339th Fighter Group
Encyclopedia
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
organization. Its last assignment was with the 66th Fighter Wing
66th 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...
, 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 18 October 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 Fowlmere
RAF Fowlmere
RAF Fowlmere is a former airfield in the United Kingdom. The airfield is located six miles SW of Cambridge in Cambridgeshire.-RAF use:Flying at Fowlmere originated in 1918 when the airfield was used by Royal Air Force and United States Army Air Service Aero Squadrons...
. It had the highest claims of air and ground enemy aircraft victories in one year, and was the only group to claim over a hundred ground strafing victories on two occasions – 105 on 4 April 1945 and 118 on 16 April 1945.
Lineage
- Constituted as 339th Bombardment Group (Dive) on 3 August 1942
- Activated on 10 August 1942
- Redesignated 339th Fighter Group in May 1944
- Inactivated on 18 October 1945
- Redesignated 107th Fighter Group and Allotted to ANG (New York) on 24 May 1946
Assignments
- III Fighter CommandIII Fighter CommandThe III Fighter Command is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with Third Air Force stationed at MacDill Field, Florida. It was inactivated on 8 April 1946.-Lineage:...
, 10 August 1942 - IV Fighter CommandIV Fighter CommandThe IV Fighter Command is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to Fourth Air Force, based at Oakland Airport, California...
, 1 September 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...
, 4 April 1944
- Attached to: 3d Bombardment (later Air) Division 15 September 1944 – October 1945
Components
- 503d Fighter Squadron (D7) 10 August 1942 – 18 October 1945 (Was 482d Bombardment Squadron, 10 August 1942 – 10 August 1943)
- 504th Fighter Squadron (5Q) 10 August 1942 – 18 October 1945 (Was 483d Bombardment Squadron, 10 August 1942 – 10 August 1943)
- 505th Fighter Squadron (6N) 10 August 1942 – 18 October 1945 (Was 484th Bombardment Squadron, 10 August 1942 – 10 August 1943)
Stations
- Hunter Field, GeorgiaGeorgia (U.S. state)Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
, 10 August 1942 - Drew Field, Florida, February 1943
- Walterboro Army Airfield, South CarolinaSouth CarolinaSouth Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
, July 1943 - Rice Army AirfieldRice Army AirfieldRice Army Airfield is an abandoned World War II airfield located east-southeast of Rice, California, United States...
, California, 1 September 1943— March 1944 - RAF FowlmereRAF FowlmereRAF Fowlmere is a former airfield in the United Kingdom. The airfield is located six miles SW of Cambridge in Cambridgeshire.-RAF use:Flying at Fowlmere originated in 1918 when the airfield was used by Royal Air Force and United States Army Air Service Aero Squadrons...
(USAAF Station 378), England, 4 April 1944— October 1945 - 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...
, C. 16–18 October 1945
Operations
Formed at Hunter AAF as a Third Air ForceThird Air Force
The Third Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Forces in Europe . It is headquartered at Ramstein Air Base, Germany....
OTU, equipped with A-24's and A-25's. Moved to California in September 1943 as part of Desert Training Center in Mojave Desert
Mojave Desert
The Mojave Desert occupies a significant portion of southeastern California and smaller parts of central California, southern Nevada, southwestern Utah and northwestern Arizona, in the United States...
. Converted to P-39s and became combat ready, being reassigned 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....
in England, April 1944. Re-equipped with P-51s and operations with a fighter sweep on 30 April. The unit engaged primarily in B-17/B-24 escort duties during its first five weeks of operations, and afterwards flew many escort missions to cover the operations of medium and heavy bombers that struck strategic objectives, interdicted the enemy's communications, or supported operations on the ground.
The group frequently strafed airfields and other targets of opportunity while on escort missions. the 339th received a Distinguished Unit Citation for operations on 10 and 11 September 1944. On the first of those days, when it escorted bombers to a target in Germany and then attacked an aerodrome near Erding
Erding
Erding is a town in Bavaria, Germany, and capital of the district Erding. It had a population of 34,122 in 2004. It is twinned with Bastia in CorsicaThe original Erdinger Weissbier is a well-known Bavarian specialty...
, the group destroyed or damaged many enemy planes despite the intense fire it encountered from anti-aircraft guns and small arms. The following day the bomber formation being escorted to Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
was attacked by enemy fighters, but members of the 339th group destroyed a number of the interceptors and drove off the others and at the same time, other members of the 339th were attacking an airfield near Karlsruhe
Karlsruhe
The City of Karlsruhe is a city in the southwest of Germany, in the state of Baden-Württemberg, located near the French-German border.Karlsruhe was founded in 1715 as Karlsruhe Palace, when Germany was a series of principalities and city states...
, where they encountered heavy fire but were able to destroy or damage many of the aircraft parked on the field.
The 339th provided fighter cover over 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...
and the coast of Normandy
Normandy
Normandy is a geographical region corresponding to the former Duchy of Normandy. It is in France.The continental territory covers 30,627 km² and forms the preponderant part of Normandy and roughly 5% of the territory of France. It is divided for administrative purposes into two régions:...
during the invasion of France
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...
in June 1944. Strafed and dive-bombed vehicles, locomotives, marshalling yards, anti-aircraft batteries, and troops while Allied forces fought to break out of the beachhead in France. Attacked transportation targets as Allied armies drove across France after the breakthrough at Saint-Lô
Saint-Lô
Saint-Lô is a commune in north-western France, the capital of the Manche department in Normandy.-History:Originally called Briovère , the town is built on and around ramparts. Originally it was a Gaul fortified settlement...
in July. Flew area patrols during the airborne attack on Holland in September. Escorted bombers to, and flew patrols over the battle area during the German counter attack in the Ardennes (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. Provided area patrols during 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.
Among all these varied activities, the outstanding feature of this group's combat record is the large number of enemy aircraft it destroyed in the air or on the ground during its one year of operations.
Returned to the US in Oct. Inactivated on 18 October 1945. Redesignated 107th Fighter Group and allotted to New York Air National Guard
New York Air National Guard
The New York Air National Guard is the air force militia of the U.S. state of New York. It is, along with the New York Army National Guard, an element of the New York National Guard. It is considered a part of the United States Air Force, as well as its state mission...
on 24 May 1946.