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| 356th Fighter Group | |
|---|---|
| Active | 1942–1945 |
| Country | United States |
| Branch | United States Army Air Force |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders | ColonelEinar Axel Malmstrom 28 November 1943 – 24 April 1944 |
The356th Fighter Group is an inactiveUnited States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with theArmy Service Forces, being stationed atCamp Kilmer,New Jersey. It was inactivated on 10 November 1945.
During World War II the group was anEighth Air Force fighter unit stationed in England. Assigned toRAF Martlesham Heath in 1943. Despite excellent leadership had highest ratio of losses to enemy aircraft claims of all Eighth Air Force fighter groups. It earned aDistinguished Unit Citation for actions on 17, 18, and 23 September 1944 for support ofOperation Market-Garden airborne forces in the Netherlands.
Organized and trained in the Northeast United States byFirst Air Force. 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 theRMS Queen Elizabeth and served in combat as part ofVIII Fighter Command from October 1943 to May 1945, participating in operations that prepared for the invasion of the Continent, and supporting the landings inNormandy and the subsequent Allied drive across France and Germany. The group flewP-47 Thunderbolts until they were replaced byP-51 Mustangs 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:
From October 1943 until January 1944, operated as escort forB-17 Flying Fortress/B-24 Liberator 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 towers, and radar stations. Bombed and strafed in theArnhem area on 17, 18, and 23 September 1944 to neutralize enemy gun emplacements, and received aDistinguished Unit Citation for this contribution to theairborne attack on the Netherlands.
In early 1945, group'sP-51 Mustangs clashed with GermanMe 262 jet aircraft. The group flew its last combat mission, escorting B-17's dropping propaganda leaflets, on 7 May 1945. It returned toCamp KilmerNew Jersey and was inactivated on 10 November 1945.
Redesignated118th Fighter Group. Allotted toTennessee Air National Guard on 24 May 1946
This article incorporatespublic domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
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