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| 4th Fighter Group | |
|---|---|
 P-51D Mustang of the 336th Fighter Squadron, 4th Fighter Group | |
| Active | 12 September 1942–10 November 1945 |
| Country | United States |
| Branch | United States Army Air Forces |
| Garrison/HQ | RAF Debden |
| Nickname | Debden Eagles |
| Motto | Fourth But First |
| Engagements | Air Offensive, Europe Normandy Market Garden Battle of the Bulge Invasion of Germany |
| Decorations | Distinguished Unit Citation |
| Website | http://www.4thfightergroupassociation.org/ |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders | Edward W. Anderson Chesley G. Peterson Donald Blakeslee Everett W. Stewart |
| Insignia | |
| 4th Fighter Group Emblem |  |
| 334th Fighter Squadron | QP |
| 335th Fighter Squadron | WD |
| 336th Fighter Squadron | VF |
| Aircraft flown | |
| Fighter | Supermarine Spitfire 1942–1943 P-47 Thunderbolt 1943–1944 P-51 Mustang 1944–1945 |
The4th Fighter Group was an American element of theUnited States Army Air Forces (USAAF)Eighth Air Force duringWorld War II.[1][2] The group was known as theDebden Eagles because it was created from the threeEagle Squadrons of theRoyal Air Force:No. 71,No. 121 Squadron RAF, andNo. 133 Squadron RAF.[3] These squadrons became the334th,335th, and336th Fighter Squadrons of the 4th Fighter Group based atRAF Debden. The group was the first fighter group to fly combat missions over German airspace, the first to escort bombers over Berlin, and the first selected to escort bombers on shuttle bombing runs landing in Russia. The group was credited with shooting down 1,016 German planes.[4]
The Eagle Squadrons were formed in 1940 with volunteer pilots from theUnited States prior to its entry intoWorld War II in December 1941.[5] The three Eagle Squadrons formed between September 1940 and July 1941 were turned over to theEighth Air Force. They existed until 29 September 1942 and became the 4th Fighter Group of the United States Army Air Forces Eighth Air Force. The 71, 121, and 133 squadrons became the 334th, 335th and 336th Fighter Squadron and transferred as complete units.
The group was briefly atRAF Bushey Hall before moving toDebden in late September, 1942. They served in combat over Europe from October 1942 to April 1945 and was the longest serving USAAF fighter group in theEuropean theatre of World War II. It was assigned toVIII Fighter Command, 12 September 1942 and the 4th Air Defense (later, 65th Fighter) Wing, July 1943 – November 1945.
The group operated until 1 April 1943 usingSpitfires. Aircraft were changed toP-47 Thunderbolts on 1 April 1943 and then toP-51 Mustangs on 25 February 1944.
The 4th was the first group to escort U.S. bombers over Berlin on 4 March 1944. The group earned Distinguished Unit Citation (DUC) for aggressiveness in attacking enemy aircraft and air bases, 5 March – 24 April 1944. The group escorted bombers in the first shuttle bombing mission from Britain to Russia on 21 June 1944, supported the airborne invasion of Holland in September, participated in theBattle of the Bulge, December 1944 – January 1945, and covered the airborne assault across the Rhine in March 1945.
The 4th claimed 583 enemy planes shot down in air-to-air combat during the war, for a victory-loss ratio of 2.35-to-1. Pilot losses were 125 killed-in-action (including missing-presumed-dead) and 105 prisoners-of-war, of 553 pilots serving, or 42%.
The group was credited byVIII Fighter Command as having the most combined victories over German aircraft (583 air, 469 ground against 248 combat losses) of any group in theEighth Air Force, and scoring the fourth highest number of air-to-air victories in Europe. Aircraft losses totaled 248 planes: 8 Spitfire VB, 28 P-47C and P-47D, and 212 P-51B and P-51D.
The group moved toRAF Steeple Morden from July to November, 1945 and returned to the U.S. and was inactivated on 10 November 1945.
Top aces (aerial victories) in the group wereDominic Salvatore Gentile (21.83),[6]Duane Beeson (17.33),John T. Godfrey (16.33),James A. Goodson (15),Ralph K. Hofer (15), andDonald Blakeslee (14.5).
Don Gentile joined the RAF 133 Eagle Squadron after going to Canada for training in 1940. He was with the squadron when it converted to the 336th Fighter Squadron in 1942. General Dwight D. Eisenhower referred to Gentile as a one-man Air Force. John Godfrey was Gentile's close friend and wingman; Winston Churchill referred to the pair asDamon and Pythias of the twentieth century.[7]
Duane Beeson joined the Royal Canadian Air Force in 1941 and was transferred to Britain to join RAF No. 71 Eagle Squadron in 1942.[8] He was assigned to the 334th Fighter Squadron in September 1942. He was shot down over Germany on 5 April 1944 and was held inStalag Luft I until April 1945.
James Goodson joined the Royal Canadian Air Force in 1941 before transferring to No. 43 Squadron RAF, followed by No. 416 Squadron RAF, then the No. 133 Eagle Squadron, based at Debden.[9] In September 1942, he transferred to the 4th Fighter Group, 336th Squadron. He was shot down nearPeenemünde 20 June 1944 and was held inStalag Luft III until liberation in 1945.
Ralph Kidd Hofer was a light heavyweight boxer who joined the RCAF in 1941 and transferred to the 4th Fighter Group, 334th Squadron at Debden in July 1943.[10] Hofer and his plane were lost 2 July 1944 nearMostar, Yugoslavia after a bomber escort mission to Budapest.
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