XIX Air Support Command
Command
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Group
The Group moved to England in the autumn of 1943 and was assigned to the Ninth Air Force in December 1943. The Group were the first to fly P-51 Mustangs operationally and in their bomber escort missions pushed to find the long-range limits of the aircraft. The Group escorted gliders on D-Day on 6 June 1944 and in the course of that month continued to strike targets like railways lines and German gun positions in support of Allied troop positions in northern France. The Group was awarded two DUC, the first for their work escorting bombers in the first half of 1944 and the second for a series of successful fighter-sweeps that destroyed numerous enemy aircraft in the air and on the ground on 25 August 1944. The Group support the Battle of the Bulge that winter and Allied troops fighting at the Rhine river in early 1945.
Command
Wing
Squadron
Squadron
Squadron
Headquarters
5 December 1943
This is the FIRST use of the P-51 Mustang to escort bombers. 36 are despatched from 9th Air Force, 354th Fighter Group (under 8th AF control). There are no losses or claims in this element.
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11 December 1943
This fighter mission is composed of three elements despatched to provide escort to heavy bomber attacking at Bremen, Germany. The first element is a force of 31 P-38s from 55FG (included some from 20FG). There are no losses or claims in this element.
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16 December 1943
This fighter mission is despatched to escort bombres attacking at Bremen, Germany. The mission consists of three elements. The first element if a force of 31 P-38s from 55FG. No aircraft are lost in combat, but 1 aircraft went out of control over...
20 December 1943
This mission is a combined force of 491 fighter aircraft despatched to escort bombers attacking at Bremen, Germany. NOTE: Fighter claims of 16-3-6 on enemy aircraft were not allocated in source data, so they have been bundled with P-47 statistics. The...
22 December 1943
This fighter mission is composed of three elements despatched to provide escort to bombers attacking as Osnabruck and Munster Germany. It is composed of three elements. The first element is a forcr of 40 P-38s from 55FG. 2 aircraft Failed to Return ...
30 December 1943
A force of 583 fighter aircraft are despatched to provide escort to bombers attacking at Ludwigshafen, Germany. The force is composed of three elements. The first element is a force of 79 P-38s from 20FG and 55FG. There are no losses or claims in this...
31 December 1943
This is the last fighter operation of 1943. It is composed of three elements despatched to escort bomber formations attacking German airfield in France. The first element is a forc of 74 P-38s from 20FG and 55FG. 2 aircraft Failed to Return (FTR)1POW...
4 January 1944
A combined force of 70 P-38s from 20FG & 55 FG are despatched to provide escort to bombers attacking at Kiel, Germany. The P-38 are joined by 42 P-51s despatched by IX Fighter Command 354FG. 20FG sustaines 2 losses - 1KIA 1POW. 1 P-38 from 55FG...
5 January 1944
This is a VIII Fighter Command operation of the despatch of fighter elements to escort bombers attacking targets in Germany and France. The operation consists of four elements. The first element is a despatch of 70 P-38s from 20FG and 55FG. These are...
7 January 1944
A combined fighter force of 571 aircraft are despatched to provide escort for the bombers attacking at Ludwigshaven, Germany. Three elements of fighters are despatched.
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Station | Location | Date |
---|---|---|
Based | Boxted | November 1943 – April 1944 |
Based | Greenham Common | 4 November 1943 |
Based | Lashenden | April 1944 – June 1944 |
Based | Cricqueville | 22 June 1944 – August 1944 |
Based | Orconte | August 1944 – September 1944 |
Based | Gael | 13 August 1944 – 17 September 1944 |
Based | Rosieres en Haye | 1 December 1944 – 8 April 1945 |
Based | Ansbach | March 1945 – April 1945 |
Military | First Lieutenant | Fighter Pilot | 354th Fighter Group
Assigned to 335FS, 4FG, 8AF USAAF. Transferred to 2nd Scouting Force. Transferred to 358FS, 355FG 8AF USAAF. Transferred to 335FS, 4FG, 8AF USAAF. Transferred to 354FG. Ended Tour Duty (ETD).
Military | Captain | Fighter Pilot-1055 Single Engine | 354th Fighter Group
2.5 air kills 4 ground kills
Military | Captain | Fighter Pilot 1055 single engine | 354th Fighter Group
7 kills plus 2 V-1s
Military | Captain | Fighter Pilot-1055 single engine | 20th Fighter Group
William Yngve Anderson (June 28, 1921 – May 9, 2011) was a Swedish American fighter ace of World War II with seven official victories in Europe, flying P-51 Mustang fighters in the U.S. Army Air Forces (USAAF). He was born in Kramfors, Sweden.
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Military | Technical Sergeant | GN | 354th Fighter Group
Prisoner of War (POW)
Military | Second Lieutenant | Fighter Pilot, Pilot | 354th Fighter Group
Prisoner of War (POW) when he baled out at about 18000ft he struck the tail with his legs and was taken to local hospital at Saarburg. Had mid-air collision.
Military | Lieutenant Colonel | Fighter Pilot-1055 single engine | 354th Fighter Group
1st tour Wingman/Element leader 382nd FS 363rd FG Aug. 1943 - Aug. 1944.
...
Military | Pilot | 354th Fighter Group
Military | Captain | Fighter Pilot | 354th Fighter Group
Assigned to 555FTS, 496FTG, 8AF USAAF. Transferred to 355FS, 354FG, 9AF USAAF. 80 missions. Failed to Return fighter sweep to Schifferstadt hit by return fire and shot down in P-51D 44-63193 21-Feb-45. Baled out POW. MACR 12599.
Military | First Lieutenant | Fighter Pilot-1055 single engine | 354th Fighter Group
Namesake of Bakalar Air force Base
P-51 Mustang
P-51 Mustang
P-51 Mustang
P-51 Mustang
P-51 Mustang
P-51 Mustang
P-51 Mustang
P-51 Mustang
P-51 Mustang
P-51 Mustang
Shot down 17 July 1944 by Fw 190A-8 flown by Ofhr Gunther Bersau of the 1st Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 1. The pilot 2Lt Tom Cannon evaded capture. MACR 7164.
None
Date | Contributor | Update |
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30 September 2019 13:56:44 | Emily | Changes to stations |
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Date | Contributor | Update |
27 July 2015 01:36:33 | 466thHistorian | Changes to type and mission associations |
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Chris Brassfield |
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Date | Contributor | Update |
27 July 2015 01:35:57 | 466thHistorian | Changes to type, nicknames, motto, aircraft types and mission associations |
Sources | ||
Chris Brassfield |
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Date | Contributor | Update |
27 July 2015 01:29:55 | 466thHistorian | Changes to mission associations and stations |
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Battle Colors - Volume III |
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Date | Contributor | Update |
27 July 2015 01:29:09 | 466thHistorian | Changes to mission associations and stations |
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"Battle Colors - Volume III" - Robert A. Watkins |
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Date | Contributor | Update |
27 September 2014 18:42:45 | AAM | AAM ingest |
Sources | ||
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database / The Mighty Eighth. A History of the Units, Men and Machines of the US 8th Air Force.' by Roger A. Freeman (1989). 'Air Force Combat Units of World War II' compiled by the Department of the US Air Force, edited by Maurice Maurer (1983). / Units in the UK from ETOUSA Station List, as transcribed by Lt. Col. Philip Grinton (US Army, Retired) and extracted by IWM; air division data from L.D. Underwood, based on the 8th Air Force Strength Report of 6th August 1944, as published in 'The 8th Air Force Yearbook' by Lt. Col. John H Woolnough (1980) |