Eighth Air Force
Command
Eighth Air Force Bomber Command became the Eighth Air Force in February 1944, it oversaw bombardment of strategic targets in Europe until 1945.
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42-106950
P-51 Mustang
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A P-51 (WR-P, serial number 42-106950), nicknamed "The Iowa Beaut", of the 354th Fighter Squadron, 355th Fighter Group in flight. Written on slide casing: 'Lee Menenhall Fly WR-P "Iowa Beaut" 354 FS, 355 FG.'
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A P-51 (WR-P, serial number 42-106950), nicknamed "The Iowa Beaut", of the 354th Fighter Squadron, 355th Fighter Group in flight. Handwritten caption on reverse: 'P-51B of the 355th Fighter Group in flight over England, August 1944. Aircraft has Malcolm hood'.
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A P-51 Mustang (WR-P, serial number 42-106950), nicknamed "The Iowa Beaut", of the 354th Fighter Squadron, 355th Fighter Group flies over English countryside.
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A formation of B-17 Flying Fortresses of the 381st Bomb Group is escorted during a practice mission by a P-51 Mustang of the 355th Fighter Group. The Fortresses, left to right, are (VP-S, serial number 42-97059) nicknamed "Marsha Sue", (VE-N, serial number 43-37675) nicknamed "Patches (Flak Magnet)", (VE-K, serial number 42-106994) nicknamed "Little Guy" and (VE-O, serial number 42-107112) nicknamed "Sleepy Time Gal".
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"P-51B Mustang 42-106950 (WR-A) nicknamed Man O' War of the 354FS, 355FG, April 1944. Lt. Col. Claiborn H "Zoot" Kinnard Jr."
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"A formation of B-17 Flying Fortress of the 8th AF escorted by a P-51 Mustang."
Assigned to 354FS, 355FG, 8AF USAAF. Failed to Return (FTR) escort to Madgeburg crashed Hörnsheim vincinity of Wetzlar Lt Kevin G Rafferty Killed in Action (KIA) 11-Sep-44. MACR 8676.
Service
Units
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355th Fighter Group
Group
Where the 353rd Fighter Group had pioneered ground strafing techniques, it was the 355th Fighter Group who destroyed more enemy aircraft by ground strafing than any other Eighth Air Force Group. Based at Steeple Morden from July 1943 to July 1945, the... -
354th Fighter Squadron
Squadron
People
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Robert Hulderman
Military | Second Lieutenant | Pilot | 355th Fighter Group
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Claiborne Kinnard
Military | Lieutenant Colonel | Commanding Officer, Pilot | 355th Fighter Group
Colonel Kinnard, already a much decorated fighter pilot, came to the 4th Fighter Group in September 1944 from his former position as Group Commander of the 355th Fighter Group. He was appointed Deputy Group Commander, reporting to Lt. James Clark,... -
Darrell McAfee
Military | Sergeant | 355th Fighter Group
Assigned to 354FS, 355FG, 8AF USAAF. -
Virgil McAfee
Military | Staff Sergeant (3rd Grade) | Mechanic | 355th Fighter Group
Assigned to 354FS, 355FG, 8AF USAAF. Awards: WWII Victory, EAME. -
Kevin Rafferty
Military | Captain | Fighter Pilot, Pilot | 355th Fighter Group
Killed in Action (KIA) near Marburg in P-51 'The Iowa Beaut' 42-106950.
Places
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Steeple Morden
Military site : airfield
Originally used from 1940 as a small, grass airfield, satellite for nearby RAF Bassingbourn, Steeple Morden was allocated to the Eighth Air Force in August 1942 as a potential bomber base. It was used briefly by the 3rd Photographic Group during the...
Events
| Event | Location | Date |
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| Manufactured | Inglewood, CA, USA | 1944 |
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Built at North American. |
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| Delivered | California, USA | 1944 |
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Delivered to USAAF. |
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| Assigned | Steeple Morden, Royston SG8, UK | 1944 |
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Assigned to 354FS, 355FG, 8AF USAAF. |
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| Crashed | East of Marburg, Germany | 11 September 1944 |
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Failed to Return (FTR) escort to Madgeburg crashed at Hörnsheim vincinity of Wetzlar Lt Kevin G Rafferty Killed in Action (KIA) 11-Sep-44. MACR 8676. A/c crashed |
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Revisions
| Date | Contributor | Update |
|---|---|---|
| 20 May 2022 13:19:57 | Al_Skiff | Changes to unit associations |
| Sources | ||
http://littlefriends.co.uk/search.php?searchString=42-106950&Submit=Search |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 29 January 2019 18:52:16 | Claudio Becker | Changes to description and events |
| Sources | ||
MACR 8676 ; German KU Report ; Local reseraches in Germany. |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 04 November 2017 14:47:43 | Al_Skiff | Changes to production block number, nicknames, markings, description, events, unit associations, person associations and place associations |
| Sources | ||
http://littlefriends.co.uk/search.php?searchString=42-106950&Submit=Search |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 27 September 2014 18:40:15 | AAM | AAM ingest |
| Sources | ||
MACR 8676 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database |
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