8th Air Force
Eighth Air Force Bomber Command became the Eighth Air Force on February 1944, it oversaw bombardment of strategic targets in Europe until 1945.
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Leon McFaddin Blanding
Military
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Major Leon M. Blanding, a pilot with the 4th Fighter Group, at Debden. He wears an A-2 flight jacket.
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A large group of 4th Fighter Group pilots sitting on or standing in front of a P-47 Thunderbolt at Debden air base. The 4th Fighter Group flew P-47 Thunderbolts on missions between March 1943 and February 1944. Standing L to R: Selden Edner, Earl Carlow, Clemens Fiedler, Leon Blanding, Frank Bayles, Charles Anderson, Bernard McGrattan, James Happel, Paul Ellington and James W, Dye. On the wing of the aircraft L to R: Don Young, Kenneth G. Smith, Don Ross, ??, Cecil E. Manning, Robert Patterson, James H. Brandenburg, ?M. Thorpe?, Albert Schlegel and George Carpenter. On the fuselage L to R: Roy Evans, Fonzo "Snuffy" Smith, Cadman V. Padgett, ?Ernest Beatie?, James Steel and ??.
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Lt. Leon Blanding transferred from No. 121 (Eagle) Squadron and became C.O. of the 335th Fighter Squadron.
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Combat report 1st Lt Leon M Blanding 28 July 1943.
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In the Pilots' Dispersal Hut at Rochford airfield, personnel of No 121 (Eagle) Squadron play Poker as they await the order to 'scramble'. Left to right they are: Pilot Officer Beatie (standing, from Georgia), Pilot Officer Heppel (New Jersey), Pilot Officer Kearney (New Mexico), Flight Sergeant Blanding (South Carolina), Flight Sergeant Carpenter (standing, from Pennsylvania), Flight Officer Hasey (Oklahoma), Flight Sergeant Sanders (Tennessee) and Flight Sergeant Fred Vance (Virginia). In the rear right-hand corner of the photograph, the telephonist can be seen, along with several other personnel awaiting the call to action. IWM Photo D 9514
Leon Blanding joined the RCAF and began flying as a sergeant pilot with No. 121 'Eagle' Squadron, and he rose to the rank of Major over the course of two tours with the 4th fighter Group.
His time in the frontline came to an abrupt end when he suffered a fractured skull after his Mustang was hit by flak during the 8 August 1944 mission to Norway.
Blanding was by then assigned to the 4th Fighter Group Headquarters flight, having previously been CO of the 335th Fighter Squadron.
Awards: DFC, AM, PH, WWII Victory, EAME.
Post war: Retired from the USAF as a Lieutenant Colonel, post war Owner/Operator Blanding Iron Works Sumter, SC.
Service
Units served with
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495th Fighter Training Group
Group
The 495th Fighter Training Group, which operated in England from December 1943, trained P-47 Thunderbolt pilots. These pilots, who had received the basic training in the USA would be assigned to a training group to practise ETO operational procedures... -
335th Fighter Squadron
Squadron
The 335th Fighter Squadron was the offspring of No. 121 (Eagle) Squadron RAF. Formed on 21 May 1941, No. 121 was the second of the three Eagle Squadrons composed of American volunteers flying out of England. They were known as the "Chiefs" and were... -
No. 121 'Eagle' Squadron
Squadron
'On 14 May 1941, No. 121 was reformed at Kirton-in-Lindsey as the second 'Eagle' Squadron to be manned by American volunteers. Equipped with Hurricanes, it began defensive patrols in October but in November it converted to Spitfires. It moved to North... -
Headquarters (4th Fighter Group)
Headquarters
The Headquarters Squadron was made up of true leaders. Most had flown Hurricanes, Spitfires, Thunderbolts and Mustangs. ...
Aircraft
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42-75051
P-47 Thunderbolt
Assigned to 335FS, 4FG, 8AF USAAF. A/C shot down during an engagement NE Koblenz, Germany. Not seen to go down; aircraft crashed at Seraing, Belgium. Lt Richard I Reed Jr KIA. 20-Feb-44. MACR 2664. -
42-74686
P-47 Thunderbolt
P-47D Thunderbolt 42-74686 Assigned to 335th FS 4th FG 8th AF 9-43, later on strength with 514th FS, 406th FG, 9th AF. Crashed Belly Landing, Ashford/Sta 417, Cat 3 damage Pilot Bernard J Sledznik, 514FS 406FG, 9AF 12-5-44. -
43-6753
P-51 Mustang
Assigned to 335FS, 4FG, 8AF USAAF. Transferred to 307FS, 31FG, 15AF USAAF.
Associated Place
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Atcham
Military site : airfield
Atcham, at some remove from other American Air Force bases in Shropshire, was used by USAAF to train pilots from June 1942, several months before the American Eagle Squadrons were combined to form the 4th Fighter Group. Pilots here were mainly trained... -
Debden
Military site : airfield
RAF Debden, construction of which began in 1935, is perhaps most famous as a Battle of Britain fighter airfield, partly responsible for the defence of London in 1940. In 1942 it was also home to three RAF 'Eagle Squadrons’ of volunteer American pilots...
Events
| Event | Location | Date |
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| Born | South Carolina, USA | 30 October 1919 |
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Son of Donald McQueen and Georgie Conyers [Ingram]Blanding. |
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| Lived in | Sumter, SC, USA | 1941 |
| Based | North Weald Bassett, Epping CM16, UK | 1942 – 29 September 1942 |
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Assigned to 121 [Eagle] Sqn RAF. |
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| E/A Probable | Dieppe, France | 19 August 1942 |
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1 x Fw190 probable, Dieppe. |
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| Based | Debden | 29 September 1942 – 24 March 1944 |
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Transferred to 335FS, 4FG, 8AF USAAF as 2nd Lieutenant. |
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| Promotion | Debden, Saffron Walden CB11, UK | December 1942 |
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Promoted to 1st Lieutenant. |
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| Promotion | Debden, Saffron Walden CB11, UK | 1943 |
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Promoted to Captain. |
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| E/A Kill | Utrecht, Netherlands | 28 July 1943 |
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1 x Fw190 destroyed 10 miles SE of Utrecht. E/A was one of a pair lining up a crippled B-17 Flying Fortress. |
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| Promotion | Debden, Saffron Walden CB11, UK | March 1944 |
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Promoted to Major. |
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| Transferred | Atcham, Shrewsbury, UK | 24 March 1944 – 24 May 1944 |
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Transferred to 495FTG, 8AF USAAF. |
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| Re-Assigned | Debden, Saffron Walden CB11, UK | 24 May 1944 – 29 July 1944 |
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Re-Assigned to 335FS, 4FG, 8AF USAAF. |
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| Transferred | Debden, Saffron Walden CB11, UK | 29 July 1944 – 20 September 1944 |
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Transferred to HQ Sqn, 4FG, 8AF USAAF. |
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| End Tour Duty (ETD) | England, UK | 20 September 1944 |
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Completed Tour Duty (ETD). |
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| Died | Sumter, SC, USA | 15 April 1998 |
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Died - 15 April 1998 Sumter, South Carolina, USA. |
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| Buried | Cemetery Rd, Sumter, SC 29150, USA | May 1998 |
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Sumter Cemetery |
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Revisions
| Date | Contributor | Update |
|---|---|---|
| 20 November 2016 12:00:55 | Al_Skiff | Changes to middlename, nickname, role, biography, awards, events and place associations |
| Sources | ||
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=132142256 |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 19 October 2015 10:57:32 | Al_Skiff | Changes to nickname, highest rank, biography, awards, events, unit associations and aircraft associations |
| Sources | ||
EAGLES of the RAF - The World War II Eagle Squadrons by Phillip D Caine. |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 26 April 2015 16:28:40 | apollo11 | Changes to biography |
| Sources | ||
Personal research & 4th Fighter Group 'Debden Eagles' by Chris Bucholtz. |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 21 March 2015 16:02:49 | apollo11 | Changes to unit associations and place associations |
| Sources | ||
Personal research & 'The Debden Warbirds' by Frank Speer. |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 09 February 2015 17:13:43 | Lucy May | Changes to service number, highest rank and unit associations |
| Sources | ||
Combined two entries for Leon Blanding. Now includes information from the following source: |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 27 September 2014 18:18:32 | AAM | AAM ingest |
| Sources | ||
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / http://www.4thfightergroupassociation.org/pilots.html |
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