Military
From Waycross, GA, Lt. Donald W. Chatfield enlisted in Minneapolis, MN, on 14 August 1942. Assigned to the 368th Fighter Squadron on 16 June 1944, then to HQ on 9 December 1944, he flew 270 combat hours with the 359th Fighter Group before ending his tour of duty on 21 January 1945. Aircraft included P-51B CV-S 42-106876.
Assigned to 368FS, 359FG, 8AF USAAF. Transferred to HQ Sqn, 359FG, 8AF USAAF. Credited 2 x damaged [Grd]. Ended Tour of Duty (ETD).
Awards: WWII Victory, EAME.
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...
Squadron
Distinguished Unit Citation: Germany, 11 September 1944.
Headquarters
P-51 Mustang
Assigned to 83FS, 78FG, 8AF USAAF. Re-assigned to 84FS. Transferred to 368FS, 359FG, 8AF USAAF.
P-51 Mustang
Assigned to 354FS, 355FG, 8AF USAAF. Transferred to 368FS, 359FG, 8AF USAAF. Lost 3-Oct-44 Crash-landed France Lt D W Chatfield RTD.
Military site : airfield
East Wretham was not improved to Class A standard. It retained its shorter runways, although eventually pierced-steel planking was laid to make take offs and landings easier for the Thunderbolt, and then Mustang, pilots. Steel matting was also laid to...
| Event | Location | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Born | 7060 NY-104, Oswego, NY 13126, USA | 29 December 1920 |
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Son of William C and Celeste Chatfield. |
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| Enlisted | Syracuse, NY, USA | 16 April 1943 |
| Based | East Wretham | 14 June 1944 – 21 January 1945 |
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Assigned to 368FS, 359FG, 8AF USAAF. |
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| Promotion | Wretham, Thetford IP24, UK | 15 September 1944 |
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Promoted to 1st Lieutenant. |
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| Crashed | France | 3 October 1944 |
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Crash-landed P-51B 43-6917 France 3-Oct-44 - Lt Donald W Chatfield RTD |
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| Transferred | Wretham, Thetford IP24, UK | 9 December 1944 |
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Transferred to HQ Sqn, 359FG, 8AF USAAF. |
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| Crashed | Sint-Truiden, Belgium | 15 December 1944 |
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Force-landed P-51B 42-106876 15-Dec-44 LG A-92 Belgium - Lt Donald W Chatfield RTD |
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| End Tour of Duty (ETD) | England, UK | 21 January 1945 |
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Ended Tour of Duty (ETD). |
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| Died | Syracuse, NY, USA | 31 March 2005 |
| Buried | Excelsior, MN 55331, USA | April 2005 |
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Woodside Cemetery |
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| Lived in | Waycross, GA, USA | |
| Date | Contributor | Update |
|---|---|---|
| 01 January 2018 11:56:33 | Al_Skiff | Changes to middlename, service number, highest rank, role, biography, awards, events, unit associations and place associations |
| Sources | ||
https://www.fold3.com/record/93681385-donald-w-chatfield |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 27 September 2014 18:07:43 | AAM | AAM ingest |
| Sources | ||
Ted Damick, VIII Fighter Command pilots list |
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