309th Service Group
Group
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Military site : airfield
Built during 1943 as an Advanced Landing Ground (ALG), Staplehurst was used briefly by RAF fighter squadrons during August to October 1943 and then allocated to the Ninth Air Force. Developed and improved during the winter of 1943-44, the station eventually had two Sommerfeld Track runways with BRC intersections, 70 Sommerfeld Track and BRC hardstandings, one Butler combat hangar and four blister hangars. It was occupied by the 363rd Fighter Group, equipped with P-51s, from April to July 1944, but was then unused until the airfield closed in September 1944. Dismantled during the winter of 1944-45, the site was released by the Air Ministry in January 1945 and quickly returned to agriculture.
Group
Group
Equipped with P-51s, the Group entered combat from England in February 1944, flying bomber escort and ground-strafing missions. They took part in the invasion of Normandy, protecting gliders and troop carriers on 6 and 7 June. In September 1944, now...
Squadron
Squadron
Squadron
Squadron
Squadron
Squadron
Squadron
Military | Second Lieutenant | Fighter pilot | 363rd Fighter Group
Assigned to 380FS, 363FG, 9AF USAAF. Failed to Return (FTR) escort mission to Dessau shot down Gardelegen, Germany Prisoner of War (POW). 28-May-44 MACR 5136.
Awards: POW,WWII Victory, EAME.
Military | Colonel | Fighter Pilot 1055 single engine/Squadron Commander | 354th Fighter Group
Col USAF retired
CO 380th FS 363rd FG
CO 355th FS 354th FG
2 air kills
Military | Captain | Fighter Pilot-1055 single engine | 354th Fighter Group
Wingman 382nd FS 363rd FG P-51B 1 kill first combat tour
Flight leader 356th FS 354th FG P-47D/P-51D 2 kills 2nd combat tour
Military | Second Lieutenant | Fighter pilot | 363rd Fighter Group
Assigned to 382FS, 363FG, 9AF USAAF. Failed to Return (FTR) penetration escort Frankfurt head-on mid air collision with P-47 42-26016. A/C destroyed pilot 2Lt Anthony E Ladas Killed in Action (KIA). MACR 5138.
Awards: AM(3OLC), PH.
Military | First Lieutenant | Pilot | 363rd Fighter Group
Assigned to 385FS, 364FG, 8AF USAAF. Detached Service 1st Scouting Force. Transferred to 380FS, 363FG, 9AF USAAF.
Awards: AM, WWII Victory, EAME.
Military | First Lieutenant | P 51- Mustang Fighter Pilot | 363rd Fighter Group
Carleton was an intelligent, hard working, and serious fighter pilot. He completed 103 missions before going down over Belgium in May of 1945.
Military | Second Lieutenant | Pilot | 363rd Fighter Group
1940 graduate of Bloomington High School where he was active in football and wrestling. Attending Indiana University when he entered the US Army Air Corp as a mechanic in January 1941.
...
Military | First Lieutenant | Fighter Pilot | 363rd Fighter Group
Assigned to 380FS, 363FG, 9AF USAAF. Failed to Return (FTR) dive bombing mission to Coutances, France. A/C P-51B 43-6512 hit by flak dive bombing gun positions NE Coutances. Lt Reddig abandoned A/C in area and evaded capture EVD. 4-Jul-44. MACR 6678.
Military | Colonel | Fighter Pilot-1055 single engine | 363rd Fighter Group
Element leader 381st FS 363rd FG.
...
Military | Second Lieutenant | Fighter pilot | 363rd Fighter Group
Assigned to 382FS, 363FG, 9AF USAAF. Failed to Return (FTR) escort mission to Berlin, group climbed through severe weather on instruments A/C lost during the climb. Crashed into English Channel. Pilot 2nd Lt James E Watson KIA. 4-Mar-44. MACR 2851.
P-51 Mustang
Assigned to 380FS, 363FG, 9AF USAAF. Failed to Return (FTR) escort mission to Dessau shot down Gardelegen, Germany pilot 2Lt Feodor Clemovitz Prisoner of War (POW). 28-May-44 MACR 5136.
P-51 Mustang
Assigned to 380FS, 363FG, 9AF USAAF. Mechanical failure on mission to Berlin from home base Staplehurst, AAF-413, crash location near Lingen, 29-Apr-44. Pilot Albert G Johnson, POW. MACR 4435.
P-51 Mustang
Assigned to 382FS, 363FG, 9AF USAAF. Failed to Return (FTR) penetration escort Frankfurt head-on mid air collision with P-47 42-26016. A/C destroyed, Pilot 2Lt Anthony E Ladas, Killed in Action (KIA). MACR 5138.
P-51 Mustang
Assigned to 381FS, 363FG, 9AF USAAF. Failed to Return (FTR) 8-Aug-44; strafing boats was hit by flak belly landed vicinity of Quimper pilot Lt John R. Brown EVD A/C strafed and set alight. MACR 7800
P-51 Mustang
Assigned to 382FS, 363FG, 9AF USAAF. Transferred to 355FS, 354FG, 9AF USAAF. Failed to Return (FTR) Lemons-Dreux, France area 8-Aug-44. Lt Garland Page abandoned A/C Evreux-Chartres area. MACR 8499
P-51 Mustang
Assigned to 336FS, 4FG, 8AF USAAF. Transferred to 380FS, 363FG, 9AF USAAF. Failed to Return (FTR) dive bombing mission to Coutances, France. A/C hit by flak dive bombing gun positions NE Coutances. Pilot Lt Charles R Reddig abandoned A/C in area and...
P-51 Mustang
Assigned to 334FS, 4FG, 8AF USAAF. Transferred to 381FS, 363FG, 9AF USAAF.
...
P-51 Mustang
Assigned to 381FS, 363FG, 9AF USAAF. Failed to Return (FTR) patrol St Lo 11 July 1944. Hit by flak and crash landed near front lines .Lt Edward M. Myers seen to crawl away from burning aircraft. As it was close to Allied lines he was believed to have...
P-51 Mustang
Assigned to 336FS, 4FG, 8AF USAAF. Transferred to 382FS, 363FG, 9AF USAAF. Failed to Return (FTR) escort mission to Berlin, group climbed through severe weather on instruments A/C lost during the climb. Crashed into English Channel. Pilot 2nd Lt James...
P-51 Mustang
Assigned to 336FS, 4FG, 8AF USAAF. Personal aircraft of Lt Harry E Dugan. Transferred to 382FS, 363FG, 9AF USAAF. Personal aircraft of Lt Col Ben S Irvin.
Date | Contributor | Update |
---|---|---|
27 September 2014 18:02:18 | AAM | AAM ingest |
Sources | ||
Barry Anderson, Army Air Forces Stations (Alabama, 1985) / Roger Freeman, Airfields of the Ninth Then and Now (London, 1994) Chris Ashworth, Action Stations 5: Military Airfields of the South-West (London, 1982) |