30 December 1943
Not yet known
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 element.
The second element is a force of 483 P-47s from: 4FG; 56FG; 78FG; 352FG; 353FG; 355FG; 356FG; 358FG; and 359FG. 11 aircraft Failed to Return (FTR) 6KIA 4POW 1EVD. 1 aircraft returned but was DBR and 5 others were damaged. This fighter element claimed 4-3-6 of attacking German aircraft.
The third element was a force of 41 P-51s from 354FG (9th Air Force) operating under VIII Fighter Command control). 2 aircraft Failed to Return (FTR) 2POW. There were no other casualties. The P-51 element claimed 4-0-0 of attacking German fighters.
The fighters of this mission claimed 8-3-6 of attacking German aircraft. 4 of the kills were attributed to 354FG
FIGHTER ESCORT
P-38 Lightning
354th Fighter Group IX Fighter Command despatches 41 P-51s to join escort. (Statistics not included in totals)
Group
The 55th Fighter Group were the first P-38 Lightning Group to go fully operational from England. The pilots flew long-range escort missions for bombers flying over occupied Europe and racked up 'kills' of their own by destroying enemy aircraft in...
| Number of aircraft Sent | 79 |
| Number of aircraft Missing In Action | 2 |
| Number of people Prisoners of War | 2 |
FIGHTER ESCORT
P-47 Thunderbolt
Not yet known
Group
The 352nd Fighter Group were based at Bodney, Norfolk from July 1943 until November 1945 but in the winter months of 1944/1945 detachments moved to bases in Belgium to provide extra air support to ground forces during the Battle of the Bulge and to...
Group
The 353rd Fighter Group was assigned to the Eighth Air Force on 7 June 1943. The group flew P-47 Thunderbolts, and from October 1944, P-51 Mustangs, as escorts for bombing missions across occupied Europe and to strafe targets on the ground. Tactical...
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...
Group
The 356th Fighter Group flew 413 missions between 15 October 1943 and 7 May 1945 and suffered the highest ratio of losses to enemy aircraft claims of any Eighth Air Force Group. This gave the Group the reputation of being the 'hard luck' outfit. The...
Group
The 358th Fighter Group flew seventeen missions with the Eighth Air Force from Leiston air base. At the beginning of February 1944 the Group were transferred to the Ninth Air Force in exchange for the 357th Fighter Group. With the Ninth, the Group went...
Group
The 359th Fighter Group flew 346 missions from East Wretham between December 1943 and April 1945. In the main these missions were escorting bombers flying over occupied Europe. The Group, soon after converting from Thunderbolts to Mustangs, were...
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
Flying P-47 Thunderbolts throughout their time stationed in England, the Group, known as "the Wolfpack", had more ace pilots than any other Eighth Air Force Fighter Group. The 56th Fighter Group also destroyed more enemy aircraft in air combat than any...
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 ...
| Number of aircraft Sent | 463 |
| Number of aircraft Missing In Action | 13 |
| Number of aircraft Damaged | 5 |
| Number of people Killed In Action | 6 |
| Number of people Prisoners of War | 6 |
| Enemy aircraft claimed as Destroyed by Fighter Command | 4 |
| Enemy aircraft claimed as Probably Destroyed by Fighter Command | 3 |
| Enemy aircraft claimed as Damaged by Bomber Command | 6 |
Not yet known
Not yet known
Not yet known
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...
| Number of aircraft Sent | 41 |
| Number of aircraft Missing In Action | 2 |
| Number of people Prisoners of War | 2 |
| Enemy aircraft claimed as Destroyed by Bomber Command | 4 |
Military | First Lieutenant | 353rd Fighter Group
| Date | Contributor | Update |
|---|---|---|
| 28 July 2015 18:55:50 | Lee8thbuff | Changes to event |
| Sources | ||
Lee Cunningham 28-Jul-2015. Added fighter claims to P-47 element statistics per "The Mighty Eighth War Diary", Roger A. Freeman. |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 28 July 2015 18:54:14 | Lee8thbuff | Created event |
| Sources | ||
Lee Cunnigham 28-Jul-2015. Added NEW Mission event fro 354FG (9th AF) per "The Mighty Eighth War Diary", Roger A. Freeman. |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 28 July 2015 18:51:30 | Lee8thbuff | Changes to name and description |
| Sources | ||
Lee Cunningham 28-Jul-2015. Added Mission Narrative based on "The Mighty Eighth War Diary", Roger A. Freeman. |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 27 September 2014 18:43:20 | AAM | AAM ingest |
| Sources | ||
Lee Cunningham, 8th Air Force missions research database / Stan Bishop's 'Losses of the US 8th and 9th Air Forces', the Combat Chronology of the US Army Air Forces and the work of Roger Freeman including the 'Mighty Eighth War Diary'. |
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