thunderbolt 42-26422 (LH-E) of the 350th Fighter Squadron

The group moved to RAF Raydon in April 1944.

During the Battle of Normandy, the 353rd supported the breakthrough at Saint-Lô in July 1944.

Market Garden

The group contributed to the

Distinguished Unit Citation
for this effort.

In October 1944, the group converted to

P-51 Mustang
aircraft.

Battle of the Bulge

The group continued its fighter-bomber, escort, and counter-air missions to and participated in the Battle of the Bulge from December 1944 – January 1945.

They supported the airborne attack across the Rhine in March 1945.

VE Day

The 353rd flew combat missions until the end of April 1945. After the end of hostilities, the group trained and prepared for transfer to the Pacific Theater. With the end of World War II in September, the group left Raydon and transferred back to Camp Kilmer, New Jersey where it was inactivated on 18 October 1945.

The group was inactivated on 18 October 1945 and allotted to

116th Fighter Group
on 24 May 1946.

Notable pilots

Col. Glenn E Duncan commanding officer of the 353rd Fighter Group

Col. Glenn E. Duncan was commanding officer of the 353rd Fighter Group, the top ace in the Group and one of the top pilots in the Eighth Air Force with 19.5 aerial victories.[5][6][7] He was shot down in Germany in July 1944 then traveled to Holland, where he evaded capture and worked with the Dutch resistance until the end of the war.[8]

Walter C. Beckham was one of the top P-47 Thunderbolt aces and claimed 18 kills from September 1943 until February 1944 when he was shot down while strafing the Ostheim airfield. He was a prisoner in Stalag Luft III and Stalag XIII-D.

Lt. Col.

56th Fighter Group.[9] He was shot down by flak in November 1943 and was a prisoner at Stalag Luft I
.

Lt. Col. Joseph A. Morris commanded the 353rd Fighter Group from the beginning to 16 August 1943, MIA.

References

Public Domain This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency

  1. ISBN 9780816897629
    .
  2. ISBN 978-0-9934152-6-5
    .
  3. ISBN 0-405-12194-6
  4. ISBN 0-8317-1501-4
  5. ISBN 978-1-61060-702-5
    .
  6. ISBN 978-1-78200-889-7
    .
  7. ^ "Glenn E. Duncan". Acepilots.com. Retrieved 13 May 2018.
  8. ^ "Veteran Tributes". veterantributes.org. Retrieved 31 December 2016.
  9. ^ "Major General Loren G. Mccollom". U.S. Air Force. Retrieved 11 July 2018.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to 353d Fighter Group (United States Army Air Forces).
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=353rd_Fighter_Group&oldid=1201162917"