Harrison R Thyng
MilitaryPinterest and Personal papers of Lt Col Harry L. Barr
/Thyng led his squadron to a field in Algeria. There, American aircraft in the landing pattern were under attack by Vichy French Dewoitine 520 fighters. The 309th pilots downed three of the four Dewoitines, one of them falling to Thyng's guns for his first confirmed victorIn the late spring of 1942, the 31st Fighter Group arrived in the UK to be equipped with Spitfires. Seven of its senior officers were detached to an RAF fighter group to gain operational experience. Among them was Maj. Harrison Thyng, commander of the 309th Squadron. On July 26, 1942, the 31st pilots flew on an RAF fighter sweep over northern France to become, according to several sources, the first AAF fighter pilots to see combat in Europe. Three weeks later, Thyng was awarded the Silver Star for protecting one of his pilots downed in the Channel while Thyng himself was under attack by enemy fighters.
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Multiple: over a long career
Connections
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Units served with
- Unit Hierarchy: Squadron
- Unit Hierarchy: Group
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Fighter
People
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 31st Fighter Group 350th Fighter Group 309th Fighter Squadron 345th Fighter Squadron
- Service Numbers: O-421583
- Highest Rank: Captain
- Role/Job: Fighter Pilot/Squadron Operations Officer/Assistant Group Ops Officer
Aircraft
- Aircraft Type: Spitfire
- Nicknames: Mary James
- Unit: 31st Fighter Group 4th Fighter Group 67th Tactical Reconnaissance Group 15th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron 309th Fighter Squadron 334th Fighter Squadron No 71 'Eagle' Squadron
Places
- Site type: Airfield
Events
Event | Location | Date | Description |
---|---|---|---|
Born |
Laconia, New Hampshire | 12 April 1918 | |
Died |
24 September 1983 |
Revisions
BIOGRAPHICAL DIRECTORY OF THE 8TH AIR FORCE 1942-1945, Russell Strong
Air Force Bios / Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia