359th Fighter Group
Encyclopedia
Army Service Forces
The Army Service Forces were one of the three autonomous components of the Army of the United States during World War II, the others being the Army Air Forces and Army Ground Forces. They were created on February 28, 1942 by Executive Order Number 9082 "Reorganizing the Army and the War Department"...
, being stationed at Camp Kilmer
Camp Kilmer
Camp Kilmer, New Jersey is a former United States Army camp that was activated in June 1942 as a staging area and part of an installation of the New York Port of Embarkation. The camp was organized as part of the Army Service Forces Transportation Corps. Troops were quartered at Camp Kilmer in...
, New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
. It was inactivated on 10 November 1945.
During World War II the group was an Eighth Air Force
Eighth Air Force
The Eighth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Global Strike Command . It is headquartered at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana....
fighter unit stationed in England. Assigned to RAF East Wretham
RAF East Wretham
RAF East Wretham is a former World War II RAF Station airfield in England. The field is located near East Wretham 6 miles NE of Thetford in Norfolk.- RAF use:...
in 1943. It flew 346 combat missions and claimed 253 air and 98 ground aircraft destroyed. It flew its last mission on 20 April 1945.
History
The group was organized and trained in New EnglandNew England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
during 1943. It moved to England in January 1944, being assigned to VIII Fighter Command
VIII Fighter Command
The VIII Fighter Command is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with the United States Air Forces in Europe, being stationed at RAF Honington, England. It was inactivated on 20 March 1946....
.
The 359th FG entered combat in mid-December 1943 after some of the pilots had already flown combat missions with another fighter group. Began operations with P-47s, later converting to P-51s in April 1944. In combat the group flew escort, patrol, strafing, dive-bombing, and weather-reconnaissance missions. At first, engaged primarily in escort activities to cover B-17/B-24 bombers that attacked airfields in France, and later expanded their area of operations to provide escort for bombers that struck rail centers in Germany and oil targets in Poland.
The group supported the invasion of Normandy
D-Day
D-Day is a term often used in military parlance to denote the day on which a combat attack or operation is to be initiated. "D-Day" often represents a variable, designating the day upon which some significant event will occur or has occurred; see Military designation of days and hours for similar...
during June 1944 by patrolling the English Channel
English Channel
The English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...
, escorting bombardment formations to the French coast, and dive-bombing and strafing bridges, locomotives, and rail lines near the battle area.
During the period July 1944 – February 1945, the group engaged chiefly in escorting bombers to oil refineries, marshalling yards, and other targets in such cities as Ludwigshafen, Stuttgart
Stuttgart
Stuttgart is the capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. The sixth-largest city in Germany, Stuttgart has a population of 600,038 while the metropolitan area has a population of 5.3 million ....
, Frankfurt, Berlin, Merseburg
Merseburg
Merseburg is a town in the south of the German state of Saxony-Anhalt on the river Saale, approx. 14 km south of Halle . It is the capital of the Saalekreis district. It had a diocese founded by Archbishop Adalbert of Magdeburg....
, and Brux. The 359th FG received a Distinguished Unit Citation for operations over Germany on 11 September 1944 when the group protected a formation of heavy bombers against large numbers of enemy fighters.
In addition to its escort duties, the 359th supported campaigns in France during July and August 1944, bombed enemy positions to support the airborne invasion of Holland in September, and participated in the Battle of the Bulge
Battle of the Bulge
The Battle of the Bulge was a major German offensive , launched toward the end of World War II through the densely forested Ardennes mountain region of Wallonia in Belgium, hence its French name , and France and...
(December 1944 – January 1945). The group flew missions to support the assault across the Rhine
Operation Varsity
Operation Varsity was a successful joint American–British airborne operation that took place toward the end of World War II...
in March 1945, and escorted medium bombers that attacked various communications targets, February–April 1945.
The 359th Bomb Group returned to Camp Kilmer
Camp Kilmer
Camp Kilmer, New Jersey is a former United States Army camp that was activated in June 1942 as a staging area and part of an installation of the New York Port of Embarkation. The camp was organized as part of the Army Service Forces Transportation Corps. Troops were quartered at Camp Kilmer in...
, New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
and was inactivated on 10 November 1945.
Redesignated 123d Fighter Group. Allotted to Kentucky Air National Guard
Kentucky Air National Guard
The Kentucky Air National Guard is a subordinate air force unit of the United States National Guard. It is located in the state of Kentucky. It is considered a part of the United States Air Force, as well as its state mission.-People:...
on 24 May 1946.
Lineage
- Constituted as 359th Fighter Group on 20 December 1942
- Activated on 5 January 1943
- Inactivated on 10 November 1945
- Redesignated 123d Fighter Group. Allocated to ANG (Ky) on 24 May 1946
Assignments
- I Fighter CommandI Fighter CommandThe I Fighter Command is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with the First Air Force, based at Mitchel Army Airfield, New York...
, 15 January 1943
- Attached to: New York Fighter WingNew York Fighter WingThe New York Fighter Wing is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with the I Fighter Command, stationed at Mitchel Field, New York It was inactivated on 10 April 1944....
, 11 July – 23 August 1943 - Attached to: Boston Fighter Wing, 23 August – 2 October 1943
- 66th Fighter Wing66th Fighter Wing (World War II)The 66th Fighter Wing is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with the VIII Fighter Command, being stationed at RAF Troston, England...
, 20 October 1943 - 67th Fighter Wing67th Fighter Wing (World War II)The 67th Fighter Wing is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with the VIII Fighter Command, being stationed at RAF Troston, England...
, 1 November 1943
- 66th Fighter Wing
- Attached to: 1st Bombardment (later Air) Division, 15 September 1944 – 2 November 1945
- Army Service ForcesArmy Service ForcesThe Army Service Forces were one of the three autonomous components of the Army of the United States during World War II, the others being the Army Air Forces and Army Ground Forces. They were created on February 28, 1942 by Executive Order Number 9082 "Reorganizing the Army and the War Department"...
(for inactivation), 9–10 November 1945
- Army Service Forces
Operational Units
- 368th Fighter Squadron368th Fighter SquadronThe 368th Fighter Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last was assigned to the 359th Fighter Group, VIII Fighter Command, stationed at Camp Kilmer, New Jersey. It was inactivated on 10 November 1945-History:...
(CV) 15 January 1943 – 10 November 1945 - 369th Fighter Squadron369th Fighter SquadronThe 369th Fighter Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last was assigned to the 359th Fighter Group, VIII Fighter Command, stationed at Camp Kilmer, New Jersey. It was inactivated on 10 November 1945-History:...
(IV) 15 January 1943 – 10 November 1945 - 370th Fighter Squadron370th Fighter SquadronThe 370th Fighter Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last was assigned to the 359th Fighter Group, VIII Fighter Command, stationed at Camp Kilmer, New Jersey. It was inactivated on 10 November 1945-History:...
(CS) 15 January 1943 – 10 November 1945
Stations
- Westover Field, MassachusettsMassachusettsThe Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
, 15 January 1943 - Grenier Field, New HampshireNew HampshireNew Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...
, 7 April 1943 - Farmingdale Army Airfield, New York 11 July 1943
- Westover Field, MassachusettsMassachusettsThe Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
, 23 August – 2 October 1943 - RAF East WrethamRAF East WrethamRAF East Wretham is a former World War II RAF Station airfield in England. The field is located near East Wretham 6 miles NE of Thetford in Norfolk.- RAF use:...
(AAF-133), England, October 1943 – November 1945 133 - Camp KilmerCamp KilmerCamp Kilmer, New Jersey is a former United States Army camp that was activated in June 1942 as a staging area and part of an installation of the New York Port of Embarkation. The camp was organized as part of the Army Service Forces Transportation Corps. Troops were quartered at Camp Kilmer in...
, New JerseyNew JerseyNew Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
, 9–10 November 1945
Aircraft Flown
- Republic P-47D Thunderbolt. 1943–1944
- North American P-51 Mustang (B/C/D/K variants), 1944–1945