356th 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 Army Service Forces
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 Martlesham Heath
RAF Martlesham Heath
RAF Martlesham Heath is a former Royal Air Force airfield in England. The field is located 1½ miles SW of Woodbridge, Suffolk.- RFC/RAF prewar use:Martlesham Heath was first used as a Royal Flying Corps airfield during World War I...
in 1943. Despite excellent leadership had highest ratio of losses to enemy aircraft claims of all Eighth Air Force fighter groups. It earned a Distinguished Unit Citation for actions on 17, 18 and 23 September 1944 for support of Operation Market-Garden airborne forces in the Netherlands.
History
- See 118th Airlift Wing118th Airlift WingThe United States Air Force's 118th Airlift Wing is a unit of the Tennessee Air National Guard located at Berry Field Air National Guard Base at Nashville International Airport, Tennessee. As an Air National Guard organization, the wing is operationally gained by the Air Education and Training...
for additional lineage and history information
Organized and trained in the Northeast United States by First Air Force
First Air Force
The First Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Air Combat Command . It is headquartered at Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida....
. During training was part of the air defense of the northeast, being attached to the New York and Boston Fighter Wings.
Deployed to England aboard the RMS Queen Elizabeth
RMS Queen Elizabeth
RMS Queen Elizabeth was an ocean liner operated by the Cunard Line. Plying with her running mate Queen Mary as a luxury liner between Southampton, UK and New York City, USA via Cherbourg, France, she was also contracted for over twenty years to carry the Royal Mail as the second half of the two...
and served in combat as part of 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....
from October 1943 to May 1945, participating in operations that prepared for the invasion of the Continent, and supporting the landings in 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:...
and the subsequent Allied drive across France and Germany. The group flew P-47 Thunderbolt
P-47 Thunderbolt
Republic Aviation's P-47 Thunderbolt, also known as the "Jug", was the largest, heaviest, and most expensive fighter aircraft in history to be powered by a single reciprocating engine. It was heavily armed with eight .50-caliber machine guns, four per wing. When fully loaded, the P-47 weighed up to...
s until they were replaced by P-51 Mustang
P-51 Mustang
The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang was an American long-range, single-seat fighter and fighter-bomber used during World War II, the Korean War and in several other conflicts...
s in November 1944. Aircraft of the 356th were identified by a magenta/blue diamond pattern around their cowling.
The group consisted of the following squadrons:
- 359th Fighter Squadron (OC) 12 December 1942 – 10 November 1945
- 360th Fighter Squadron (PI) 12 December 1942 – 10 November 1945
- 361st Fighter Squadron (QI) 12 December 1942 – 10 November 1945
From October 1943 until January 1944, operated as escort for B-17 Flying Fortress/B-24 Liberator
B-24 Liberator
The Consolidated B-24 Liberator was an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and a small number of early models were sold under the name LB-30, for Land Bomber...
bombers that attacked such objectives as industrial areas, missile sites, airfields, and communications.
Fighters from the 356th engaged primarily in bombing and strafing missions after 3 January 1944, with its targets including U-boat installations, barges, shipyards, aerodromes, hangars, marshalling yards, locomotives, trucks, oil facilities, flak tower
Flak tower
Flak towers were 8 complexes of large, above-ground, anti-aircraft gun blockhouse towers constructed in the cities of Berlin , Hamburg , and Vienna from 1940 onwards....
s, and radar stations. Bombed and strafed in the Arnhem
Arnhem
Arnhem is a city and municipality, situated in the eastern part of the Netherlands. It is the capital of the province of Gelderland and located near the river Nederrijn as well as near the St. Jansbeek, which was the source of the city's development. Arnhem has 146,095 residents as one of the...
area on 17, 18, and 23 September 1944 to neutralize enemy gun emplacements, and received a Distinguished Unit Citation for this contribution to the airborne attack on Holland.
In early 1945, group's P-51 Mustang
P-51 Mustang
The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang was an American long-range, single-seat fighter and fighter-bomber used during World War II, the Korean War and in several other conflicts...
s clashed with German Me 262 jet aircraft. The group flew its last combat mission, escorting B-17's dropping propaganda leaflets, on 7 May 1945. It 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 118th Fighter Group. Allotted to Tennessee Air National Guard
Tennessee Air National Guard
The Tennessee Air National Guard is the independent air arm of the Tennessee National Guard. Along with the Tennessee Army National Guard, it comprises the National Guard of the U.S...
on 24 May 1946
Lineage
- Constituted as 356th Fighter Group on 8 December 1942
- Activated on 12 December 1942
- Inactivated on 10 November 1945.
- Redesignated 118th Fighter Group. Allotted to ANG (Tennessee) 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...
, 12 December 1942 – 15 August 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....
30 May – 4 July 1943 - Attached to: Boston Fighter Wing 4 July – 15 August 1943
- 65th Fighter Wing, 26 August 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...
, 8 August 1944
- 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), 4–10 November 1945
- Army Service Forces
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...
, 12 December 1942 - Groton Army Airfield, ConnecticutConnecticutConnecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
, 12 March 1943 - Mitchel Field, New York, 30 May 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...
, 4 July – 15 August 1943 - RAF GoxhillRAF GoxhillRAF Goxhill is a former Royal Air Force and United States Army Air Force station in England. It is located just to the east of the village of Goxhill, on the south bank of the Humber estuary, opposite the city of Kingston upon Hull, in north Lincolnshire....
(USAAF Station 345), England, 27 August 7943 - RAF Martlesham HeathRAF Martlesham HeathRAF Martlesham Heath is a former Royal Air Force airfield in England. The field is located 1½ miles SW of Woodbridge, Suffolk.- RFC/RAF prewar use:Martlesham Heath was first used as a Royal Flying Corps airfield during World War I...
(USAAF Station 369), England, 5 October 1943 – 4 November 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...
, 9–10 November 7945
External links
- Captain John Pershing Perrin DFC, 1943/44 356th FG/361st Fighter Squadron Ace – who died so others might live
- Wartime air crash. Perrin MemorialCreswell, StaffordshireCreswell is a small village on the north-western edge of Stafford, the county town of Staffordshire, England situated on elevated ground above the wide floodplain and extensive marshes of the River Sow....
- John Perrin, Class of '40 The Rutgers Oral History Archives