The 352nd Fighter Group was a unit of the
Eighth Air Force
The Eighth Air Force (Air Forces Strategic) is a numbered air force (NAF) of the United States Air Force's Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC). It is headquartered at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana. The command serves as Air Forces S ...
that was located in the
European Theater of Operations
The European Theater of Operations, United States Army (ETOUSA) was a Theater (warfare), theater of Operations responsible for directing United States Army operations throughout the European theatre of World War II, from 1942 to 1945. It command ...
during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
.
The unit served as
bomber escort
The escort fighter was a concept for a fighter aircraft designed to escort bombers to and from their targets. An escort fighter needed range long enough to reach the target, loiter over it for the duration of the raid to defend the bombers, a ...
, counter-air patrols, and attacking ground targets. It initially flew
P-47 Thunderbolt
The Republic P-47 Thunderbolt is a World War II-era fighter aircraft produced by the American company Republic Aviation from 1941 through 1945. It was a successful high-altitude fighter, and it also served as the foremost American fighter-bombe ...
aircraft before converting to
P-51 Mustang
The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang is an American long-range, single-seat fighter aircraft, fighter and fighter-bomber used during World War II and the Korean War, among other conflicts. The Mustang was designed in 1940 by a team headed ...
in April 1944. The group was located at
RAF Bodney
Royal Air Force Bodney or more simply RAF Bodney is a former Royal Air Force List of former Royal Air Force stations, Station located west of Watton, Norfolk, Watton, Norfolk, England.
Originally built as an RAF Bomber Command airfield durin ...
in England for the majority of its service and were nicknamed the Blue-nosed Bastards of Bodney due to the distinctive blue of the nose and upper cowl of the P-51 Mustangs of the group.
Activation and training
The 352nd Fighter Group was constituted on 29 September 1942 and activated on 1 October 1942 with Lt. Col.
Edwin M. Ramage in command. The unit served in the United States as part of the air defense force while training with P-47 Thunderbolt aircraft. The 352nd squadrons were the
328th the
486th and the
487th Fighter Squadron
The 487th Fighter Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It activated during World War II and was assigned to the 352nd Fighter Group of VIII Fighter Command. After training in the United States, it deployed to the European Thea ...
s.
The 352nd was stationed at
Mitchel Field Mitchell may refer to:
People and fictional characters
*Mitchell (surname), including lists of both people and fictional characters
*Mitchell (given name), lists of people and fictional characters
Places Australia
* Mitchell, Australian Ca ...
in New York in October 1942 and then moved to
Bradley Field in
Connecticut
Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...
later that month. In November 1942, the group moved to
Westover Field Westover may refer to:
People
*Al Westover (born 1954), American professional basketball player in Australia
* Arthur Westover (1864–1935), Canadian sport shooter and 1908 Olympian
*Charles Westover (1934–1990), better known as Del Shannon, Ame ...
,
Massachusetts
Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...
, and then to
Trumbull Field Trumbull may refer to:
Places United States
* Trumbull County, Ohio
** Trumbull Township, Ashtabula County, Ohio
* Trumbull, Connecticut
* Trumbull, Nebraska
* Fort Trumbull, Connecticut
* Mount Trumbull Wilderness in Arizona
People Surname
...
, Connecticut in January 1943. They moved to
Republic Field
Republic Airport is a public airport in East Farmingdale in Suffolk County, on Long Island, in New York, United States
The National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015 categorized it as a general aviation ''reliever airpor ...
, New York March–June 1943 before moving to England in June and July 1943.
The group was assigned to
I Fighter Command
I Fighter Command was a United States Army Air Forces intermediate command responsible for command and control of the fighter operations within the First Air Force during World War II. It was initially established in June 1941 as the 1st Inter ...
from October 1942 – June 1943 and attached to the
New York Fighter Wing
The 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.
The wing was a World War II air defense organ ...
in October–November 1942 and March–June 1943 and to the
Boston Fighter Wing, November–March 1943.
European theatre of World War II
RAF Bodney

The 352nd Fighter Group moved to RAF Bodney in
Norfolk
Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...
England on 5 July 1943 and was assigned to Eighth Air Force,
VIII Fighter Command
The VIII Fighter Command was a United States Army Air Forces unit of command above the wings and below the numbered air force. Its primary mission was command of fighter operations within the Eighth Air Force. In the World War II European Thea ...
. Col
Joseph L. Mason assumed command on 17 May 1943 and held that position for most of the group's time overseas. The group flew bomber escort missions, counter-air patrols, attacks on airfields, trains, vehicles, troops, gun positions, and other targets. The group was assigned to the
67th Fighter Wing
The 67th Fighter Wing was a unit of the United States Air Force for four years, between 1946 and 1950. It was located at Logan Airport in Boston, Massachusetts. It is unrelated to the modern 67th Network Warfare Wing.
History World War II
Th ...
in October 1943, attached to the
1st Bombardment Division
First most commonly refers to:
* First, the ordinal form of the number 1
First or 1st may also refer to:
Acronyms
* Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array
* Far Infrared a ...
in September 1944 and further attached to
IX Tactical Air Command
The IX Tactical Air Command was a formation of the United States Army Air Forces. It fought in the European theater of World War II. Its last assignment was at Camp Shanks, New York, where it was inactivated on 25 October 1945.
History
Formed ...
in December 1944.
The 352nd escorted bombers during the
Big Week
Operation Argument, after the war dubbed Big Week, was a sequence of raids by the United States Army Air Forces and RAF Bomber Command from 20 to 25 February 1944, as part of the Combined Bomber Offensive against Nazi Germany. The objective o ...
operation of 20 to 25 February 1944. The goal of Big Week was to lure the
Luftwaffe
The Luftwaffe () was the aerial warfare, aerial-warfare branch of the before and during World War II. German Empire, Germany's military air arms during World War I, the of the Imperial German Army, Imperial Army and the of the Imperial Ge ...
into a battle by attacking the German aircraft industry.
In April 1944, the group converted from P-47 Thunderbolt to P-51 Mustang aircraft.
The 352nd received a
Distinguished Unit Citation
The Presidential Unit Citation (PUC), originally called the Distinguished Unit Citation, is awarded to units of the uniformed services of the United States, and those of allied countries, for extraordinary heroism in action against an armed e ...
for performance during an escort mission to Brunswick Germany on 8 May 1944.
While escorting bombers to Brunswick, the group fought off an attack by a numerically superior force of German fighters. The group battled enemy planes until they were forced to withdraw and return to its base due to lack of ammunition and fuel.
Invasion of Normandy

The 352nd Fighter Group participated in the invasion of Normandy in June 1944 with missions to strafing the beaches and other positions and dive-bomb enemy communications. In July 1944, the group supported the allied breakthrough in the
Battle of Saint-Lô
The Battle of Saint-Lô was one of the three conflicts in the battle of the hedgerows which took place between July 7 and 19, 1944, in Saint-Lô, Manche, Normandy, France, just before Operation Cobra. Saint-Lô had fallen to Germany in 1940, and, ...
and in September 1944 supported
Operation Market Garden in the Netherlands.
Col.
James D. Mayden became commanding officer on 17 Nov 1944 and would serve as CO through
VE day
Victory in Europe Day is the day celebrating the formal acceptance by the Allies of World War II of Germany's unconditional surrender of its armed forces on Tuesday, 8 May 1945; it marked the official surrender of all German military operations ...
.
Battle of the Bulge
During the
Battle of the Bulge
The Battle of the Bulge, also known as the Ardennes Offensive or Unternehmen Die Wacht am Rhein, Wacht am Rhein, was the last major German Offensive (military), offensive Military campaign, campaign on the Western Front (World War II), Western ...
, a detachment of the 352nd was sent to
Asch Airfield in Belgium and placed under the control of the
Ninth Air Force
The Ninth Air Force (Air Forces Central) is a Numbered Air Force of the United States Air Force headquartered at Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina. It is the Air Force Service Component of United States Central Command (USCENTCOM), a joint D ...
.
The group received the
French Croix de Guerre
The (, ''Cross of War'') is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was first awarded during Worl ...
with Palm for actions on 1 January 1945 during the German
Operation Bodenplatte
Operation Bodenplatte (; "Baseplate"), launched on 1 January 1945, was an attempt by the German Luftwaffe to cripple Allies of World War II, Allied air forces in the Low Countries during the World War II, Second World War. The goal of ''Bodenpl ...
.
The goal of ''Bodenplatte'' was to gain air superiority during a stagnant stage of the Battle of the Bulge so that the German forces could resume their advance. On that day, the 487th squadron,
John C. Meyer anticipated the attack and had a flight of 12 planes ready to take off when the attack began. As the planes were readying for takeoff, the airfield was attacked by about 50 fighters from
Jagdgeschwader 11
''Jagdgeschwader'' 11 (JG 11) was a fighter wing () of the German Luftwaffe during World War II. Its primary role was the defense of Northern Germany against Allied day bomber raids. Formed in April 1943 as a split from ''Jagdgeschwader 1'', ...
and the 487th planes took off under fire. In the ensuing battle, the 352nd shot down almost half the enemy planes without any losses.
Belgium
In February 1945, the remainder of the 352nd moved to Belgium and, with the
361st Fighter Group
The 127th Operations Group is a unit of the Michigan Air National Guard. It is stationed at Selfridge Air National Guard Base and is one of two flying groups assigned to the 127th Wing. The group operates Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbol ...
, became the first fighter groups to move to the European continent. the remainder of the group joined the detachment in Belgium for operations under the control of Eighth AF. The 352nd supported the
Operation Varsity airborne assault across the Rhine in March 1945.
The group returned to RAF Bodney in April 1945 and operated there until
V-E Day
Victory in Europe Day is the day celebrating the formal acceptance by the Allies of World War II of Germany's unconditional surrender of its armed forces on Tuesday, 8 May 1945; it marked the official surrender of all German military operations ...
on 8 May.
Post war
The 352nd Fighter Group returned to
Camp Kilmer
Camp Kilmer is a former United States Army camp in Central New Jersey 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 Tra ...
,
New Jersey
New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...
in November 1945. On 24 May 1946, it was redesignated the
113th Fighter Group and allocated to the
District of Columbia Air National Guard
A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions ...
with the exception of the 328th Fighter Squadron which was allocated to the
Virginia National Guard
The Virginia National Guard is part of the National Guard of the United States, a dual federal-state military reserve force. It consists of the Virginia Army National Guard and Virginia Air National Guard. (The Virginia State Defense Force i ...
.
Aces

The 352nd Fighter Group had 27
fighter ace
A flying ace, fighter ace or air ace is a military aviation, military aviator credited with shooting down a certain minimum number of enemy aircraft during aerial combat; the exact number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an ...
s, including Major
George Preddy, Col.
John C. Meyer, Lt. Col.
William T. Halton, Capt.
John Thornell, Capt.
Donald S. Bryan, Capt.
Glennon T. Moran, Capt.
Raymond H. Littge and Capt.
William T. Whisner.
Preddy was the leading P-51 ace and commanded the 328th Fighter Squadron of the 352nd.
References
Bibliography
*
External links
*
*
*
"Blue Nosed Bastards of Bodney Campaign"P-51D: The Blue Nosed Bastards of Bodney Campaign - for
DCS
{{authority control
Fighter groups of the United States Army Air Forces
Military units and formations established in 1942
Military units and formations disestablished in 1946