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Lieutenant James "Wilkie" Wilkinson, from Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, in cockpit. Wilkinson flew with the 335th Fighter Squadron of the 4th Fighter Group from Debden in 1943. He was transferred to the 78th Fighter Group later that year and was killed in a flying accident on 4 June 1944.
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...
Group
The 78th Fighter Group was initially based at Goxhill but moved to Duxford in April 1943 and stayed there until October 1945. The 78th FG flew each of the three US built principal fighters of the AAF in the ETO. In their Thundetbolts, the 78th FG ...
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...
Military | Captain | Pilot
James Wilkinson served with the 4th Fighter Group and then the 78th Fighter Group, flying missions from England.
...
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...
| Date | Contributor | Update |
|---|---|---|
| 08 September 2014 15:23:38 | AAM | AAM ingest |
| Sources | ||
IWM, Roger Freeman Collection |
||
