| 339th Fighter Group | |
|---|---|
 P-51 Mustangs of the 339th Fighter Group | |
| Active | 1942–1945 |
| Country | United States |
| Branch | United States Army Air Forces |
| Garrison/HQ | RAF Fowlmere |
| Engagements | Air Offensive, Europe Normandy Market Garden Battle of the Bulge Invasion of Germany |
| Decorations | Distinguished Unit Citation |
| Insignia | |
| 503rd Fighter Squadron (D7) |  |
| 504th Fighter Squadron (5Q) |  |
| 505th Fighter Squadron (6N) |  |
| Aircraft flown | |
| Fighter | A-24 Banshee 1942–1943 A-25 Shrike 1942–1943 P-39 Airacobra 1943–1944 P-51 Mustang 1944–1945 |
The339th Fighter Group was a unit of theUnited States Air Forces duringWorld War II.[1][2] It comprised the503rd,504th, and505th Fighter Squadrons.
The group was anEighth Air Force fighter unit stationed in England assigned toRAF Fowlmere. 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. It was inactivated on 18 October 1945.
The group was constituted as the339th Bombardment Group (Dive) on 3 August atHunter Field,Georgia as aThird Air ForceOperational Training Unit and was equipped withA-24 Banshee andA-25 Shrike dive bombers.[3][self-published source?]
The group moved toDrew Field, Florida, in February 1943 then toWalterboro Army Airfield,South Carolina, in July 1943and finally toRice Army Airfield, California, in September 1943. The latter was part ofDesert Training Center inMojave Desert. They converted toBell P-39 Airacobra aircraft in 1943.[citation needed]
The group was reassigned to the66th Fighter Wing ofVIII Fighter Command and stationed atRAF Fowlmere in England in April 1944 and was redesignated 339th Fighter Group in May 1944. They were equipped withP-51 Mustang aircraft and the first combat operation was on 30 April 1944.[citation needed]
The unit engaged primarily inB-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.[citation needed]
The group strafed airfields and other targets of opportunity while on escort missions. The 339th received aDistinguished 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 nearErding, 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 toMunich 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 nearKarlsruhe, where they encountered heavy fire but were able to destroy or damage many of the aircraft parked on the field.[citation needed]
The 339th provided fighter cover over theEnglish Channel and the coast ofNormandy during theinvasion of France in June 1944. They 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.[citation needed]
The group attacked transportation targets as Allied armies drove across France after the breakthrough atSaint-Lô in July and flew area patrols during theairborne attack on Holland in September.[citation needed]
They escorted bombers and flew patrols during theBattle of the Bulge from December 1944 – January 1945. They provided area patrols during theassault across the Rhine in March 1945.[citation needed]
| Name and Rank | Number of Aircraft Destroyed | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Capt. Francis R. Gerard | 8.00 | |
| Maj.William E. Bryan Jr. | 7.05 | |
| Maj.Donald A. Larson | 6.00 | |
| Capt. James R. Starnes | 6.00 | |
| 1st Lt. Lester C. Marsh | 5.00 | |
| Capt. Robert H. Ammon | 5.00 | |
| Capt. Edward H. Beavers | 5.00 | |
| 1st Lt. J.S. Daniell | 5.00 |
The 339th Fighter Group returned toCamp Kilmer,New Jersey and was inactivated on 18 October 1945. The unit was redesignated107th Fighter Group and allotted to theNew York National Guard on 24 May 1946.
