Clemens Arthur Fiedler | American Air Museum in Britain

1st Lt Clemens Fiedler 335FS, 4FG, 8AF USAAF.

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Airmen of the 4th Fighter Group ride in the back of a Dodge weapons carrier (WC51 or WC52) at Debden air base. P-47 41-6233 is in the background of the shot. Passed by the U.S. Army on 2 October 1943, THUNDERBOLT MISSION. Associated Press photo shows:- Pilots at a U.S. Eighth Air Force station in England are taken by truck from the Dispersal room to their waiting P-47's (Thunderbolts) at the start of a sortie over enemy territory. L-R: Lt. Burt Wyman, Englewood, N.J. ; Lt. Leighton Read, Hillsboro, W.V.; F/O Glen Fiedler, Frederickburg, Tex. AKP/LFS 261022 . 41043bi.' [ caption].' Passed for publication ....1943'. [stamp].

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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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Assigned to 335FS, 4FG, 8AF USAAF. A/C P-51B 43-7190 struck by flak while strafing Romarantin Airdrome in France. Determining he could not make it back, he called on the R/T informing his escorts of his intention to bail out. Twice he rolled the aircraft on its back and attempted to bail out. He was unable to extricate himself from the aircraft before it dove into the ground. Crashed near Soize. KIA MACR 4127.

Clemens came to the 4th Fighter Group from Fredericksburg, Texas, on 8 August 1943. He was assigned to the 335th Squadron. He had 50 missions completed when on 10 April 1944 his plane was hit by flak while strafing Romorantin Aerodrome, France.
His mustang was streaming black oil and glycol and he attempted to bail out. His wingman watched as he climbed and put his aircraft on its back and then went into a dive. He leveled off for a few seconds and went into another dive with objects flying out of the cockpit. He was then seen hanging halfway out of the cockpit as his plane dove into the ground and he was killed.
Lt. Fielder was credited with 5.3 victories and had earned the Air Medal with one Oak Leaf Cluster.

Service

Units served with

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. ...
4th Fighter Group

Group
Some of the pilots of the 4th Fighter Group had seen many hours of combat by the time they joined the 4th Fighter Group as they had volunteered with the Royal Canadian Air Force and the Royal Air Force. The three 'Eagle Squadrons' of RAF Fighter...
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...

Aircraft

43-6579 'S.N.A.F.U.'

P-51 Mustang
Assigned to 335FS, 4FG, 8AF USAAF. On ramrod to Berlin, section bounced enemy aircraft, shot down in ensuing melee with seven Fw190's. Crashed near Berlin. Pilot Lt Lloyd Henry Killed in Action (KIA). MACR 4138.
43-7190

P-51 Mustang
Assigned to 335FS, 4FG, 8AF USAAF. A/C struck by flak while strafing Romarantin Airdrome in France. A/C crashed near Soize. Pilot Lt Clemens Fiedler failed to abandon the A/C despite several attempts to roll the A/C on its back. Killed in Action KIA....
41-6233

P-47 Thunderbolt
Assigned 335th FS, 4th FG, 8th AF. 9-43. Forced Landing Engine Failure Cat 4 damage, pilot Clemens A Fiedler, Debden/Sta 356. 2-9-43. ROS, Assigned 551FTS, 495FTG, 8th AF. 9-44, Mid Air Collision with Thunderbolt 42-74640 Cat 5, pilot 2nd Lt John D...
41-6185

P-47 Thunderbolt
41-6360

P-47 Thunderbolt
Assigned to 335FS, 4FG 8AF USAAF. Transferred to 551FTS, 495FTg, 8AF USAAF. Mid Air Collision Tibberton Green Fam, Tibberton pilot Lt John D Heagney KIA, 23-Sep-44.

Missions

8th Air Force 296 and 8th Air Force Field Order 294

10 April 1944

Associated Place

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
Born	Fredericksburg, Texas, USA	18 December 1919
Lived in	Fredericksburg, TX 78624, USA	1940
Assigned	Debden, Saffron Walden, Essex CB11, UK	18 August 1943 – 10 April 1944
Assigned to 335FS, 4FG, 8AF USAAF.
Promoted	Debden, Saffron Walden, Essex CB11, UK	5 December 1943
Promoted 2nd Lieutenant 5-Dec-43.
E/A Destroyed	France	1944
2 x Fw190's destroyed.
Promoted	Debden, Saffron Walden, Essex CB11, UK	18 February 1944
Promoted 1st Lieutenant 18-Feb-44.
Killed in action	Oise, France	10 April 1944
A/C struck by flak while strafing Romarantin Airdrome, France. Attempted to bail out. Twice he rolled the A/C on its back in the attempt. Unable to extricate himself from the aircraft before it dove into the ground. Crashed near Soize in P-51 43-7190. KIA MACR 4127.
Buried	Saint Mary Cemetery Fredericksburg, Gillespie County, TX	1948
Saint Mary Cemetery Fredericksburg, Gillespie County, Texas

Date	Contributor	Update
11 March 2021 20:18:52	Al_Skiff	Changes to middlename, events and unit associations
Sources
https://www.fold3.com/image/673418511 https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/58122151/clemens-a-fiedler
Date	Contributor	Update
13 October 2017 11:33:52	general ira snapsorter	Changes to biography and events
Sources
Merged with duplicate entry to include details from: - Personal research (apollo11) & 'Eighty-One Aces of the 4th Fighter Group' by Frank Speer.; - the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia; - Losses of the 8th & 9th AFs Vol I by Bishop & Hey pp.262-3
Date	Contributor	Update
09 March 2016 13:28:20	Al_Skiff	Changes to highest rank, role, biography, awards, events, unit associations, place associations, aircraft associations and mission associations
Sources
http://www.4thfightergroupassociation.org/uploads/8/2/0/3/8203817/335_fi...
Date	Contributor	Update
27 September 2014 18:06:25	AAM	AAM ingest
Sources
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / MACR 3725 / MACR 4127 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database / Ted Damick, VIII Fighter Command pilots list