Fowlmere
Airfield
IWM, Roger Freeman Collection
Object Number - FRE 5982 - The control tower at Fowlmere, home of the 339th Fighter Group, 1945. Image via James G Robinson. Written on slide casing: 'Fowlmere Tower, 1945.'
Just as nearby Duxford was known as the 'Duck pond' by American airmen, so Fowlmere was known as 'the Hen Puddle' because of the wet conditions that pervaded the bases during the winter of 1943-1944. The 339th Fighter Group had no choice but to persist and, flying their new P-51B Mustangs on operations from the end of April 1944, went on to record the highest claims of air and ground enemy aircraft victories in the space of one year. Fowlmere was sold to local farmers in 1957, and since 1988 part of the site has continued to operate as an airfield.
Connections
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People
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 339th Fighter Group 505th Fighter Squadron
- Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
- Role/Job: Crew Chief
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 339th Fighter Group 94th Bomb Group 503rd Fighter Squadron
- Service Numbers: O-758379
- Highest Rank: First Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Pilot
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 339th Fighter Group 353rd Fighter Group 351st Fighter Squadron 504th Fighter Squadron
- Service Numbers: O-792877
- Highest Rank: First Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Fighter Pilot
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 339th Fighter Group 504th Fighter Squadron
- Service Numbers: O-432133
- Highest Rank: Major
- Role/Job: Fighter Pilot
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 339th Fighter Group 503rd Fighter Squadron
- Service Numbers: O-433414
- Highest Rank: Captain
- Role/Job: Pilot
Aircraft
- Aircraft Type: P-51 Mustang
- Nicknames: Punkie II
- Unit: 339th Fighter Group 78th Fighter Group 504th Fighter Squadron 83rd Fighter Squadron
- Aircraft Type: P-51 Mustang
- Nicknames: Happy IV
- Unit: 339th Fighter Group 504th Fighter Squadron Headquarters (339th Fighter Group)
- Aircraft Type: P-51 Mustang
- Nicknames: Lil Aggie Hillbilly
- Unit: 339th Fighter Group 4th Fighter Group 334th Fighter Squadron 504th Fighter Squadron
- Aircraft Type: P-51 Mustang
- Nicknames: Lucky Boy
- Unit: 339th Fighter Group 505th Fighter Squadron
- Aircraft Type: P-51 Mustang
- Nicknames: Tar Heel
- Unit: 339th Fighter Group 505th Fighter Squadron
Revisions
Barry Anderson, Army Air Forces Stations (Alabama, 1985) / Roger Freeman, Airfields of the Eighth Then And Now (London, 1978)
