VIII Fighter Command FO-85 FIGHTER SWEEPS

29 July 1943

Description

118 P-47s form 4FG; 56FG; and 78FG are despatched to fly fighter sweeps over Belgium and Holland. 1 P-47 from 56FG Failed to Return (FTR), the pilot is taken POW. The fighters claim 0-1-0 on enemy aircraft.

Mission Details

BELGIAN COAST / DUTCH COAST

Description: FIGHTER SWEEP

Aircraft Type: P-47 Thunderbolt

Notes: Fighter sweep of Belgium and Holland coasts. One 56th Fighter Group Missing in Action (MIA) pilot last seen in Channel.

4th Fighter Group

Unit Hierarchy: Group
Air Force: Eighth Air Force
Type Category: Fighter

56th Fighter Group

Unit Hierarchy: Group
Air Force: Eighth Air Force
Type Category: Fighter

From left to right: Captain Walker L. Boone, Flight Officer Manuel S. Martinez and Flight Officer Gerry E. Brasher, pilots of the 82nd Fighter Squadron, 78th Fighter Group, sit on the bonnet of a jeep at Duxford air base. Passed for publication 28 October 1943. Printed caption on reverse: 'Thunderbolts - the "Guardian Angels" of Flying Fortresses. Here are pictures of Thunderbolts P-47s, the famous American fighter planes, which escort Flying Fortresses on their daylight missions over Occupied Europe. Pho

78th Fighter Group

Unit Hierarchy: Group
Air Force: Eighth Air Force
Type Category: Fighter

Mission Statistics

Prisoners of war: 1
Enemy aircraft probably destroyed by fighter: 2
Aircraft sent: 118
Aircraft missing in action: 1

Revisions

Date10 May 2015 18:49:33

ContributorLee8thbuff

Changes

Sources

Lee Cunningham 10-May-2015. Added claims agains enemy aircraft to statistics per "The Mighty Eighth War Diary", Roger A. Freeman. POW status confirmed from National Archives Records Administration (NARA) WWII POW database.

Date10 May 2015 18:47:03

ContributorLee8thbuff

Changes

Sources

Lee Cunningham 10-May-2015. Added Mission Narrative based on "The Mighty Eighth War Diary", Roger A. Freeman.

Date27 Sep 2014 18:43:21

ContributorAAM

Changes

Sources

Lee Cunningham, 8th Air Force missions research database / Stan Bishop's 'Losses of the US 8th and 9th Air Forces', the Combat Chronology of the US Army Air Forces and the work of Roger Freeman including the 'Mighty Eighth War Diary'.