THU DE BOl U ITS HTH AIR FO CE
AMERICAN EAGLES IrClYJft O/Ihe same model and cOliflgllral/on are only vlsllally dlsllngllisbable try the markings carried, Ibis polnlwork semlng 10 prolJlde IndllJldllalldenlilies and, In
A
Ibe case 0/ mllll{'IJ' macblnes, often IInll 0/ asslgnmenl and lacllcal markings. AddIlIOtUJII)\ Il1Iofficlal
adornments are also AlJI,J4T n.'O)nl .. ... __ • • '!UfiH somellmes applied by . .~WMTy.-.:l~~II~T~~w.~~f<,,, operallng personnel. nle ApI'tII9-tSTcnu:ol~iIIc-..~ . . . . Cr'!ctI-.._ U~ 1944 .1Jm . . ,.... -ofH.n~)I'J) . . . . . ." na.Ur.-_lnfui palnlwork, In/acl. often tht.""MbIPo,& bestows 10 tbe Inon/male all Inlangible property akin 10 personalil)' Dllring Ibe econd World Ifar, lhe mosllJarled and cololllflli aircraft markings were IIndollbledl)' Ibose o/Ibe Unl/ed Slales Army Air Forces, and Ibey provide a sllbjecl o//asdnating complexlI)! Tbis series 0/pllblicallons endeaoollrs 10 cowr all @1Jects 0/ Cf,mollftage and markings as Cf,rrled by Ibe /igbler aircraftlypes sen'ing wi/b Ibe Eigblb alld Inlb Air Forces ill Ibe Ellro/Jean Tbealre 0/ Operations belween 1942 and 1945. The ;n[ormalloll provided ill /bese sludies not only offers {be 1Y!searcber a ~,.
CLASSIC
PuBLICATIONS
ToftMcwt_ ...... _ttItM Yhtt_ .
a..-~
_ . c l•••lc·
c
..
ACKNOWlEDGEMENTS
The EdItor wishes to thank Ule following individuals for their generous help In providing photographs and Information for this monograph: Jim Crow, DennIs Davison, Michael O'Leary, Paul Ludwig, Dick Martin, Sam Sox and John Stanaway. Fir$t published 10 2002
_Rood
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8rl
Imprlnt of
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AI.."
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ltd
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"....
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PrOJect EdItor. Tony Holmes ProNe 8f1WOfk: Ctv\s D....ey 02002Co1ourlllU$trBUOnS:Chrlso.....,. All ""15 reser"'ld. No pert of thts book IMt be reproduced ~ tnloSmltted I'IIl'l)' form
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ISBN 1 903223 18 0 Co¥er8l'ldBookoes,.-tbyCNOeSlPl
PrInted 1'1 ItalY by O1tlane Gr81'Iche oeAlOStJnI
tit'
~~lbt
"J~\)7
va/liable reference source, (Ind ellables artists and modellers /0 ,"aJ..,V! acwrale represelllatiOns o/Ibe aircraft operaled by Ibese forces, bill il also aids Ibe idenlification 0/ sllbjecls ill pbolograpbs. Known cbanges in airo'a/I markings can somellllles dale a pbolograpb 10 Ibe day i/ u'as laken. nJe pbologmpbs repl"Odllced In Ibese books baw in Ibe mosl parI been selected 10 sbow part/clllar markings ill detail, (Iud ;11 (be case Of tbe Repllblic P-47 TIJllnderbol/, Ibe lJarlely is considemble. O/Ibe Ibree major/igble"lypes nsed by Ibe EigblbAir Force, lhe TIJllnderbolt was Ibe /irsl in serlJice. From Ibe II1Ii/o"n markings o/Ibe 1943 period, Ibe/ollowing sprillg saw Ibese aircraft blossom u'i/b a mosl colollrflll array o/Ilnil markings.Addllionall)t Ibe large engine cOll'ling 0/ Ibe type presenled ample 1"00m lor persollal insigllia. as illllslrations In Ibis publication sbouJ. A big, powerflll/igbler, Ibe P..., - was all Ibe more Imposing Ibl"OlIgb the decor 1/ sporled, "'bicb is comprehensil'el)' delailed on the /ollowing pages. Roger A Freeman. eplemher 200 I
a •
N7 TIlIInderboIt Units 01 ....
E~
TIle P-47 TIlIInderboIt In .... ETO •
Air Force
The P-47 Thunderbolt In the ETO T~~=7 f : : h:==n~e:,:;~~I~nll=~ :;~rftC:S~: 7
=.=
a doctrine 01 SlrateglC bombll"C through hllh altitude preciSion attack. It .... S thought that an
enemy m'iht one day employ similar tactICS t!r&a,nst US cIties or Installations. In VteW of the high alhtude reQuorement. from the outset A1ellandOr KartV'ell. the fighter'S chief deslJO en&lnGer, had the provision of 8 tuf'bo.superch3rged engine as
an
Integral part of his concept.
In contrast to most fighter designs of the period.....hlCh opted for lnllne IlQul
Cf"CIne5. the pooNerplant selected fOf the P-47 was the new 2.000 horsepo"~ier rated Pratt & Whitney R·2800 tw(WO'W racJlal. The turbo-supercharger and IfltercocHII"C tadl8tOl'S were POSItioned aft of the
cockPit.
8.r ductll"li to the turbo end to the engIne belne placed 810nC the
bottom of the fuselaee. Kartvell elso bestowed formidable firepooNer in the form of eIght he8\'Y
3
EncJond. nemety lilt Sprtflf' V.....pped 'EacJe' squadtona (see uSAAFCokJcJts 1
of the Twelfth, only one ti&1ltef II'OUp rem&lnec! Ul
4th FG. whICh wal descended from the RAF"s
E6!IJe, .AmettcMI \obIUflr~ Echth ~r Force commandefl
.4mMJrCM The
In !he RAE 1937·1943'Of further details) 'llrefe tocpel'u1 of receivYC ,~ utVU eau
POed
wrth P·38 UCh~ (Me U$AAF CDIocn 2 - ~ £IttIJfl P 38 I.JtfrrtWW Unrt5 01 W Etlflth attd Nmth AN Forces fOf furthef deUllS). 'IiftlJC:h wei lhen ~ed the best type 10 support heao.y bomber operation•. One P-38 &roup. the 78th. did .troe lat.e ... 1942 onIr 10 have aJl of .tl (llfclaft and most of It$ pilOt. takml 81 reptac:ementJ; fOf the lJChtnlnc "OUPI d1 North Alr'lcll, whiCh wet. lWflenna heavy 8ttflUOtl. As the demand'Of p·3B1 C:CllJtd no( be met by produetlOl"l, P-47s ...ere sent to the EChth ~r Force to r&·eql.llp both the 4tn end 78tl'1 FGs The !)6lh FG was also oet,p8lCt'led to the Unrted ~ to tM(ltua6ly WI fi&trtet Commend tlvee P-47 lfouPi """Ittl 8 total of some 225 lWa8ft The of the P-47 . . . .nfenor to that of tho P·38. but at thts POInt., the ....ar EJittth AIr Force c::onvnrdert I bebewed that the bombers cookl defend themselves WIthout iUffentlC unac::cept.Ibte k>sses.
rrce
cr..e
machIne guns - the stancJard US O.5O-cahbfe BrO'NOfng - which hod higher muule velOCity. longer ranee and sIgnificantly more deSlructlVC pow-cr thafl the O.303<:allbre weapons In tho e,gtlt-gun SPitfires and Hurricanes of the
AM
The result was a Iivge and hellVf aircraft In comparison WIth Its contemporanes such 8S the SPItfire end Bf 109.....t\iCh wefe nearty haff the size and welgln of the P-47 The prototype first flew on 6 May 1941. WIth pr&{)rOdlJCtlOO models folloy/IOC soon after. Although the Thunderbolt had a poor nne of climb. at altitudes between 25.000 and 30.000 It It was faster than most other figtltcrs of the day. being capable 01 cllceeding 400 mph. However. full power extracted a toll In that fuel consumption ran at 300 US gallons per hour. marKedly reducIng endurance as the total fuel load was only 305 US gallons.
The first prodUCtJOO model. the P·.HB. entered servtee With the 56th F'Cf'lter Group (FGlln June 1942. The three SQUadrons of the 56th were sta!Jorled at aIrfields In the general New YQrt( area for defence of the CIty, one SQuadron beIng based on the 8lrfleld at f8fmlngdale OOllt to the Republic factOfY. whICh accounts for thIs group beIng selected to fly the new type, LIke all new deSIgnS. the Thunderbolt had problems. chieny related to engmo and flight surfaces. Improvements
soon resulted in productIon of the first model deemed combat worthy. which was
des.gnated the P-47C. In the auturm of 1942 the US Eigflth AJr force in England had most
ot
its operational
Stlength tlansferred to the I'le'NIy-formed Twelfth AIr force - the USAAF oonlingent specIally formed to support the TOfCh landIngs In NOfth Afnca In November 1942. following the departure
Standard Markings P-47, receNed standard USMf rJihtef ewnouftaee 8t the factory - Del1I ()&,oe [)ref) laoquef. shade No 41. specfflC8UOn 14105, on the IJpperRJI'I8OtS and fofeutnIf Grey. Shade ~ 43. to the same speclflC6tlOfl. on the undersides. The c:IlVlSI(lf\ betWeen the Olive drab and the creY on the fusel8&e followed 8 w(Ny line On the P-47C, the line of dJVIslon betWeen the two colOurs ran back from the tnWn& edCe or the WIne 10 a p()Int .lUst below the lead'l'lI ect&e of the t8!lplane. On the nose. the cJ • .$M)l"I between the oIM! drab ancIlVey was usually just beIo\!I the bottom d the oentIe cowl.,. panel However, thefe were always vanatJOnS ltYOUIh the Iat,tude aIowed IllC2McJUal pWIl 5Pf¥"S The producbon of P-47Cs ....as limited to 602 ....craft before ....tIat. ~ the sunctard P-47 procJucOOrl model. the P-47D. 'W1tS IntrOduCed. Earty P-47Ds hac:J paIl'1t acJPlIC8tJOl"I to the P-47C, but on later D-mocJels the olive drab was brought further down the fuselage between WIng and tall. and swept up near-vertlCally to meet the leadll'll edr&e of the tailplane. AIthouCh Daf1( OlIVe Drab ....as supposedly produced to the same speclficatJon. It did VIIY. encI that used on P-47Cs appeared m&r1led1y weener and darftef lhar'l that on B-17s d the same period. The PIi1"lC"t It1 olIVe drab ....as prone to
StmI"
colOur change and to 'adlng through exposure to sunl.ght. Exhaust lumes. SPilt luel and 011 also caused dartt stams.
P-47e-5-RE
41~343
of the 62nd FSj56th FG, Hal••worth, July 1943
Assigned to "ICht commander land Mure .lll-kill ace) Capt Watter Cook In March 1943, this P-47C was used by him to down the "rat enemy aircraft (an Fw 190) credited to the 56th FG, on 12 June 1943. Named UTT1£ COOKIE. the ftetrter was allO belne flown by Cook when he destroyed an Me 410 on 10 october 1943. EJCht dliya prior to thl•• deputy group CO, Maj David SChilling. had claimed hi. ftrat two vlctorie.lof an eventual tally of 22.S kills) with 41r-6343. Badly damaged In a crash landing on 20 October, the Thunderbolt was later transferred out of the group.
so that a perfectly even coat of carnoutta&e colours ....as rarely seen on operabonal ThI.Kldetbolts. Both Daft( OIrve Drab ancJ
Neutral Gray had a man fllUSh. yet m8fl)' P-47s appeared to
t\8"o'e &loss palntwork. ThIs was due to aew eNefs
~
beeswax. polished to reduce drag and SO Improve speed. DetaH markings
on both camooflage colOurs 'Wel"e applied
In black. notably the data panel on the left siCle 01 the fuselage. forward and below the c:oc:kpIt &rea_ nus
sen"
model desCf\8t1OO. alfcraft inch hl&h characters. NO STEP
Camect the
number and f1JI!f type In onewere pamted ., SIX
warrun&S
Inch letters on the red w8JTll1'll patches found on the .... 1tW root end of the flaps. Maker's ,nstl1JCtiOOlll decals were also prescnt. featuring white lelterlng on a black background.
The Curllss propeller was finished in black lacQuer. Shade 44, apart from tour InChes of each tiP• ....t\ich ....-as palt1ted
identification Yellow. Shade 48. With the It1trodlCl1On or different blades fOf proPellers. a TectwcaI Order dated December 1943 requwecI CUrlJSS ancI Aeroproducts blades to be identified by ttvee-eJgt1ths of an rnch .... tde yelo- str\pe of the same measurement Inboard from the yellow tIp. The blades pnMded by A 0 SrMh had t\IIoO yeOow SlripeS of similar dlmonsions Inboard from the yellow tIp. These marones .....ere ~ seen by the spring of 1944. so their applICation most have been dlscootJnUed 111. .... elW?y date. Yi to half~nch stenCllhOC on the blade adfs gave the
senaI number Ind assoCIated data_
PropeQef
T'J'KlIIr"fDPl'lln1Udr ....u.p~ocaI_
lhbc..,..t"klCItK
... ... -
C~""Tbc-"'IC"JIil~
dM.c.dwl drrf'!'UI
....... ndlrr
""-duI· .. ·~bf Ibrl ....Villlbe'
The P-47lhundelbolt In .... DO • •
ndeIbolt Unlta of .... E........ AIr Force
1l1t.IIT
to the lead,. eop of the WIf'lI,. ~ centlea 82 .It'tChft from the tJP The 0f'ICineI tae.tKy appIlC8tlOn unclof the flCt'l1 WI" wet DelMea out befOl"e appffCalJ()l"'l of the _em...-.on The COC8fde on the upper wine aurface remaIned un8't~od Such was the concern ebOUt the P-47 beInC mIStaf'.etl tOt the fw 190. special r8CXllf'l'bOtl rna10nCI were deYtHd to be epploed to III fW!W ThundeftXIflI ~ they .-efe t~ on delrYefy to the UK. These were patntec:I In wtllte, ....-nidI to a deCree nepfed the blfcraft I c:amoofla&e fInISh. A 24lnctl WIde band eoctrQec:l the nose, measured from the eflCInC c:o.oo me lip e
~14~~
\>lthrM'IJ ph':oC "'ltf'l'p/'lNln('1rt\ \l.In,hllh\ no., \.&nn\Ill'nurt.
1lloe'1"''O[r'''C'C
M":nft N\l' fl'ttftN "'Mt'I\1"l"Idn\l:tI\ NzMl,.,.huclhl:'14~ln
lht'f""qtn.>undh.&.~l'C"l "'h.I'~it~f~.
'-1toorullt<....,w outhnnllll\clIo\ft l'ht
,,-
l... uTh~"~
funht"ll"'lInlho: • ~h.I\~notlflt'
.......
\.J.1al..wt.~01
1ht' ...... t:lfttu''C'
.~·p.llO'N pWK' In-"'lwtlruon~
"-470.1" 42·717& of the U4Ut FS/4Ut FG, Debden, May 1943
"'llhll·6\\l~,H
.&Do.l11-(>!to-H
bosses were left In natural metel. albeit that they were frequentty b!iihUy decoratOO once P47 was In serVlOC.
nu.. ,'3 Ith p. Pl-C"'"b""""'o-
Illl(}Q
JtRpbn!tft~
19-tiJ'l"Ol'llllho: '1'f'b-,IOI1IIItl#It,"1"l" odml'" bmtl~;and 1M 'clkno. bonkr 10 IlK">l.llUilfl!ooPW~ tul('9t>~ltd
lo,",Jroullht'roank' J.~ Ihc: b...:t t.'Odqt!o (!(thIn ~ .nul numhnI 11-6!<,l!)) II
.1( 1M
('\n1llUilh btU~ QP·~.anoJf.J.ikdlo
mum from lho: I \I~ IYl5 humbn"C"'COl"I m,...unlu\nI"'"t1l' (lOt uI IlK- fiN P...-
.....'It"\UfI~tJ,IM tlJl,hlh-urFoncC'.IM fb,:hlnh.ld np
\"JI.l"\t"ll:lt\pUuc,lI )uhn f Luu.IOtwJOUI
.-.afllN1UlS-lIt ...~ UUal.htn Ill, !U'1"JICb"-t WIni 10 fuJI)
.......,
a
Main ....heel diSCS were painted Neutral Gray. but the etvomlum-p!ated oleo leg struttlna was finiShed In OlIVe dfab or 8 datk green. The Inner faclf'IC main wheell doOrS were, like most Inlemal surfaces, finished In lInc chromate, which was 8 pale yellowish.green In colour. The fTl8JOI" IndIVIdual identity mamng applied 8t the fectory was the ·deslgnator'. 8 te,m soon replaced by 'radIO calklumber' In general usaee. ThIs consisted of the al«:raft's Nrrtj senal number, less the first dcglt of the year prefix end the separating hyphen. For example, P-47C serlal numbe, 41-6401 cenie
Reut~ by the aquadron In AI"1I1943. 42-7876 w.. coded QP~ ..:I "5l&ned to Lt Victor J France, whose P-47C had been 'oIt wt'll"-t beln& ftown by MOther pilot. Fl'WICe oamH the ai,craft MISS DALLAS In honour of his home town, and had • cowcJIl ....perimposecl on • T.llM4hape bKkCt'ound painted on the c:owtIn&- An RAF 'f.IrCIoe' ~ron pllot. Franc. was klUed on 18 AptfI1.944 wMn the P·518 thet he was ft)1nC .truck the pound INtII..-t ctlHln& • 8f 109,
Unit Markings P47Cs were delrvered first to the experlenOeCl 4th FG III J.-.uary 1943. YO Ie ~ "f1..tJ the Thunderbolts, operations contJnue
io
we
The P-47 'lllundertlolt In the ETO •
• ....., 'lllunderbolt Units of the El....... AIr Force
P-I7e-2-RE 41..21.1 of tIM Iht FI/NUl FG, Hal•• worth, 'H"~('
'IlbmlNtlh fl,'AnlloplTolllOtW 'A'tIhlNTh~
1I,I\jlIu",Ml-uUh) ~C"llX.~ ~Iolbdr
h~~1bc" p..1~(,.,)C"('IllloC'"~hl
(lX~;m"H"ilh
"".un.T.lft.rodC"d\\O tql-etb<_l,WIl~
Dd'Ilkftnm",nMc\W'It!l.~ ~~\""f
devised In the late 19305. and Intended to be read With the squadron code first, the three letters prOVIded a sImple but unique identification for an aircraft whose senal number was too
IOf'C and rendered too small for thiS purpose. A secret doc\Jrnent, identified 85 SO 110, cklt8lle
were
used c005.lstently by P-47~.1Ippec1 UnitS of the EJghth Air
The code combtnallOOs Issued to the 4th FG had previously been used by the SQuadrons of the 52nd FG ...men flying from England pOor to despatch to North Afnca. The squadron codes of t'Ml other former Eighth Air fofce flgtlter groups that were assIgned to OperatlOO Torch were also !'&issued to the 56th and 78th FGs. These 'lW'efe HV. LM and UN and MX. Hl end WZ. 'Ntlictl had been used by the 1st FG on n.s P-38Fs and the 31st FG on its SPltflfe Vs, respectNely. It IS POSSible that the thought behind these asscnments was that InltJally the enemy mliht be confused as to the disposition of the unitS involved. The 56th and 78th FGs recerved their first P-47Cs In February 1943. but It would be several weekS before each squadron boasted its fult complement of 25 81rcraft apjeoe. The 56th br1efly 1defl1lfJed It.S Thundefbolts With rather CfUdely-painted ~n-tfOUP numbers. as pt8CtJ.sed by the unIt In the US wrllie tr8IMC .....Ith P-478s. These v.ten! painted In arey ahead of the Intercooler doors In apprOXImalely 24-Inch high characters. P~7D-2-RE
42-7963 of the 83rd FS/78th FO, Duxford, M8)' 1M3
When recelYed at Du:dOfd In May 1943, thl$ Thunderbott carried the Inscrlption -OAWSON COUNTY. NEBRASKA ~ on the left .Ide of tts fuselace. 1ll1. tftllnc Indicated tim. the "Chter
had been selected by tho USAAF prlor to .hlpment to the UK a. an alrcrllft repruentatlYe of LaYlnCl bond porchase. to the cost of a P-47 by ttMl people of that community. At • later date thl. InKrlptlon wa. painted out, and the Iquadron', Hl code appUed In the ume location. On 11 February 1944. the "Chter .uffered propeller control failure aeon lifter taklne oN on • bomber .upport mission to Frankfurt and crHhed near Nuthampttead. k.Il11nc tt. pilot, At Off Archie F DanNiI,.
7
""-.u5t 1M3
AHtened to Mute M'tM-kIII ace Capt RoMr't A l.Mnb In March 1.9-43. tNs machine WM uMd by him to ahoot down M Fw 1..90 on 19 AuCIKt 1.943 - tie .no UMCIIt to dairfl.aCe .. Me 410 on 18 OCtober. eM.toned JACKIE (nwne worn on the portalde of the cowtinC only). and "aturin& • pt_ylnt card Jack mottl, th.. aI,e,"" __ fhot down near Ghent by German flChle", on 1. December 1.943. lu pilOt, It Cleve M Ikown, Wed out Md . . capturtld. t-.t .... _
1II1(J'1
In ttllS system alto 09 were reserved fOf eroup headQuarterS. 10 to 39 for the 61st FS. 40 to 69 lor the 6200 FS and 70 to 99 for the 63fd FS. There was oon~ 1ftlefc:harCe of aircraft durtng FebnulfY end el'W1y March. when thete wete Itl$4Jffoent TluldefboItS 00 t\WId for all 8V&I1ab&e PIlots. and It IS dotbl:fut If many P-47Cs rec:etYed thMe I"U'I'lbefS before IfTIPl'OV'I!!Id p1ane-uHQUadron mar1utlCs wete Introduced .... Ma-ch. These used the sane system. ~ had • prefIX number - 1. 2 Of 3 - for eaetl squadron. The thtee.dtglt number was p,Mted In the same IocatJOl'l ahead of the Intl!rClOOlef doors. bUt In wtute block numbefs apptOXlmately 15 IOChes tugt'l. Once . . . . It seems doubttut thai: many 56th FG 'Thundeft:lOttS recerve
btadt on the white nose blind.
As alrctaft were frequently part(ed facll'li the airfleld perimeter track. It made !denlJrlCauon
5eek.f'C a patbCUlat was perpetuatJrC RAf pr8CtJOe.
ea5lef lor ground staff
mac:hne - thIS
die Ikntum CLft',....
,.-b
IU'A.,.oa~ftlx
--.
"ftnIo,t...,lIIl<+. tb
.... c.-..r.-
~tbt~"'~
dultbt~""
...........,.-.. Iru.,.. 'A('ft
4'f'kd
""""Nt..I._ttIr
~"""cbfG
--.
~.......-m.D
oJdr tdt K. Thr ...ru1IIl ...~ ... ltIr ~~"'h_l.-.s
I'fl) ....... ~
"'lIb1pb~
The P-47 Thunderbolt In .... ETO •
.....711liiiiililtlolt Units of .... EI~ Air Force
t
Another lIend w,thln thli &rouP ....M to adorn UlC t'IOIe a name. Slopn and moM that alluded to the PlIOC.
cow11"1 WIth
In wtlictl ease a petaonal nldu\ame would oftf:(l be found on the left side of the fUMI. below the OOCIoplt Glrllnends' or willeS' names .. Ie popular. lCad..•.. to a
PhOto that could be I5enl
pe!rlted
"
.... e
p6e-..ng home. It was not Uf\kr\own 'or one JIt1's
name to 8C)pelW on one tide of the P47 .... tlla d ffefent na'M on the oppoIIte 1Ide. ~ . one name rnt(tIt be that of tile <:tt!'N chlC!'S
!<we. rathel than IndlC8tn·,.al.... ~mt". PlIolt
AI 'IISI many &roundCt'ewI rec:ordfld the mll5lOr\l If'l wfMCh
theIr Char," parbClpated by pa.ntJtW small ~ aIOr'C lne left side of the fvselace. ahead of the cocl<j)It.. TheM mostly took the form of 8 t'NO- Of' l1V~nch tugh 'UQkto In yellOw_ More ambl!JOUS <:tews recorded.-weeps .... rth 8 broom synlboI. eKOf'"ts w,th 8 top hat and umbrella.
cane lind
lop COlIer
for bomberI as en
But due to the rapld,ty of fighter oper8hons.
groundc1ews soon wed 01 thtS 8CtMty, and In most cases these
Bli lWo (,ITC"~
IROII\!blthIUI
blnd.' 11nlndntluh. ~1oc"J'""
,.r..f'hcn .... Jfttn UI bI1hlh \.ofhln~ f1.':""Il!"i'l.I,I9.I\ \1UOI..·\l ""nI""wltn-ol
In November 1943 the strength of some E'ihth Air Force fighter g,roups ....as Increased. the number of 8rrcmft assIgned 10 a squadron being r81sed trom 25 to over 33, although the actual number fluctuated 'rom day to day e1epending 00 losses. Y/here more than 26 aircraft were on strength. i1ckhttonal machines were gMtn IndMdualldenlJflCatlon letters 'WIth 8 short hOnzOntal bar PllJnled underneath the letter. Thus, fO( example. the 84th FS had a WZ·Z and a WZ·Z. The 56th and 78th FGs were rT'lO'Ied from their lnllning stations at Kings Clifte and Goxhill
c.-hiI moJlhm
to operatx)flal alrrlE!kjs at HOtSh8lTl St F8Ith and DuxfOfd 8t the beginning of AptlI1943. and on
,",nllnMl(m The'
the 8th aU three groups partlcipaled In a sweep over the Low CounlI1eS. After several further sweeps bomber support operations started. and In June escorts fOf' the EH7 raids - albeit that due to the Thunderbolt·s thirst. the penetratton of enemy a.rspace was limited to Just 50 miles.
l1("r .....'~lt"allu
II (oC'1'lC O'nll.t 1M lime I -ho"",b MId hr "''1lft'd }"iulhro I 'Ii l,U, .u,h lIIln ',no;ll\ho'
U~C
Uno:mht'T191'
The large engJne cowling of the P-47 lent Itself Bdmlr8bly to personal decorations. nieknames and motifs. These 'Wefe usually the assigned pilOt's chOiCe. and the
'NOf1(
of a pre-
war commercial artist. of Which most units appear to have hBd at teast one! Within the 56th FG.
the 61st FS had mne of its Thunderbolts named after Snow WhIte characters. while the 62nd had 8 Similar number named fOf' characters In the 'ur Abner' comiC strip.
l~ ...n llk P\W"O
.. nl1 "'~ hr.. l.KJuIh
dn,.lnlro I'-t-O .l~I'\Q1·I).
_It..n.atn<'dllw ~"JlIUnu:,:All'cnft dt~~"'Iht" .aJ.IoI.lNIl.afl't"r·~ ~'OI..aI\k'onl~ ~tl/ll,kft
.... ,b'DxT uPt ~f"II
.lin
li,wnnlfh"("lllhlu mUC'XT'tJUfUllIlh13 " ..... uh Iht ~\-Ith
,
lIh F<.
rCCOfds lapsed. Few EiChth Alr Force P47s were betnC so eIecotated by the end of 1943 VICtory symbols 'Nere another matter, hOwever. and un\e$s the PIlOt obtected. atrcraft credited destra,ec:l wet"e record below the left side of the COCkPtt as <:tosses Of ......astlkas ., bIadl Md while. A 'eature th8t became convnon on USMF r.gJ1terS Itom the summer of 1943 onwards was the ap()llC8boo of the names of the asstgned PIlOt, crew d\lef. hIS 8SSlStent and the armot.Ifef_ SometItneS thne'lll'efe IIPPfied V'l wMe « yellow In ()O&. to t'NOoIr'lCtl hCh ChInICters SU8ICfU. onto the ~ drab tusetap, bUI sometimes they were pa,nted onto 8 black panel. Thetr klc8toon ., l1"IO$t cases ....as below and Just forward of the cockPIt. Anothef piece IOf personeI deooratoon was the lTWWl ~ hub diSC:• ....t1lCh was conc:cNIleCI once the landu''C gear had been retn!JCted, All manner of COk:lurful desCJ'lS were 10 be seen on these discs. WIth a favounte being a rendlOOt'l of the star IOs'l1"la. In the summer of 1943 the USAAF InUoduee
fuse...
4/flJt afiar!l< .amootl-..u1I ......-4 oId1t'WidlfG pno.b. ilL' HI\U'
.. ----..-
...... Jft'dol . . . . .
llb(.!nd I I"t-C:!tI6':"'U\$
c-:.a", . .
dInoiecan:InlfJIfUIJ (/tt'UE ... ~~,..Idrcn'"
...
f'IkocU(_n~
........ ..-
bc'ft .1dI1
..
IJlr\;'l;tlJraflbo" I
,-.
llddlu...... .~~
, .. IQII:III.-
l"'lIJIdD
.. hc1l bt l:IIl1i1o:1kJ.,
1lX,IJl r..... L.onltltl for lllchmdil"t hrrh<"'~pner.u
o '011 rne.ab tM rw_;ll"Iun 11-6\1ftnainnlt
...
It.rwnn.l"ur iH\rJ!
',IlcA.... 'hr
tund.ml
J'lO!'II"IIl~ u(
lhe celunk on 1M u;:>pn"Url.Kc"/thr !til wtJllt(o("fl('O~lI
i\lCnnl .. 'lh the ~h l(.fn""lkumtln" lYlllhnlUllh 1<1 rchru.&ryl·~I
.. hm
he' ulUlplnnl hI' fn>lllhnt l.our fNUlla d.,..knl up 100 c"tUb;a1 h"u.... ).moJ mumnlto the I "
6lnd1 " ' 0 Do...adT~
I" ""'- t161M9
........ 011.
.cakd . . . . . .tla
.-
''*'-utb tnIiIIIIiJW. __
...-.
,.~_
•
P.II' 8/'m
* ...
The P-47 Thunderbolt In the ETO • U
• N7 Thunderbolt Unit. of the Elilrth Air Force
,,~,
""..wI·I~.1I
II,.. .. tin .... """."" (>jnJ' ..,..t! 1(.111,
_-tune' ilhNr.ll("
tho;
."mmUrlpn..lk(" ~Itl'"ur"k:.n"
oItJn.. ....... thc nWn "..tlnidaM: -Intht, n'''lI\k~vlhc"m,
h.>.too;
IfI'Plk'J
thereof. Two rec:tafCles. each one radIUS IorC and 8 t\alt radiUS ¥o1CIe. the IfII'ler ends of which reman concave to conform to the arcH!, are blocked In on each SIde 01 the btue ClIcIe, solid while USlrc the extensIOn hne as the top edge of the rect~. The entlre descn IS then outlined .... lth 8 red border. one-elgt'lth radiUS ¥tide'
To meet the OI"(ler. where the new martung was applied to aircraft In service. the fOfward recten&le extended over the Intercooler doors. Where the IndIVIdual aircraft letters had been pcllnted close to the cocarde. the letters had be plllnte
new martung.
This Involved nearty all the Thunderbolts
The
In the 4th and 78th FGs. whereas on most 56th aircraft the extended national InSIgnia was applIed Just clear of the tndlVidualletter.
new martung. wheo faetory-8ppllCd. had 8 4(Hnch d'ameter blue d,SC on the ...... and on the fuselage. ~ repa,nted at depotS. the undefY.,~ 'star and bars sparIwlo se
a 3fHnch dIameter
stili had 55- or 6O-inch d,ameter blue diSCS. The OWlfaU meastlR!fl'leflt of the deVIce
At Republic factories. meanwhile. to avoid painting part 01 the new Insignia on the
Intercooler doors. the whOre mar1t.lng was repositioned on the rear fuselage Immediately forward
was 72 inches and cordw,se 44 Inches. There was Yanahon In depot-apploed JOSCnI8
of the tallplane leading edge. The first lhe Eighth Air FOfce knew of this was when P-47s newly-
Although rCQuests were made 'through channels' to have the factory fuselage tMlCn a positioned further forward. It was several months befOfe th,s was effected. Depot repOSltJOn... of the fuselage national Insignia could be recognised b')' the forward V\t'ute bar ettend.,. I!laOSS the top part of the intercooler doors. Modrfylng the .nSrgrua Of! P-47s already ,n the f>eld' took several weeks. No sooner had this beerI completed than further reviSIOn ",as ordered. ~ the toM> Inch wide Inslgnla Red surround to InSignia Blue. ThIs chao&e . . . as ordered on 14 August 1943 to be effected b')' 17 september. although many P-47s 'Nefe sM ttyu. 'A th the red surround much later In the year
shIpped from the US arrived at UK depots. This Imposed an extra workload on combat group ground personnel In that all fuselage natlonallnslgnla had to be removed and repainted further forward to allow for individual aircraft leiters to be added. However, this task was soon undertaken at depots. where the large insignia was stili applied undor both wings.
l.u:r
j~h
I..., I'
I~(
11.(J19l\'H>.;L~~
lollWooo.lru", "
conbfltC'\lunok..... ,flJI. N;allorulln>4tnb.a, "'c:U~arc:lJmo. oulllllOr lothc:f~ftt
~lbc'lnd"klwl
kuC'r hM bttn p;llncrd c:lo:oc'upag:lim.llhL'
mubs1Il-",-, .. ;a.,thc: (':l,<""llh",,~
lthH. P-i-,A.-klc:(romlhL" mxhInc: ~-tUlJOIl baJoJ c::lIjtkon thc:n(lo!<
.,..-r
'I1'lnc
• •.4
-
.-...:-~
!lft1'I.DtIDdlc:lall'-'-
.....
19'41f'U1"1dK'~
.. hIo.1I .....~ IialfDdIIK' IDjlIrx-
.cdut ''CII
b
.arru::auunaamrodK n-p.ial....JldK'
1noJr.1lIluIMRnft IInIcT 1IK'Nn""'thIl' 0IIIpImIl'
... --- ..
un
....
",l...- ...
... ........-. ....
-(.I..,.I.~-
~
......... 0
ttw.aln:nflal.'
-.. ......_* ......
falurn! chn:Lc:rn1 .. hc:dd,>c< "o(1I)ftUJ\
tuoJ"'panS_ _ _ LflU.t/'UU Lt
I:aik't.ltorompk'l('1U) romhat tour, "'111" he: ....' fo..>rc'C'dlo~IOUIuCh"
",\IU .. him l1.loU1krt"tl mco;lurUc..'alLuIUlTI'lI:'.lt F~IJU" on
III \la.n.1l
19jjll('~Ithc"rr,c
oIt1lOr"..V;l.,al\:l\!;
__
~dw-blld('
-""~ .........-
12 •
N7 Thunderbolt Units of the Eighth Air Force
The P-47 Thunderbolt In the ETO • 13
1J11.t\IJIIIHJtl J't~Jtl ......MumnJlprnc!lUl-..ak~~ 'lnthc'ItfI-.klrllbl' 11Mb, - lbio_lho-.-aI ...- . ..... IIJIIlkd ... IhtllUtllDt.t..... rhr ...,.. _ _.. ~
rt-nw.oIow ...
NK.'"
I.Jc1Mdk",,",cIo;N~""I_",..
lbi~ lanr-Ilp ,,'
.'Cr.l' b 1(. nll...Jnt....h~1
'."""0'
rr"~
... "f'fI'Wd .... hlWtqlu4rurI~kUrn...... ...,.~.. dInc'
..
W\~_" ~.lIiIlbb
...... I1Ift • • • .....,lkadrd
Iht~~~...,...,.rhrULg.drddx.W'
OI.I\fonjIllDn~r
!""'fik,.II'O'..... ~4'.. ~
padOill
dxcdu«
rI.l'"'W>~.~_hiIIeoI'y
1'f"""'tll("Oolhc' 'UUllon OIl p"'IIlX\l"ll oUIdtbrnlmll - III
._""
thccoo1lkcoud~
-ntWkJaln:nf'lIn!hc' "'11~!I'I\l'1I .."J,' . . . . . . .
hc'nll
I ~ -.,tl'lc
'"nh
'c.l""O'~hul'>\ f\aL""",",.Iho.~
"'f'("W1mo,_,n ~·.:....... 111 Friwuan IQII II, pWl11 Ilo.>NloJI 1ud'90 .....,lJUnJTbc' tWu..rkJwl.hfn..... hc'
nmcn I!-H(>-U\l\'" " .... nll('tluUUI.&n
."'",",Im \(>f1llh.u .... l'hclt!lnJ...,.,ntt
r. l!-<XI \1\ L lhe' fiN .,,~ P,-n,,1
lul1Zlt'
"",Uokr(.Ipc Ik '<,o...-.Jh,fil'l\lo..,on c,.... I Ikt.nnho" I'M') 111".. nu..hU'C'
J.. rno;,\\I!~IJ'''''"
'Wllf ,\Olllf.lff LIm -l'lIhH.pn"oOI'UJln..qt1lU1Ib(llmCr.lll) p;lImtdon lIX kh ~,of lhi' lU"CblO£'.brk,.,. m.J "_~nlllflbc cod.pll Tl1ac 111" rum~.orr ... ,.... ... "/lhr ~rk' m1lod;.Ildopccd ]l)cQnoon bear J:l./ft'lx' (.iho,..,IMJr>rn,C'\JP I~( 11-6j\~ Ill8,.I.~IODJl'Icm,","Londo:liIl.... hotud Ihr dhunc.....n of hrtnji IIll: I:4hlh All' kM\.t' liN Ihrlull f;I'O:ocT "lffl.J/A Pl'JPPI\ WCIlJ'k1r "Uh ~ do:; Ii on J 'Jl'nI', 11~' p.untnl 0010 P.... ~<. H-6.1061 III .. n .........' «.. pc J.&mr" <.')f'SKn f1'""'l>rU.l JllU'1fl ''>It tNl J ~~lro ~l>Ol'l p.mrl h.L~ hrrn u"C'd f.~ rrconhnA pc.k1ot m.J ~ dcuib on "''''Ih "~nl f ...renh
1.."'",
flJ/f.IW T'htpl .... ll<.Wluflht"pwll«kloulk1ltt/on\I.lll..tJillmtRcllxn. PI~( 11,(",101') noc..... l-.J"P'..... lbo4 ........bth ,,",,"lhb~ 1k>\JoN ,nAU¥ll'lt 191\ - ItbI.lb .. ttu.lflttllw: ....'.llUlln"'lPW 1udbc.Trll'Dol.Ol1ltonlw ln11ur.k'rhr _.rban ll"hnud.tiIDnJ .. n-.Jnfk* .h..il din ~cornpltttd h b ~ lOW', 1Ib InJUlnn-oJ from IhrlUlhlQlhrKlnll t 1Itwn-n 1Inrr
14 ......7 Thunderbolt Unit. of the Elllhth Air Force
The P-47 Thunderbolt In the ETO • 15
N/t.ur .......,0 unlhc
1111
.. ,"-un.\ ...·.llt,\,~
r
..t..> III 1<)!\ Ill"" ~lbl'I'I\1
-...__...... ... . . . . dIt
~
.rniho>t\kr~
undo"thr ... ..,. •• .lI.... -~ \ltn .. ,", 'C'1"O ...T,lln.nh
tini~hn~ ...Mnt\l
.. llh
.. tI>kl~
,n m.Ml.utput'lC'l'l
~~'111 u·n~ '""'"~. Itn.Tnnl M Ihfi'hH.m
J.opw.o I?I\ P ,-( ~I.(.!ll\'>~... ""
("\1IImo...-lhro,.tt lhrt.(1'rul,~"fl>l"c oJnt>l~ho.. h'h
.......sr.lIlollJ("OO
1RlIIridu.J.Ik'lIO'tu.C
ton-n .twl~ Iln'mnI \\~r
\\.-..... In 1~lt
the'
~1
Ihc\.ldwnlm .. hrftUI~
nutlt.J
I
'(IJpm
IiJf.ur '
I);Illk-(1.muJ;nl (notc thc pan.alJ)-npt.l:'C"(l ",n~)1 ilI\llll>l" hook In IlK' ftncbRil' ilc'tl<";lllh 'he IndlllJt ~ of 11ll" l:lliJpbOC)
I'-n) U-~11Il\\I).l;oflhc:~,to;",rv hhrC,
x.d
. . bt'1br
~.tInldw-
.""'"
'q>l:crohrT
--.-
...,.,_l1li.,......
0119" P'!"
"".u.an.ll'\u '~I"1Cl./.l Imww n>mJ'AnC ",Ih
~
f'l(tdJ.G
(.,Ja."u,,,
It'w'rn:,,nlhnlll'lll!u.,n1
BlItN. cnond't-
,.
I') 1J. 1I9tJ1'
_.~ 11JbiI-, t.1I~
t ..... "'l'l~n lo!
..
18 • 1"-47 Thunderbolt Units of the Eighth Air Force
The P-47 Thunderbolt In the ETO •
17
4th FG Nose Art Gallery let PI' 'SOfIa! decoratIOn on Debden Thunderbolts nted .... hOIl)-. or partly. on tne ....Me type
Mol'S
re
idef1\It)' nose band. Most featured the female form.
IJIfllJ
Il(.,)1x"II.(_,
1',.( ,1{•• lllQI'\UIII.. lIut,I>I~AlulTl.l.litu1
,,-,trKk.l
u~c "qlUdnm l'tl
\nt:\.
wtth ch. \\llh I' unhl dn;LuTJI,,,,r I"rtdtn O.. ltlbtrl9d
N/(,1I1 11..• 1II\.\()(NIA.W/ \/((, Iff ,.£lu, I' I~C 1].(>-1111 QI'1 lutU .... 1').~ilJ .1«(' 1.llUlph .... ,,Jllo(c:r"pc'f'O:lrul m
".I,
... .1'
rcpUl.o:dh)'
Colt" 19-11
.ll'-~lll
in
II/m/
1""'11s
HItCh ..... , 1.1 R.)Ixn llobe" .... "h" l~( Il{.l'<,\ll m,ll' 11,,1,,:" \\vulll bier .1;(' frum np<~uR' In ,ll<' IM,.h
\In ~ '1"011'}I • .Ifll:r h"uhnM()O,l1 11t1" ,,1("\ In Irlne..
1110\1 1.l ..>hnl.llu.lJl.J,IT'tII.luotl''lrt''.·."."'l''''''<'Po ~Pl-I I''''I~IJI" lllC pLant: In"4llU<JolfllTUr\,tnjt l~ l',,;c Ne- un , bI' oflhc ,..,. pamC'd .. ~no.l uUlbnn.l1ll N.a..~ ()Qro ..t.he (IN I' I-~ 1hC" tlt. U, .. 1~lo;lf, 00IfkT0:d
'C,u.,,,
*
nK'\lutuull.&lhrn: ..Ulkllti&Jrrl ....... \IJ'\
1~1'
1.. ,oJinl",tw-nh~ ,I'aat"
'"
TIle P-47 Thunderbolt In the ETO •
18 ......7 Thunderbolt Unit. of the EI.,.th Air Force
lIn II... m l(fJ\ I' I~( il~'~~('lJl' I ,,~, I\.Inl«! 'u, lh .lI,lIIIIIHI'lJI\l J)u,.,olhl\h"'lht \\11""
1"'''' hllll", Ill."
MIT -l'llR"/"fAl\ Itll"-,~hJ'"
1""1)
i!·"'),V,\\l).'Il. f~:uurnl ~ pc'NlfUI
nnbInn In","1"lr.IUllfl Ilx'wJX""tln.bIhthotnc- ..ut~tJ/ll' r-1ol,(~f'C
...........
'mllh '<:1U1OMhtr
funne-r 1:..J.Jtk' '
I/JI'III n'I.~lIC'Hh
~Oll""'P'N('dIO)lht lthl(.)IlQn~ll
IU.. ~hn"OpnlmCM«l h'm;Jjol' 11... 1''\10 'UlTtrnlllW:'tun... lI (.wurr.~"
....,'Uf*'S
',"",,"on' ',«U'ol,l.lMJ I.. h;odnl"Ul ;mtl""J\ n",_
61(.'" \no,! 1lt'C 10 m'\!' .lul noM 111 I' ,-, ...n-r uwnn! ...,tl
... ....,M1''''''''l.JUmr'''I·.-( 11.011 \ ,>I thc' H\lhl'
'4tJW'tl
~unnurl.nldUl'U1ftlhllll)('","hlhrllhl(.' ...
''''f'Ulln''' ( II (~ f"nnn 1-4k 'qwdnlll \'C1CT1n) \I,lj
........ <.IC"fl,hC'oun.nt\ .. J."ttC'nm.n!h\ It"JotJpltQuUk '" ",nn,thc.' \bl')f"'J'I1<,Ml1\lllAOnlm,,>lO,,"
19
1'047 .....1IderboIt Units of ....
E~
The P-47 Thunderbott In .... ErO •
Air Force
New Fighter Groups In enlt)' June 1943lhe 353td FG 8mved in the UK. lVld 11 ""'clS IMlal,.,. statlOl"led at GoJJ\llI. In lJncoIn5hIte. "",tllcll '1'0 5 one 01 t'wO VUI F'c,htet' Comm.w airfIelds us&d to( operatIonal
t.raInlrC
It VloOUId be ne
rtr t'NO months before
th& 353rd's squadrons WIlte fully equipped
'I'ollh
new P47Ds. and thClir PIlots conslder&d
read)' loroperatlO/'ls.
Moved south to Metf,eld. in Suffolk, the group new Its first mlSSIOl'\ on 15 Au8ust. The 353rd's Thundefbotts carried standard "",tute type IdentrflCatlOO marks and SO 110 urllt code tetters placed as on the P-47s of the t1Vee -.etenvt groups. The 350th FS's code ......as LH. the 351st YJ and the 35200 SX Early in sePtember the 35200 FG became operational from Bodney, In Norfolk. With Its 328th FS ush'\i the code PE. the 486th PZ and tho 487th HO. A week later the 355th FG at Steeple Molden, In HertfOfdshlre, also st9l"ted ftyinc mlSSIOl'\S. rts Ul'\lts belnc the 354th FS WIth the code WR. the 357th coded OS and the 358th Yf. In ml(\.{)(:tober the 3561h FG at Marllesham Heath, In Suftolk. ,IOIt'led the tray. Its 359th FS belnc idenlitjed by the code DC. the 360th by PI and the 361st by QI By the late summer of 1943 the BYailable two--Ietter codes had been all but used up. With the SO 110 system introduced pre-war by tho RAF, the leiters C and I had not been used. as It was conSidered that these could be visually confused WIth G in the case of C. end lor T for I. To increase the number of letter codes BYallable. a decision was made to walVO the eanler objectlon and to use both C end I. Some of these combinatlons were I'Ven to new USMF units arTMnc In the UK dun... the eutumn of 1943, hence the codes allotted to the 356th FG The 358th and 359th FGs. whICh both 8l'"rtYed in OCtober, were also grven codes USlngCilher C or I. The former. commencanc operatJOOS from lelston. In Suffolk. on 20 Decembet". conSIsted of the 365th. 366th and 367th FSs With codes CH, LA and CP respectIVely. The 359th FG at East Wretham, If\ Norfolk. controlled the 368t.h. 369th and 370th FSs ......Ith codes CV, IV and CR. respectIVely. This group began flying combat mIssions on 13 December. Before the end of 1943. the C and I codes had also been exhausted. so SO 110 then made use of twocllar8Cter codes containing a letter and a numefal. The last P47-equipped tighter
P-Uo-5-RE 42-8500 of the 487th FS/352.nd fG, 1I/(J1J l'hh'-k"olC'Ufl ofb311kdmulllf" 1nI1a.1C'dnn, \'\()Ihl \'\wr<.P-I-o~
Ihcpt...lI..onut«o(lhc
lk'pol-«fUJlllC'd '~(i lIUlln.'tIIl'\D
.
rrl.I,n'tIOlhc i"I~Jokr,,",Ullcn :'olfJIIC"aJ""llullhj,;~.
11",-, lw"'
~"~
lu~ ~
rn.l
group to reach the Eighth Alr Force .....as the 36151 FG. wNch was alloc61ed letter/numeral cooes _ ltS 374lh FS used 87. the 375th E2 and the 376m E9. The 361st new Its first C()fI"IbM mts.saon on 21 JIf'lU¥)' 1944 from BotlJsham. Itl ~ e . Thas &BYe VIII f1&trtet' Command a total 01 ten fefttel' IUOUClS equipped ... P~7$." an eleventh scheduled to arr'ro'e Itl the spn-.of 1944 ~ . brDecetrOet" 1943E."a:hM Fon:e ~ had become IOtent on obt.8lnln& P·518 Mustqs. ~ h8d alD"eacet encbWU end \Io'ere therefore better SUited to fulfillJ"ll the urgentty.nfJeded IOf'C-i" ucort
P-41D-5-RE 42-8404 of the 354th FS/35Sth FG, St. .pIe Morden, November 1943 UI Jo was the personal aircraft of Lt Cof ThomaI; 'Speed' Hubbard. Group E.ucuth'ti otfk:« of
belnc:
P-47~2-RE
42-8398 of
u.. 35ott1 FS/353f"d FG, Metflekl, september 1M3
An OftCInal combat P47 of the 353rd Fe. recelvee! In Jut)' 1943, thts machine was aulcned to llt William W Odom. The name Ramln' MamM endorsecI the provocative redhead painted on the cowllnc."'a wa, common practice. the alrcraft·s Individual p(.~n4quadton lerter matched the fI,.t letter In the a..ICned pilot's surname. Ddom wa, cledlted with two 811091 "tloyed In this machine durine an engagement on 27 september 1943. He was In tum Intercepted by ....my ftChte,. on 30 December 1943 - acaln In 42-8398 - and shot down, craShlne to his death near Chartevllle. In Fnlnce.
Bod"_)', F.bruwy 1944
Received by thfl l!'CMlP In Aucu-t 1.943. 42-8500 ..... Mlrteted by C-ert Geofp E Preddy to be h" personal .,craft - tts nkknaml C""n A'MIGHTY came from an eltclatnatJon Preddy was in Owl habtt of ~Inc. AtthcM.IIh tM bKwne one of the t.op.ecotInc ftChter ace. In U. European ThUtre of Operat5oM. none 01 PrMd)". 26.833 vktories were obtained flyl", thh ."crMt. 42-8500 was tnnIfen_ to a ..mc"'C depot when U. 487th FS con....rted to P·51a In March 1944. lind Its ultJrn.-t.. fata " - not been trKed.
the 355th FG. Prior to posted to the ETa. Hubbant h8d ftown N9s Md P-40s In thlt Pactftc theatre durtnc 1942. ParUdpat1nC In the 13 NOYembet 1943 ~ &up9Of't mtuian to Bremen. Hubbard Met to baU out over Hotland wtMtn his P-47D (42·7994) .... hit by ftM. He evaded capture lind retumed to the UK In June 1.944. When the 355ttl FG converted to P.51Bs In March 1944. 42-3404 was sent to the 352nd Fe. wtlere ft became H<>-W ~ the 487th FS. When thl. Croup also converted to Mustanp. tM IIIIrcraf't was pasMd on to the 353rd FG's 350th FS. wtth whom ft wa. shot down by ftak o...r France on 13 AICUSI 1944. Its pUot. It Georee W Mclnts. was killed.
21
The P-47 Thundertlolt In the ETO •
22 ......7 Thundertlolt Unit. of the EI~h Air Force
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P-47D-l-RE 42-7890 of the 334th FS/4lh FO, Debden, J......y 1M4 Recelyed by the squadron In late June 1943. thl. alrc..-tt was ••sICMd to Lt Duane 'Bee' Beeson, who became tho lead1n& 4th FO Thunderbott ace wtth 12 kill, - II of which we'. "orod In this particular P-470. BcHse. Idaho, wal hi' nome town, hence the flChter'. nickname BOISE 8EE. Coded QP·8. It served Beeson until the squadron converted to the P-S1S In late February 1944. Duane Beeson was .hot clown by lI'ound fir. on 5 Aprll 1944 and takan prisoner.
Early In 1944 the 358th FG was exchanged for the 85 yet non-operalional Mustang. eqUlppeQ 357m FG of the Ninth Air Force. the 358m nylng its last mission while assigned to the EIghth on 30 January. The yet to arrive P-47-equlpped 50th Fa was also exchanged for the expected P·51-equlpped 339th FG. scheduled for the Ninth Air Force. The lalter organisation would eventually receive a total of 13 ThundefbOlt lighter groups for tactical operations. The unit marXJngs carried by both Eighth and Ninth Air Force P-47s were remarkably standard In that size and location of type Identity markings and code retters rarely vaned from the application Insl1uctions. In fact the only known non-standard code leiter presentations were those worn by a few P-47Ds where the air depOts had not had time to repaint nallonal insignia fUrlher forward on the fuselage. This occurred In the winter of 1943-44. when so many new fighter groups were arriving from the USA and demanding aircraft. Where P-47s were delivered to combat unlts without the national Insignia having been relocated forward. the squadron codes and Individual letter were grouped logether. with hyphen separation Just aft of the cockpit 00 each side of the fuselage. The characters were still nominally 24 II: 18 inches In size. With one exception, the SO 110 code letter allocatlons to Thunderbolt combat squadrons remained unchanged to the end of hostilities. The ell:ceptloo was the 370th FS of the 359th FG. In, or about, March 1944 the code CR was replaced by CS. While no reason for this change has been pOSItIVely Identified, it has been suggested that It was duc to an aliocaUon error.
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28 • 1"-47 Thunderbolt Units of the EIl&hth Air Force
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32 • 1"-47 Thunderbolt Units of the Eighth Air Force
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1"-47 thunderbolt Units of the EI,..th Air Force
The P-47 Thunderbolt In the ETO •
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\Ii 1~fK'\rr po""hk, ""lot> o'lt'n ~kclnllllC' .. klll'f ot 111('" .unum.. J' 1110(' kknnl) of 1hc:'lr JlC'lI .. ,n;-rJ/lnli.",,,,.lIlC'c::a~"'llhll~ Illll')IIh
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\h ..n \\~JLo«- n~ IenC'T wJX" ,pplonllO llll,,' Ihl- ""lw.J1'I)f'I "'err qune ""-"ilK1i>e \\J.ILKe j~.;!noJ Ie; ",hnllhe .. .If In .. lu
I~'
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01
38 ......7 Thunderbolt Unit. of the Eighth Air Force
The P-47 Thunderbolt In the ETO •
J.JJ7 'IIOf>Int.lfUfk-adrr I I . j~baiJ H.(d)~fliII"'lf~"'~"I-U
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.....
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".-"hn!ilrm
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U""lhltl""fUljUIlt 1'111 hlUllIi> h""n-ll .. ;t• • !>c'IUI RJO NII!)lk ~Iu' 1'1-1) l!l'I~11 1'1 \\ II"",, "" ll1c'\!H1hl'IJ
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hn C"\l hl ~n .... R L1uno.h lhR:'C' .1.n.l.I'crlIcdldnot: tnurnl"~'"C'd\l"
37
The P-47 Thunderbolt In the ETO •
38 ......7 thunderbolt Units of the Elllhth Air Force
lin
lulh.llll.-
rornowll ... l~ullUl'III' \~h.
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39
40 •
P-47 Thunderbolt Unit. of the Eighth Air Force
The P-47 Thunderbolt In the ETO •
JU(.IIT ...' .... ll("dhlt~ '-tlllh. I ~~<,lfl't ~t. II )nhn I).,~ moa .a.n<.I Ill.
41
361st FG Nose Art Gallery
\-n'1't:hld'l''1U(~
n.....s.mJ"'.hCunlhr,t I" I~I) H/(. DO
l'\I
h .. "W'l
n... ~""O""Il Iloo""nuta',\in,nl\!U.mC"
."In\ N-t.lrl'lll: thor l4'"
61(.111 U \kom.,\l;lill1Jtbollht j~(lIIh ~'l J"W" N-k III.' In~lI~ ..... tin PI-I> tl ~SSt" ~9-(.lk,.1J II...,· Cot'l' 'AlUDnl\ ...~, .... Iio n.,,:an~ :amMon.!1 \b) 1911''' (oC'1'A'Wl) .. lubtfl)VlJl;PSlIJ 4.11.-.e-.e",,~lhtrnc(r(lho'...~:I.~' P\;,90JINJIlIIlfI\C1'll\nltlC'f,hcluddooot>-ncd' III I(H " . tin -.n-........ romNl lu1I
.. l'uc:hthr'I'iJl,hIC"t'
""~J"k>l".t.' " ....... 0 1)."",1UJ'Ilt 'pnll
IUIX'huth .. u/'ttl'lt "'!,lIn t'm.JIhc' \<;lJt:hK•• tlQ !llfthl durtrqt.h" tlU 1._ .. tIi<:h('\lIIItrlC'n",;'l..l
tn(ll.,..hC't" 1~lt.uwJ mdcdm ,,~, lOkI
1.1-:1'1'
U~ilbnI
\hllk
\lUhlo.::on·~14-C II.(,UI()"lt
IlissollrlIlIIllJ......."1)onc<.JI
lhe fl~ Cmodrb 1't'tt1'-ro h the hhFG,aoo-.uho<'qunlth bn:':lnlCOIK"oflllC'Wolloht' w;lhdr..... n rnl'fTl ..c:nicc in r('bru:.lf}I~il \lIl11bll of /'til. thRT ThunOCrbotl kilt- ",Ih thh nuchhlC,andhch;tdI:tl
(H·2-17f>9)"'.... hflbl hi. wlngm:an'5 M~~ng '" hen Ih, Lm.,rpUotlricdll)~'l)k1nll
ovcrCkTTJU.nlon jO \Ill I'll' l}othmt'np:arlchU1(1J'nlO c:lplh1t l I/fI(J~ II \ It I rJnu:. mueh'phol:OllrJphnl ,..... -1) M/5S a..tU.A.5 dll.PL:llS 11K" l)l'lc"JI .... ,om rumt on the ""10M ro<.ll Clu.<ed by pilot :Inti lUOuodc~ foolwar durlllJl tile' r"'K~' of ('fI1e-noll;ulod ka~Il\M the c(Klpil l"Jl(o ~ "n otircnf, W» illlJCO'1co:' 1h(" nil'", P"'nouncnllhh "O:-.l.r b«';aOlC
""'1'
OJ::l.OU 1'hc Wt 1·..17"<'qulppcd nllllll:r group 10 go opcr;lUon;;,J ",1111 It ~)glllhAlr foltt"'.... IhC' 8ol:Ibtwn~j6hl fC P,I-D-tl'~~SI9[~. "',"U \lorrb~iII;;'IIU·IX-,.U1t(1)·Ca.... (ompklt ... llh:a~IIhC'".Klmo 11 \uptrimpl)M'll on ,\'...tupc h;aclqtrotmd (10« pr.,..~ pap:. lop, kM' m;II";l", dtulb) \l;lih:lllU..r.cx down:an f ... 190 oonh-....nt 0( LfiC' Oumm.,r.1n C"oCrnUIl\,on 6 ":arch 19-/1 'Ilttlle fl)~llIt Ih" ;U1'CT.lfl
/ifIll uptJ);a>lon [) Jr of lho' j 751h ~"!i • 10 h" hon,", lo....n IlWlllfljl.tOll 011 tho' M1I'1lhhl'"I"l)/\ II Cl{JX'rk'n«d
UK'"
\Uj(Iw1n(_(O>fI_~-~
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~
l"o..t"t""I'HI
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lho' ,\~Slh. frQrn nnbn 1?-I\thNO(lh ,It 1'>-11 ",hmht: lnn.tfnTnJlolhc 01 H.IIr.ldqUMlcr.> flc-tc,hcf'\"llUdk"d(... ,th nnL o(lJUJOr) unhl
tmbn- 1'>-11
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c~
~ .....
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~dIrin:"
..-...tIn.nt xrYI '1Oo>nn ... die- n-Ir-rtIooll .. \bn.'b-\rnII .. ~IvC"lldntdle- . . . . &ftJ'& bt ... aoo...-nltD
('"*-" .::..-..
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4a • N7 Thunderbolt Unit. of the
EI~
Air Fore.
The P-47 Thundefbolt In the ETO •
Tbor,_.
"flGlrr
~""~In"_
"Chi
":n.Jk.
1'1-'("ft' .. ~
m.._
IlktJ "fU'.oN
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...
I_.. ~.:l\ll I'll
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\''"... ( ....~
torn
tb'phuc...,-,ph"n tlLrn.u\t.-
Tbt f'dolC b,o,JhlTrl ....n! '" m.o~r Jon nIWYJIltlk"'~oIl Ibrt.n>IIl:f1'IO,J.tlc-n bo Ilt:!Uno:'<TI'l'rnMJ\J\t'TIbl'
..... .amnft ~Ihr~.ano.""'.
'Silver' Finish In the cause of SCMne bme. \lio'etght and e~nse. at the end of 1943 the USMF decided to abandon finishes on 811 but II few special miSSiOn 8lrcraft typeS. The first 'SItvet'" Thunderbolts to leave the lactones were In the P-47~21-RE block from Farmingdale. and in the P-47().23-RA blOCk from EvanSVIlle. Of course. ,f the overaJllmpresslon was ·Sllver'. the teet was that the bate metal ftnlsh took on different hues dcpend1tll on the IntenSity of the ICht upon It. Mof~. vanatlOl'lS In the metal used some panelS eave different shades The top of the fuselage ancI ~ne cowling fonoaro of the Pflot's vvllldshteid continued to be painted OlIVe Drab so as to act as an anu-glOfe smp tOf the PIlot. Tall numbers were rendered III black. and on Farmingdale product,on 8 different form of the nUmeRll 2 was evident. The first of the bare metal finish Thunderbotts reached the UK III March 1944, but camouftaged 81fcral'l. were stili bemc supplied to squadrons from depots In May. Type identity rnartures - the tall and nose bands - were Itppl~ ~n black on the 'sitver" P,.Us.
c.amounace
'Of'
The abandonment oj It c:amoufI.a&.e (1I11sh ~ the ack)pt.Ion 04 bnIt'I <:oIOuR for iden11(JC8UOr'\. T'hese were flf'5t ItItroduced to the £Ct'It1l /vi Force by • P-47 &tClUP. nemeI)' t!"le 56th FG. Pnc:w to ~ to the UK. the 56th had palflted the It!~ pofllOl"l 04 Il$ Thunderbolts engmo cow"'-- In squadton colours - red for the 61st FS, yellOw for the 62nd 8tlCI b6ue for'~ 631d. ThIs was In hne With the pr&-*Aoal" Army AJI CorPS pracuoe for fogtllf!f ~. aMouCh the co&ours of the three squadrons of II (emer &fOUP were usuaDy red,.... e ~ )dOw The 56th otItaaned pe«nI$$IOI'l from 'lUI Fctrter tonwnand to rentrodUOe the iMI'Ie squadron colours used In the US, thus elllOlf\atJl'C the Votlrte nose bands. The red ..... II brWn scar1et, the yellOW standatd IdentlflC8t.lon Yel'ow, and the blue a lJgtlt sky blue Shal'e. The5e colours are recorded 8S first beltW used on P-47s ~ the l'T'IIss.on of 6 Februery 1944
P-47D-2.1.flE 42·25506 of the 350th FS/353fd FO, fhl)'don, AprIl 1944 One of the fll"lt 's/tver' finish ThunderbotU received by the 3S3rd FG (In April 1944), this machine was Immecn.tefy 8150cated to croup CO, Col Glenn Duncan, .s hi. personal aircraft. All of Duncan's combat aircraft featured the Utllne Dove of PeKe, toeethe, with a cartoon dove and a dlsUnc:tlve motif of a skeMltal flCur. rkllne twin machine tun•• Thl. aircraft was also identified a. the Ilxth Dove of Pelle. b)' • Roman numeral VI' painted near the Indlvklual aJrcraft ~tter X. 42·25506 enJo)'ed onl)' a Ihof1 098ratlonal lite, for It was ~11ed In near Ra)'don -'ter surrertne entlne fallur. on 27 Aprll1944.
P-47D-1.flE 42·7937 of the 62nd FS/56th FG, Hal•• worth, February 1944 A.lSltned to It Anthon)' Carcione, thl• •rcraft OftC1nall)' camed the name rtf.. CWl 1M rt&tlt Iide of the cowlinC and, at one time, s.x W.qon on the ~ft.. SUstaiMC batde cIan\IiCe In late Februaty 1944. the flCht8f was ultlmatel)' transfe:rTed to the 552nd Actrt- TJ'IIinIrlC Squadron at Atchar'n, whe,e It was wrttten off in Jut)' 1.944" Cardone . . ft)'tn& F470 42.74697 on 8 March 1944 when he was shot dow.n and killed by enem)' ftChten. Pan. 01 42.7937's cowllnc. le.tutine the 'shodevlf motH, Is preaerveclln the HorioIk Md Suffolk Aviation Museum at &1\&8)'.
43
44 .....711lunderbolt Unit. of the EI~ A'r Force
TIle P-4711lunderboft In the ETO • 45
.f(.lfr Allullhrr,ri<... •••,H•.lnoil I'I~I) III_AItI
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P-47D-15-ftE 42·75859 of the 63td FS/Nth FQ, IIoded, April 1 ..... Ree.tved by the squadron at the beClnnlne of FebNary 1944. 42·75859 was I&ned to It C~ ..... C Clamp - It duly beclime the "!'St UN-<: wtthln the 63rd FS since the urty summer of the previous y••r. The "Chtor served wtth the 63rd fS until NKlt down by enemy flChle,. near Evreux on 4 July 1944, fts pilot, 2lt Sam 8 0 .... belne killed.
.)fJI:.ln.I....I.......
hl~
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1'\Tlk'j'lool'_
........., ....., ' ..11.... ,;0. ...... n"nlh('~1 l'1-ll.lllll(>lU.. \ld .... 1"JhnJo:I""'I~f'lII\
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".I-
Thereafter, ,t appears thai other VIII Aghter Commend units were attracted by this embellishment. and fOf a bnef penod there were 8 few unofrlclal nose decorations until. In March. some orner was brought 10 such markings. VIII Fighter Command proposed that each of Its groups would hIM! a nose decoration on Its aircraft ldentlfylng the outfit. For the P-47-
...ntI,>ndI,td.w~nh'Thc~
eqUIpped groups this was established. after
some revisions. as red
fO(
. . . - " II ( ...do" hml.cif hull.Lc IIWT1 ....... lno,..~lollhelOrtmhollk • rn,1Nnl ...th thc u~ Hurbum Ann H
""I"
tbt ll.u\.(T fl"Tn ~~ the fill md nUk-rit.here the .tule 1}l!'C' kknul) haIId In'fIrwmnJO'lTr
the 56th, black and
white checkerboard fO( the 78th, yellow and black checkerboard for the 353rd. white for the 355th. no special nose colour for the 356th. green 'or the 359lh
and yellow for the 361sl. At this time the 4th FG
had already converted to Mustangs and the 355th was In
The group markings of the 66th fighter Wing (fW). to whICh both the 78th and 353rd FGs
the process of ooing so. In the case of the 56th, 359lh
were assigned. featured a checkerboard. and this proved tJme-consumlng to apply. Th.s .....as
and 361s( FGs. this directive only entailed palming all
parUcularty the case With the P-47.1()( the checkerboard was huge In size. elCtendlng from the
exiSling nose bands In the given colour.
The 356th FG painted out the .....hlte nose band with Bntlsh sourced shades similar to Olive Drab and Neutral
...ru.
Gray. In most cases thIS Involved reinstatement of the areas the cowling originally painted Olive Drab and Neutral Gray. but on a few alrClsft the .....hole cowling was
1')11
over-painted dark green.
doln"nl"'lhthh
."b ~
(.,:ndt"Ulpnwot'j IOUi hC'.b
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........CIlOft"('n'-.-."""p'-U(Oor\Ion.b ..r.-,.. orit'c.1 lhr' .. ppn)pfUlc'" nlhC'
0'
s~x
squares per honzOfltal hne of checkerboa«l. lhree while and
three black. With each 'square' being eight fnches honzontal by seven Inches vertICal - tha1 at the cowling lip was nearer seven IncheS square. The 353rd FG chose to arrange It5 checkefs In a dllwnond pattern rel3tl\'e 10 the fuselage axis. The
most common form seen was wt'lere the whOle
COW1~
back to the
C(I¥r, . . . Shutt~
was painted !denllflCatl()(l Yellow. ()( a SImilar Bntlsh-sourced shade. .... ,th black dtamonds supenmposed thereon. Each dIamond had seven·mch sides, ....Ith a half dIamond at the CO¥> .... lip. then three whole dIamonds and another half diamond aga,nst the CO¥> .... Shutter line However. there were vanallons. and In some cases there were
no half dIamonds
The most interesW'8 - end bellC\1ed lnQUC that on the CO's personal Thunde1boIt. wt\iet'I sported a checkerboard pattern SImilar to that seen on 78th FG P-47s
- vanatJon
'N3S
The four yellow end four btack SQUafes per row were square seL rather than the usuat dl8lTlOfld set S)'nOf1YmOUS .... lth thts group. When the 56th FG .....as ordered to paint the nose band of ItS P-47s red. the &fOUP transferred the squadron colours to the ruckler - the 61st FS painted Its rudders red
and the 6200 yellow. The 63rd FS dlCl not use
tn-S'urctl
1'#"\1Il1~
(~ ............
cowling lip back to the COWlIng shutters
78th FG Thunderbolts had
RI'OU
(..clIII:lIUnd.......-.lIllt__ kIrftljn
~"II'''' dw \ot.nk. .... ..~tnITlwt>l" I .nII anc '"1' tunhrrbol~ ... tJw~aI"P.-.
tnI
lllltt.aud*w
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"f'"IllIl::JfI'H'
48 ......7 Thunderbolt Unit. of .... EI-'dh Air Forc.
TIle P-47 Thunderbolt In the ETO • 47
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artt
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a blue rudder at thIS tIme. however. ,nstead allowing 'or tho lack of 8 bnght colour to distinguish thIs squadron's aircraft from the others of the group. When thiS mar1(lngs change was Introduced, the 56th FG also paInted out the ....nlte 18'1 bands on camouflaged aircraft and remove
A Quoted reason for the removal of lall bands by the 56th and 353rd FGs was that these were considered to be more of a recognition aid to tho enemy than 10 the AUles. At this l.me these two groups were the most aggressive and successful P-47 units In the Eighth AIr Force.
6.
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P-47D-6-RE 42·74702 of the 36181 FS/356th fO, M.-tleshMn Heath, M_ch 1144 An orlelnal combat aircraft of the 36t.t FS, 42-74702 wa. . . .llPMId to Lt Sidney H Howe«. who used It untlt he received a replacement In March 1944. The name LANNy' paInted belOw the tall number, was for the yount IOn of Lt Raymond P Stewart, the latter havln. commanded the 3618t FS upon Its formation, atihouCh he did not accompany the untl to the ETO. The motif paInted below the cockpit featured Hewett', huntlnc Labrador doe with a Oomler bomber In Its mouth. Hewett was shot down In hi. replacement P-470 on 4 May 1944 and made a prisoner.
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Making way for the Mustang The Elgl'1th AJr FofCe PIaMed to have ellIS of Its asscne
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P·47s to reac::h as tar as the Ruhr and north-east Germany. In later months, 108 US pilon capaat) tanIo.s ~ also Used. and In the Ywlnter of 1943-44 """ ~ racks a11Owe<1 two of these tMks to be carried
111
The P-47 ThundertM»lt In the ETO •
• N7
53
n.underbolt Units of the EI...... Air Forc. The programme of coover,1On to the Mus\.illl'lC ow ~ 3S5lh (the MCond 1f0U9 to ~I k>M U ThUndefbOlllln mid-Marth 1944 Th& 352nd foftOwed a rnontn 1aUW. with tne 359U't end 3611t ,eeeNl'" P515 In e8f'ly May- MMt of the P.... 7. tnIt had _YO
com-erted 10 Mustaf'W,l. att.llOUCJ1 thiS proo;ed to be II drawn out proce. . for tN: tnt of tneIe uM.I due to ~f..ery thOfllJCeS. The (.na!lhtee P4 7 &rou~ to fec:e~ U'lll' P-51 COfflPICU!d the swap In the au\UITV'I. With the 353td FG ~ opeu,Iwnt> .... ttl the M~tarc Ir'l eatty 0CUlbef and the 356m In late November. The 78th FG, hl7M.-vet'. did not Shed tlS IlKt oper.wonal ThunderbOlt until JanoBfY 1945. The 56th FG was the only EChth AJ.r Force r,gf'rtN &1oup to I illt1 the type until the end of hostilitIeS.
'In-the-fleld' Camouflage With the tmpencM8 cross-ChannellnvaslOr'l 01 continental EuroPe planned lOt' eBtty JUM 1944
some concern was raised abOut the conspecuous f\8tur. of
P-47D-~E 42..545
uSAAF alfCt8ft ,n natural metal til
wt1cn based on conlJnefltal 8lrf~s ClOM to the batue IdleS The first uMS to be move
of tM 369th FI/359th Fa, bat Wr.tham, M_) 1844
eventually move Ect'lth Air Force flgtllers to the contJnent once the around IOteM Md advanced towards the German boroo. 'Sllver' 31rCtafi would make It eaSlef lor enemy a fmen to k\Cate advanced tanclu'lC arounds. $0 E'Ct1th lui Force fCl'rter Ifoup$....ere advlseclltl May 1944 apply eamouf\age colours to the uppersorface5 of their lWCl"afL Intere5t.ttC'Y. this appeaB 10 ~ been VIII Figtlter Comrnancl-&eneratecl adVice. as NInth AIr Fotce fcJ1teB Ifl natural metal flt'li$tl
Roc:elvod by the squadron In November 1943. this Thunderbolt became the ...llned alrcralt 01 Lt Lawrence H Bouchard, who christened It Mary. It suffered battle damq. on at "ast one occasion, but nev.rthe.....ndured with the 369th FS until the unlt·s converslon to P-51Bs In May 1944. At this time 42-8545 had completed that! 40 combat SOft.... Its c,ew chief was Sgt Floyd My'",
tnOf.
were not subJoct to a general programme of However, whUe large fuel loads could be carried externally, once the auXIliary tankS were Jettisoned for corrbat actIOn. the P-47's rqe .....as limited by the need to retain sufflCfent
camouflaae paint apphcatJOt'l. The degree 01 accepUlnCe of thiS advICe - no
Internal ruel to make the return fllgtlt to England. This was the limltmg factor on P-47 range whICh. althOugtl doubled Since operatlOf'ls began. was restr1C'ted to 350 miles 'rom base The Thunderbolt had a slOW rate of climb compared with the other frontline both AxiS and Allied, but at altitudes about 25.000 it was as last 85 the opposition In level 'flIghl
oroo to eatry out thiS work IS known - vaned considerably between the four P-47 Ifoups lnvotved. The 56th FG. leading In colOurful
:
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The elgtlt O.5Q.cahbte guns provided excellent destructIVe firepower, and In the hands of PIlots who knew how to use the aircralt to their advantage. the P47 became a formidable fighter. Dunng the autumn and winter of 1943-44. the more experienced Thunderbolt units took
62nd FSs. Dark Green and OCean Grey dlsrupllYe
=I~uf;=::e~e::: ~;:,~ng a dive.
underway It had little diffICUlty
a he~ tOil. of enemy fighters engaged dunng escort mISSIOnS for SUrpnSlngly low losses Yet :splte having acqUitted Itself well. the P-47 lacked the long range that was paramount VII; Igtlter Command plans. Only the Meflln-engJned Mustang met thIs requirement.
I~
cemouf\age. and It appears to have been a matter of IndMdual chOece .....,thltl the 61st and
pattern camouflage Similar to that
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P47D-U..ftE 42·75221 of the 375th FS/361st FO, Bottl....m, Me} 1944 Assigned to Capt John W Guck.yson and crewed by S/Sgt A H WaJther and his men, :~.7S221 served wtth the unit from January to May 1944. Guckeyson used It to down two 1091 and destroy a Ju 52/3m and an F1156 by strafing. H. was killed In action on 21 May 1944 when his P·51C was hit by flak durtnc a strafing attack on a train near Standal,
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rqlhters was the most common fonn. bot there were also 81rcraft where a green coat over the uppersurfaces was blOtched wIth grey, The 61st FS had the most dlVCrse schemes. with a few aircraft wearing diSruptive patterns of light and da~ grey on the uppersurfaces.
The 63rd FS had the most conformity In that apart from two aircraft known 10 have had disruptive patterns 0' green and grey. the majority of In-me-field camounage on uppersurfaces only featured a Datil: Gteen coal. UndersideS in all squadrons remained nalural metal finish. However. In the 61s1 FS there were at leest two excepltOos In that the aIrcraft With disruPtIVe patterns of two grey shades also had theIr undersides pamted a pale sky blue. Type identIty bands were not usually carried on the tails of 56th aircraft, and they were not re,nstated 'khere If't-the.field camouflage had been applied. Tall numbers were generally reinstated in yellow, hOwever, atthough there was the odd one or two in black or red. later In 1944 there was less In-the-field camouflage apphcations at the 56th·s base, and some replacement a,rcraft retained the black type identity taIls bands. The 78th FG painted both upper and lower surfaces of Its thunderbolts. although there were always several 'silver' aircraft In operational service thrOUgh the summer of 1944. Only towards the end of thai year were the majOrity of Its aIrcraft to be found In camounage finish. presumably because the palntshop was by then less hard-pressed to carry out this wort<. The colours were Dart< Green 00 uppersurfaces and a pale blue grey on the undersurfaces.
<---.-. -..-. .._.... ...-1l1ltlU;
P-47o-2~E 42-8396 of the 352nd FS/353rd FO, R.ydon, August 1944 An otfglnal combat aircraft of the 352nd FS, 42-8396 was ttrst assltned to Lt William Jordan. When he finished his first tour In May 1944, the fighter was taken over by It luther Avakian, who was subsequently killed "ylng P-47D 42·76195 on 7 June 1944 (his aircraft was downed by flak). When the 3S3rd Fa converted to P-51.Ds, Lucky was tr8Atfened to the 56th FG. where h. retained tta nickname and served .. a War-Weary operational trainer.
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1"-47 Thunderbolt Units of the Eighth Air Force
The P-47 Thunderbolt In the ETO •
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157
The P-47 Thunderbolt In the ETO • •9
. . . N7 thunderbolt Units of the ElaJrth Air Force
Air/Sea Rescue P-47. In the sptln& of 1944 Eighth AIr Force HQ decided to authonse the formatIOn of a prOVl~ unit to assIst the RAF In air/sea rescue (ASR) oper8UOniln the North sea and EncJlsh Channet areas. Twenty-fIVe P-47Ds, mostly WIth high flyInc noul'5, were wIthdrawn 'rom 1lwJndetboIt "oops to form the uM at BolCted, near Colchester, In e8f1y May. Known officially as Detachment B 01 the 65th FW, the m&n miSSIOn of the orpvNtIOn ..... itS to searCh for ditched airmen, and then to &ulde rescue vessels or amptublan 8lrcnm to the rescue. As these spattlnc operatJOfls tl8d to be earned 0lJt at low altitude, It was decXIed that the P047s ShOuld have special hCh VISIbility matkl1lp to lessen the chance of thetr betnC mistakenly attacked by fnendfy 81rCfaft. These mariong.s conSisted of an 1&tnc:h wide yellow band paInted roood the fin and rudder, tallplanes and elevators some 25 II'lChes from the tips. The order also requlfed an UHnc:h yellow band to be painted around each wine some two feet trom the root. but only t\Iroo ....craft are knOWn to h8'o'e had these POinted on. presumably because of the peocWIg applICatIOn of special recogmtJOn marks lor Opel1ttJOO Overlof'd. .All other alra-aft of what became knaom as the ASR SQuadron also had the area extench,. In....ards 14 Inches from the wlf'ClIp$ poutted
IlIC>HT 1'bt1l:.'llTlI1'hN in (loll\1hn 19-11 t U lIill.tll" PI b\nl . ' nl\u..J(·f'l'oI)jl~ '>hi,.. tlw ""m..ul ullht- hud, l~l"l" Ilknllh Nnd 1n.>nlI~fontu.J~tltu''''IK''br,...nl(' ~,fli. .l.,tu.JIhc'~flflbo.:;aI ..... ulinlhrtlcloJ •..,.~ IL.H'Pl 101 U~RIOIlI, htinJt lin""," h, IN' (0. \bllbmkl (.onNOd., Ih., ~n:nfl h.l'UlIl ~ hn'n vuP CU ( Itub ".nI1lC'. P I~ l'hc' '1;1.1) hl:tth
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d.trlo. W'tt0;and ll>c.'o hokXlh('lJ "'Ih mnlnnll~.~' >0«0 heft" on I.. ('.01 Ir-~Ill" (,~I>n:-oJ,.,~ I'-l~l) '~-lMlij
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,}mhoL.f..r:l1J bloIhb.k1oric:~ (,~htr.lJ .. u ~ In 11u.,ThuNJcrboll uo!llJul) l'}.ll ,,1>c.'otK'hJl 11K' gn>UniJ ",th 11, pnlpdlcr "hUe '1n!lnlll».'·,el1.hetm)lr11ckl \IAlUIUIIjI hI d':'"r 11K' Inlll)edule "lT~. (OJ,brc..J.l 'IKe ..rufh.bcU.rollK'llrn"f1loI0 .. 1K"m-. r>ckllle ~nlllK' ~ ()(,tK' "M;J..,~I\)U
yellow. In additIOn, the en&Ine cowt'l'IC 'Wa5 encircled WIth 15-inc:h wide bands of red, white and blue, with red foremost. Most If not all P-47s for ASR duties had their camouflage paInt renewed before the application of Special mark,ngs. When the tatl number was reinstated, ltIe IMlal d1ilt was om,tted on all but the first 8lraaft paInted• and the letters WW, approJlimately 7 1/2 Inches high. were adOed as a suffLJ: or placed below the number. WN stood for WarWe&ry, ,ndlCat,ng that the aircraft was tlme-eJl:plred for combat service. 11'1 the follOWing month this classification was eJltended to all types of combat aircraft that were considered unsuitable lor operational employment. usually simply through age or flying hours. It Is
P--47D-ll-RE 42-75228 of Det8chment B, 65th Aghter Wing, Boded, June 1944 Originally 8sslgned to the 361ft FG, aod Involved In an accident In May 1944, 42-75228 was classlfted War-Weary and became one of the flrst P-47. assl~ to the Air/sea Rucue Squadron. Coded 5F-G, and carrylne the name HARRIET. this aIrcraft served wtth the unit until most of Its P-47s were taken away In May 1945. These Thunderbolts were then dlstrfbuted amongst the fighter eroups 50 as to give P-51 pllots P-47 experience. The 3615t FG received 42·75228. and gave It an all-yellow cowllne. blue Ndder and codes E2-L
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The P-47 11IundertMtlt In .... ITO •
believed that the ASR SqUDdron's aircraft were the first to sport the lIM mal1(lng. The SQuadron was also ldenllfled by the SO 110 code SF of standard P-47 size and pOSitioning IndMdual p1ane-in-SQuadron letters ran from A (the CO's aircraft) through to Y. Only one of the onglr\81 complement was a bare melal finish 8Ircraft (SF-D), and this was also one of the first lOst on search operallOns. In January 1945 the Unit was regutarised as the Sth Emergenc.y Rescue Squadron, and upon moving from BolCled to H8Jesworth, In Suffolk, It recetVCd some bare metal finiSh replacement P-47Ds.
·I).Day StripeS' Prior to the cross-Channel Irwasion of the
contltlent In June 1944. It had been decided that all taetJC81 types would be pamted WIth very dlStinctNe maoongs to indiC8te to even the most ttigger-happy member of the Allied forces that an aircraft was friendly. Desplte training In aIrcraft recognition, the general standard was poor, and there were often incidents where rnendly aircraft had been attacked by their own side. The markings selected were similar to those used previously on the UndersideS of RAF Hawker Typhoons in response to the type being mistaken for the Fw 190. For Operation Overlord, these consisted of aJlernaling stripes or black and while. encircling the wings and mid-fuselage. For slngle-englned fighlers. each str1pe was required to be 18 inches wide. alternating white, black, white, black and white. On the wings, the edge of the OUler band was to be six Inches from the Inner edge of the natJonallnslgnia, and on the fuselage the edge of tho rearmost white band hDd to be 18 Inches forward of the leading edge of the tallplane. These InSlrucUons could not be met on P-47 wings owing to the sizo of the national Insignia. so the general rule was 10 place the ouler edge of tho first white band on the uppersurface of P-47~22"RE 42·28024 of the 8lat FS/58th FO, Boded, July 1844 Received by the 56th FG In May 1944, 42·26024 was ... I&ned to llt Steven Gerkk .. a replacement for an older model P-470 wnlch wu also coded HV-o. Gerlck w.. credited with five aerial victories, although only one was Kored with thl. aircraft, Both air and ground claims were recorded by the cross symbols on the .kki of the fiChter. When Gerkk was tran.fetred to the 49Sth FlG to serve a. an Instructor, 42·26024 w.. used by several other pllots until It was finally retired In January 1.94S.
......71).2O-RE 42·765M of tM 3I1st Fa/Heth Fa, ~ HeMh., July 1944 Received In March 1.944, tNs .rcrM was ~ to capt n-nas F Baley, who narMd It Zombie. When 8IlI1ey comp6eted ' " tour the foI~ Jut)'. 42·76594 .... pauod on to Lt ROf\IIId J Upp. who Iuld fttI inclMdual Mlttef chanCed from c to U. Its crew cNef ttIfouChout thll period w. .
see Joseph Weber. Hot. the ftCtrter'.
rate 'bkJwn'
Malcolm hood.
the lett wing unmedlately adjacent to the blue border of the national inSignia. approXImately
14/101'1:": A ... ud) on blx:kantJ whllc ·J).D~) Stripe"011 1·...j7J),\\X·IIIHM ..... orthc:R2ml f\ nu. alrcnll \\;,L)lIl»nol"nnl O\~r lhc QunMl hj IJ llo!UlllCltana/tn 11 \\"a.'i hll h, flu"", I" So;-l"Icmbcr 19'" II" Ul\fl \\:1.)
n,111Jl.in
)Uppon oilhi£' 1I1moll'llr
11\''2.'1onor lIolb.-l.ll thellmc
eight feet and nine inches from the Wlngtlp. On the undersides of the WIngs. this pieced the 'bar' of the national Insignia completely wlth,n the banding, but lett it ooscured. The actual width of
the wing bands varied. and some were as much
as 20 Inches wide on certain aircraft. The demarcation point for applying the bands to the fuselage was the forward edge of the taltwheel doors. National manungs were not to be covered by these bands, and SQuadron codes were In the main mosUy unobscured where they were overpalnted In the hasto to apply these bands, they Yl'ere quickly reinstated. tn the laner case. the foremost white band usually covered one character of the squadron code, and it was common practJce to repaint the letter In black on the ¥It'ute banet KnoYm popular1y 8S 'D-Day Stripes' or 'Invasion Stnpes', the bandlTlg was offICially designated the Allied Expeditionary Air Forces DistinctIVe MaMting, and was ordefed for application on the evening of 3 June 1944. All re-marklng had to be completed Wlthm 48 hours. From 4 July, the stripes were relTlO\led from the uppersurfaces of fighters to 8\IOid compromlSll'll camouflage. followed by an Inst.ruetlon that between 25 August and 10 september the un6erwi~ stnpes were to be remcJYed too. The remalMlg D-Day stnpes on the lOwer fuselage, wtldl on P-47s extended up to the lower edges of the national InSignia. remained until an inst1UCtJOl"l of 31 December ordered their removal. By then the 56th and 78th FGs ~e the only Eighth Au Force fl&fl1er groups stili flying the type. As the 78th was about to go operatJonal on the P·51, and the 56th was expecting all Its P-47Ds to be replaced With the P-47M. little wortl. was done by these groups to remove the under fuselage Stnpes,
.... 804/.4\I)UJT
lkibtdlft 14') ~roUN UI-L tu..l the lc1tnll(lIlbc.\~Ilh}
rodc-~rdOl)thc
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"""'-
'Superbolts' •
82 • P-47 Thunderbolt Unit. of the Ell&hth Air FOI'ce
RIC,ln Intho;\t1thf(, thcN.... .. ;m,J .. luto:
'<'fflnnMnif
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hn"'«n"f"lil MloJ '<'p:nDN1'l'Hllk .al.. I,"Uimn! ,lQC' X'rW
TllcUTI)Q/)dIo ......
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on_hocu......
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-'--.
P~7p..25-R£ 42-28455 of the 350th fSj353td FG, R.ydon, June 1944 Received by the 353rd FG In June 1944. 42·26455 was auiCMd to 1ll Kenneth Chetwood, bmlll.rty known as 'CtM»o Choo' because of his penchant fOf ahootJnc-up enemy trains. This was the lnt of Chetwood'. "'Ie P-47s. The alfcnIfT: remained wtth the 350th FS untJllU converskln to MUllanp In ~Gbe,. It was aatvaced In November 1944.
'Superbolts' n May 1944 the first P-47[).2S.REs arnved In the UK, and all four of the remallUO& ThundeIboIt woops had receIVed a few examples of thJs new model prl(l( to [).()ay, 6 June. The ()'25, and all subSeQuent P-47 models, were diStingUished by a cut down rear fuselage and a clear 'bubble' cockPit canopy, affording the Pilot an alk"oond VM!W. An antJ.dazzle Olive Drab paint fairing extended along the top of the fuselage from the rear of the caoopy to 8 polnt at the base of the fin leading edgO. The new model also had a small. but welcome, Increase In its Integral fuel tankage, In the 78th and 356th FGs, most 'bubble top' replacements were g.rven lrKhe-fiekl camouflage. as were several received by the 56th FG, When these aircraft received camouflage, the cockpit canopy was usually removed before Spraying. This accounts for many 01 the camouflaged 'bubble top' P-47s still having bare metal canopy frames.
I
P-47D-2&RE 42·28283 of the 360th FSj356th FG, Martlesham Heath, August 1944 Rlfilrr A....pro:IILm.lldy ;>""umhUlcrl).D.I). IlKth.lUlCllI ....UIP'C"
\u'Rol'l'lTIO\'C'dfromlhc ul"'Pt"UrlA<.:C"\of bllth lhe' >"lllp md (~~ Tllc' U\crp.lInlco.l ... npn ~clart\lhrouAA
on the"
rU"Cb~u(
pl-r)ll·l'l'l.H"<.ol lhot' WIIhf IJ%c.hf(, TlIi~
.IlJ'l:ml .....~
'''"lVJUl/\ rn.Tl~n1.11 \llnlr.h.lmllr.llh .. nh lUlunJ mrul rmkh /I .. ~~chn,(..-nt'd 1k1<.,U l'rJ'nbypiJotlJ Ro!'ln1(.lrol......, .. h<) nc--lhrhulLollu.\-O ......._InUbrl ..TCn .I
\~olnd"'<J\~
I?-Illklilb."ht:dh" Inwlftlc-hl'w"..I?-I'i, b\ .. ~hllflX'hc,u.\ Il)VIJl.lP·'i11)
AssiCMd to Capt Raymond R Withe,.. In August 1944, this machine was named KATHlEEN AHNfof his as was his previous P-470 (42-22535). Ourtng his toor. Wlthera claimed three aerlaI victories whiM! flying ThunderbottA and one p'loting a Mustang. His 'bubble top' P-470 had the standard i,..ttle-ftekl camouflage gJven to prac:tJc.altf ail 356th FG Thunderbotts recelYed in natural
w"",
metal ftnish - uppersurlac:es sprayed dark creen, The undersurfaces remained bale metal.
83
'Superbolts' • 85
14 • .....7 Thunderbolt Units of the EI-"'h Air Force
Illt,,11 '\UHJ/1I11
Nih'" 11K" fiN .. '-I)·.!'\n..
....,I,
O;-QU;...... "C"I(C" ",lh
thcEiWlth\lth.......... 1I1 thco;n.J''''IJ.I\lli lbl" fiN nMIlpk 1n"TI,ai m the V.(..h H. ,II ".anlotwn Ik.llb'Aul!.!bll\ ",tu..hlbc:(O.(...1
I'hIlir M .... l'.,l ... ,tu, I'tt"lfl.oi,llf\;1'aftlJ1"c: .dI'\('Il;hllwn.lnb..ll
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.............. .... ~
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.. bhc:.andwl..l.ll mWr ..... ~""
For 8 whIle the new model was unoffICialI)' referred to as the 'Supelboft' wIthin the Eighth AIr Force fli,ner groups. but as 'bubble tops'
P-47D-28-R£ 42·2&878 of the 84th FS/78th FG, Durlord, october 1944 Thl. alrcr8ft was received at Duxford In september 1944 and nsJCned to 1U F,..,.k E Oller. He named the fighter ElIHn and decorated ft with a wasp Inslenla, both marklncs belnC similar to the pef$Gnal motifs that adomed his prevk>u. P~7D. This Thundefbolt remained with the 78th FG unUI the croup's converabl to Mustatlp In December 1944, when It was Mnt to the 56th FG as an attrttlon replacement.
became the norm so this term fell out of use. In post·war years the nICkname . Jug' came Into popular use for the P-4 7. but thiS was fately rf ever used In the Eighth Au Force dunne WOOd War 2. 'Jug' appears to have been 8 popular
tag
at Republic's EvanSVIlle
factory, and whIle the oogin is obscure, It has been claImed to be both a derivation of Juggernaut and a likening to a Jug shape. In SCptember 1944, aircraft of the 63rd
FS/56th
FG,
which
had
hitherto
been
recognised through not having a special rudder colour, had their rudders painted sky blue. The followmg month the Eighth Air Force proposed coloured rudders as an additional sQuadron marking for other fighter squadrons whk:h did not already have a prominent tall marking. Coloured rudders
had originated with the 56th FG earlier In the year. but by the time this
form of marking was elClended to other groups In late October/early November 1944, only one other outfit still flew Thunderbolts - the 78th
FG. The 78th painted the rudders of Its 82nd, 83rd
and 84th FSs red. white and black respectively. This new marking partially covered the type Identity band on the rudder, which was nOl replaced. I P-47~28-RE 44-19777
of the 82nd FS/78th FG, Duxford, OCtober 1944
A replacement received In 'silver' flnlsh by the 78th FG In late September 1944 and .s.llP'led to Capt Donald C Hart, this machine was dUly given the Itandard group hHh&fleld camouflage scheme of dark green upper- and blue-grey undersurface•• The fighter remained In service at Dwcford until late January 1945, when It was transferred to the 63rd FS/SGth FG and failed to return from a mission to Berlin on 3 February 1945. It was being flown on thl. occask>n by Lt David M Magel, who was killed when his fighter was bounced by Fw 1901 IOIJttHIast of Berlin.
t
'I 1\1) 1//(;117': 1\0,'0 of the n~ l>..j-D-l~-RE~ rn:el\fij b) lhe: .\'i\f\:ll(, Il-lM'i~ Ut .......hlch beame l.t Krnnnh Chn..VO
1fT PhllCClftnIf'hnlaftcrhh;KI
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tbt'dlDt - .... nl.W) 19-1'i. In tunng -.llftllud 01 hbclo. rode kuen It ~ 10 l.t Fnnk A Ogden "'bD~n1'iI~(and
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19-1~
68 •
1"-47 Thunderbolt Units of the Eighth Air Force
IU(.lfl
'Superbolts' •
67
1~("'dc-n.1uc
v~
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In
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1£,.." ~''CT'mlttLl~t>I!-H1'" QIY"-ulllticlunl(;,IIMIC'. moun! ;,01 I~ IUDC' Ihb phocOjU;lph ..""UI:;>kcn in Ih(o I;UC'\UlTllnCfo( 19-11 Il) Ih~-,I"4tC,n'brUC'C'r 'Ibt:>o.'\bt>O&'b;·tudbttnnllC'd "ilh "" un~inlN n:pbccnlC'm C'200P)M""h.c.C'r.IlOlhrr,\(.hl 1"'t.>~I-~ 1!.fl'iIO.propdkr ~plnncr""b<.lccorJIN""lhJmJ
.pinl GilkllC nn. -I mh.-.on_ l'i romD:lI hou ... )ln Ih.,. nu bcl"Ccnjunc:l.nd 'O\"1:"ml)("r I')ll Ihcbulkoflhcm In 1l""''i1O (l~1
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~
As previously mentioned, the only Eighth Air Force fighter group to retain the Thunderbolt throughout hostilities was the 56th, and It receiVed Its first P-47Ms In January 1945 - It Voas scheduled to receive the total productIon of thiS model. wtuch ran to just 108 a'rcraft. Basically. the P-41M was a late ().model alfframe With the Pran & Wtlltney C type version of tile excellent R·2800 raellal. gIVing It a lOP speed of 460 mph, wtllCh made rt the fastest propeller-drrven fighter to see action In World War 2. UnfOftunately. thiS change 01 po.
and
restncted the use of thiS model dunng February March 1945. For the P-47M, each of the three SQuadrons WIthin the 56th devised and used d,stlnctf\ camouflage paint schemes on the uppersurfaces. The 61st FS used matt bladl:. wtllch appeared 10 have a purplish tmge. The precise shade has not been IdentlflCd. but It 's be e"'o'ed to ha\-e
been a mixture of two shades from Bntlsh sourced paints. Because the InStgrlla Blue outline of the NatiOnal InSignia was less apparent against thiS black camouflage. that on the upper .... ,ng and fuselage was renclered In a light blue. The red rUdder had a white hne to ItS leading edge. and the red cowling band was also gl...en 8 whIte lme demarcatlOO against the black. Code letters .....e re also pamted in red. outlined ....,th ....tllte. and the ta,l number was reinstated In led. 6200 FS P-47Ms all had 8 d,srup\NC pattem of Dark Green and grey. the latter believed to be Sea
Ill/IIA n..r_ t.>-t-\l ( ~1Il"'\ rn.n>rdb,-Ihc'6tb K ..... ~ I O puup(.l.l(Q )n-.;-
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br"
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.... 1C'd
.........,.I9-t'
. . • N7 Thunderbolt Units of the EI...... Air Force
'superbolts' • 89
UJ7 f'-t-~Hlllfi'I'f''''''tbI't.j,d~ f(, .. '"" p;arlc'd.,. •• bo,"lrd ~ po" 11II lht ~ullY4~ Thrdhnlp.n'C'C~• .,. ....... ..tgdn.JlhhlIC' .. llhtbl'naddn ..... bri:I DUalbc1'.,..,nuOlhn"ohak c;...k.lm
\ ~ ..ho ne- the l.c ,,, '*".- c ~ boun III lbct -=tww Ik , t - d ",o.Kftll t'k1onn ~ ,u..,r2f.. ...ulltK'bantw1lll:~• .... llltl)~tbI'counc«lr-J........ , . , . . . .
IOaftd 16Apnl1W'o:rdn'.otId~.. ~
P··UM-I-RE 44-21228 of the 82nd FS/58th FG, Boated,
_ch iNS
Dellve,od to Bolfted In Febnlal')' 1945 In N1u,.1 met.1 tlnl.h. 44-21228 receIved the 62nd FS cofour scheme of 1n-ttMt-ftekl camouftac:e emptor1nc a disruptive pattem of dark &rHn and cre, on the uppersurfaeel. Flown by U Andrew Kopn and other p1'ou of the squadron on operation•. tn" P-47M was also used for trlall wttl'! amok. dllpenllnc:
equipment.
Grey. Rudder and code letters were In US Identification Yellow, or a BrIllsh equivalent. and lhe t811 number was also applied in this Shade. 63rd FS P-47Ms all had a diSruptive pattern of two blues. These are believed to have been Dark Mediterranean Blue and Azure Blue. the former
being Slightly lighter than Insignia Blue. and the latter Ughte, than Ihe Sky Blue rudder Shade. The tail number was as me rudder colour, but the code letters were formed by masking the shapes to produce them as bare metal. The undersides of the P-47Ms 'rom all three squadrons were left as bare melal finish. FOllowing \lE·Day, P-47Ms received by the group were left In bare metal finish, carrying the usual black code and tail number.
P-47M·1·RE 44--21175 of the 63rd FS/58th FO, Boded, June 1945 Received at Boxted lu.t as the war ended, thl. aircraft remained unpainted. It wa. I'.ued to 49-mlsslon veteran It Paul C Dawsoo, and adorned with the 63rd FS's blue rudder, along with the group's red cowling. In June, 8 reque.t was received by the troup from the Eighth Air Force for them to supply a P-47 to display at the victory expo.ltlon that WItS to be held beneath the Elffel Tower, In Paris. 44-2U75 was selected due h to already beln&, marked with UN·Z code. - the letters used by the 56th's famous CO, 'Hub' Zemke, SultalMe titlIng denoting the group's nickname wa. 01'0 applied, as was Zemke's "nal kill tally (InclUding both aerial and ground .traflng vlctorle.). The P-47 never returned from France.
Operational Training Thunderbolts To afford fighter pilOts newly arrived from US tralnmg establiShments ....lth theatre loooctllnat!OO, an operauooal training organisatIOn was set up at Atcham. m Shropshrre.
In
1943. Twoo
provisional squadrons were formed in August that )'ear. the 2908th and 2909ttl. and these ~re giVen the SO 110 codes VM and DQ respectIVely. The codes were palflted on the squadrons' P-47s in the standard size and colour.....lth most of the orlgInal alT"Craft being retlfed CmodeIS. However, sevefal of the Atcham P-47s also earned the code LA It is speculated that this code
was assigned to aircraft operated directly under the control of the provISlOO81 group. the
2906th. In December 1943 the OfgamsatlOn was regulansed as the 495th FIghter Tramlng Group (FTG) and the two squ9drons as the 551st and 552nd Fighter Traln~ retaining VM and DQ codes tespectNely. The code
SQuadrons. LA conunued to be seen on some Mcham
aircraft until spring 1944. By June 1944 there were over 70 P-47s a1 Atcham. the 495th
both Eighth and Ninth Adr Forces
serwc
In I)rCMCbng freShmen P-47 pilOts 'IfIolth theatre 1Odoctnn8t1On.
At this time each unit was Of&ar\lsed into two training squadrons. the 551s1 as A and B squ9drons and the 55200 as CandO squadrons. Those aircraft operated by A Squadron
were
distinguished by red engine COWling bands and red ruc:k'efS. B SQu8dn:lfl by yellow nose bands
'Superbona' • 71
70 • P-47 Thunderbo" Un"_ of the EIIlhth Air Force
P-47~2-RA 42-22481 of the 552nd "I/.'SUI "0, A'm.a., June 1844 This mKhlne Inftlally served wtth the 62nd FS/56th FG. wher. It wu ...I&ned to It Ralph Johnson and named Kentucky Pud 11- he used it to claim two Sf 110. destroyed over Papenburc on 26 November 1943. Retired from combat In the uri)' .pttnc 0' 1944, the aircraft was passed to the OTU at Atcham, wher.1t wa. declared ,,/v8&_ afte, a crashlandlna: In Autust 1944.
the WW suffix to the tall number. Most IndMdualletters were barred. Aftef VE.Qay. aU 14 P·51 one P-47 per squadron IOf traInIng. the reason bell"lg that rt was ~xpected
groups were assIgned and rudders. C Squadron by blue nose bands and rudders and 0 Squadron by while nose bands and rudders. It IS also believed that Atchanrbased P.il7s v.lth hght green nose bands were aSSigned to HQ pilOts - green-nosed Thunderbolts carrying VM or DO codes were noted.
that If reassigned to the paafJC war theatre, these UMS mlif\t be re-equlpped .. th the
IOn&-
range P-47N. All the Mustang groops decorated the P-47s recerved with theIr group colours, codes and 1(1 some cases special markuJgS as C81'ned by theIr DTlJ P·51s - lI'l the 4th Fe. thIS consISted of a
'D-Day SUlpeS' were not marked on Atcham aircraft, and when replacements ....ere delivered with these mal1tings they were removed. Atcham P·...H s also carne 10 carry the WW fin maoong 10 yellow or black as appropnate.
horizontally banded rudder In red, whrte and blue. SImilarlY, In the 352nd fG the ruckIer bandKC was red, yellow and blue. One final oddIty was the 78th fG's two-seat conversIOn P-47D, wNch
In. the wrnter of 1944-45 the 495th FTG was gradually reducoo to 8 non-flying status, operatIonal training of replacement pllols being transferred to the combat groups. This was due partly to the higher proficiency 01 training at US replacement centres and a belief that new pilots would
was paInted overall dant blue post-war. From 11 May 1945, In common WIth all Eigtlth Air Force aircraft in the UK, ThuncIerbolts carned their unIt codes In black under the rlgtlt Wing. This marit1ng was IntrOduced as an antr
be bener indoctrinated with the combat unit to which they were assigned. Each Eighth Air Force group duly eSlablished an operaUonal training unit (DTU), with up to a dozen War.Weary aircraft. In both the 56th and
with the top of the character towards the leading edge of the wing.
low flying measure to make It easier IOf those who transgressed by flying dangerously low to be identrfied and reported. The code characters were each approXimately 36 inches by 24 Inches,
P47M·l-RE 44-21202 of the 6ht FS/56th FG, Boded, June 1945
78th FGs, the DTU aircraft were shared between the squadrons, and carried no spedal makings other than
Received at Boxted In February 1945 In natural metal finish, and gtven the standard 6ut FS ~ack paint scheme desle:ned fOf Its P-47Ms, this aircraft replaced the fI,.t HY.pcoded M-model that ex-bomber pilot It Geore:e Bradley crashed on 9 February 1945. Named Joy Boy, 44-21202 was used by several pilot., and remained at Boned unUi September that year when It was flown to Burtonwood tor Krapplnc:.
ABOII ,1\0 U~T ,,"n:;: \lM'\lnl) .... i-~ .. C1'l'
modJkd lluntl$llhc' fuul monltu 0( ho-ubllt" 1<> uLt I ~b)tdonll~" Dtho;antl(lthcrnjUl~
fromdltt'c11\ hc'tunoJlhr
COCkpiIP-I-UI!_,;("''''_ Ur ~WCb FC, rnr cod.ptl
~l..vn~f't'tOIl-dlr ba~
",,,rmI'"
'" rnodJkd \l
how
"f"7I'l:'dO\"".&lld.u\h/ur po.l:- .. ~r.lht'lJw'J (",Ilk FGnn !x" '>«I)SU- ..
-a
}"dkw. undn'lhckh .....
72 • N7 Thunderbott Unit. of the EI~ Air Force
RI(.,"
'Superbolts' •
~~t "l.nll~ ,,",\"\I
Iln~l hum"," JIl'I"'r.'lh.ln tiM' Ij!lJllhAl, ...lI'(c "'"lJl<,UlrduOt" OfI.... ", ..r\\rJryl"-.{ofu-.rlnnlQnll,)f1l1j1l lWfIIJo1I
I,Mn In tht ....mmrrf,( I'H. r-....h
lhllnll;In thc-(I\ll1Iltnc'.-.,
\\1'I"llhtl\<"~llhIV~h
rc.ol"lI.n.h.It\lIIlIQ.I.1,.11 \\1Irn ITIIlT'll,thc:' l'Xth ~l(. -tnJ'flC'\lIMTht1l'llk'mnll\l'lt,
~1II11u1('llC'''''In:llllltft\l'I''l)ilJnOl'>CI'\t'd
C.&mt~J'.llf'IIlnl~11'lllth
...
73
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~
...... ,I'fl'bnl nJoUnd the' 1lO)<,(' Thl.llll"'~'" ..,ruIh ,.._ . . . .('\1..00
noulb!llE' tln,~ ",'~h h.Ill hro'n ,h n du11lt'"'11 'pr:l)nJ on II~ u~r
..."./thcfu.o:bJItC
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opt"l'"~tkm~ ""Ih
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wnUW " WOl.~ rnirnlto ~nt' ;l5mon' ;a!n:l':lh;otAI(1\.o l'nlillht'~orl9-jl
am::l':lh or tbt' 1~lh f'T(... "*f onJ)bt'tluI~IJ).., it'tln<'Om/"oln;lliorbf>Q,IA \'\'A1locht'rnurUn!t'"rr lb\U.ll)tl~;lpplktlhttl
Prt'\iou.~ o"nt'r l!'-~l!'),
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"'hm lu back
"''b
brof.m 100 ,
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dooo_rr..-.OIIIlboIII~
14i".! ...·Hl,)l.. J'ft"iouoh' ..:r-nl .~
tn.'
.. >lhtht'l""n,If ~ te•• l>U~unCiI • ...--.J '>IJh-.utI1.wtullk~
lilf"n IllJlh-nnl1nll "tflCrnofl('ft .... qwral ThunoJato..lt. from lhot 1'»">thFTC,foru'loO:" .... 1~I\OlJ'J"Jn'f1'I.ItU
(lfl,(,"l(;hc:umrlc:",,,,, 1',-1)1!-2(,(.3-\\Il'. "'hKh"'''''\l-a.!b) \1;11 C.cn\\£BUl);cpnn'. CJlrIl.f1Wlt1anll;(oeotnl uf\lJlI~n (A;>fJll1Un(l '3lIX'd N _ _ ".dh~;lligtu lVttn~b~nd
LEfT .. 1-0 11 !.r'JI1 haoJ fin :md n.Jr.ko1' .In:onlnJ
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,
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74 ......7 Thunderbolt Units of the EIl&hth Air Force
'SUperboits' •
1117 ..
IH-T l~\HlIhllC'.rl·Utno:lOlll'''''lf1altul" 110< \,omNIMInlo"'~"'"hlhthl~ I 1.>11\.\
I~.r,rwd j
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.... - . . - . k • ....-dlhr.,.:oup'
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75
the' i6tdI 1<...
rbr~,,'l9-t~
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JIlr11c'd tin ,ho;- IJII1~· )t'll."" I~U numl..., tUIU",' tl>(' full «r'UJ IlIUllhn I~. the' hlPIM:1l
III/tIM 1l1c U~h H. ;aPrlIl'd lIlodl..d ..... ,,"1m <JIt •• p . . . M P.... Ir'lIIl1t11 ....n.ml .. ~httI, r«~ P .-" ,ll.r""i Ib.MJ no....
fIRTI'*"'"
;U I'J..( ("".'10.1 ""Ih lbe \~/lIlb I \l,I'" H, ..... 01 dk"n:d ,«;nh. . . . . . . on \1..ut.tlI9tll~lhUPWonlbc"'twItboc tht6&flktbaoJhcaI Hf'JOU
~"}'l,II~I.W\II(JII'(."""'''(~'-'''''''''''~
The t:J6ch 1""110 Ill,) numt.;l\llIr\l nov'" ,.,
tllr""i.,..wntll'thr~IX'Ilcw-"''Io(padro''''~.~W
1cll'1"U"Oflllullr-'noJc.khotl~ntrinl,
mdo
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mulIK'»'/Uf'nJ 'hnlo.C'fb,l;lnj Th" tIUfl:lll;jt lTUolkupotjlt'ttfl Nokl.lt'Ol,..~,ntl.. hll" ,hn;!,"" m ft."\. llul r,lfl dug",urt) b.a(l lnom lh(-fnlllllolhtl't"""oIthr''''''''f1Il- 'Ol'Olk
un Ihrlln
InIC'f'lo ""0C"n' C'ln'IrIJ on lhe fu'OC'bp:
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thb 1'-1-\1 ... tu..iltud h«nu.aJlOrofl"'\J1IC'f'lu.!. n. ~lflJtdon A.-..k (rom 111lr'ullk 1.1-11, li-lll I.\;al..olud " mJ
10 R'ttl\..:
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tu.l .... - n ~ .."OGIhIc-Iltu.l.ann-n! .ft<.,,,In1l1ln\(-I'lI\
•...perboIt.. • 77
71 • .....7 'I1Iunderbolt Unit. of the EI~ Air Forc.
On the same Mf.eld, EI&t1th TechnlCall OpeUltlOfls also I\aCI one ew tYrO Thu~ts Itl hand for last purposes. the" earr)'!"1 standard P 47 mar1<.lnp and the Ul'\lt code Q3 Th~ ewpnlS8tlOfl had Pl'8VIOU1ty beef't the ~r TechnICal Sectl()(l of VlII Rgnter Command.
IJIIl'"C
the
code VQ on Its P-47•. The "&htM ....,"1 headquarters fhgtlt. also I\aCI P-47s on suerc.tJ1. ""th red and 'llthil.e a1l,ernetl"
.tnpe. mal1unt the
noMS of alrCfaft
assl&ned to the 65th fW HQ Aetrt .. Oebden
There were usually twO P-47s on IUencth which (as ""th other ess.cned ~J earned the letters JA _ reachna from left to n&,ht. the J w
on one aida of the natJOnaI ,~ end the A
on the other. Sa. lind coklur conformed to normal P-47 mar1l.l,.,s practlC8, but no If'IdrvIduIII SlrCfah. Iettet' ....as earned. tl has been sugested that the JA stood few Jesse Auton, the ~.. CIOI'I'VT'Iaf1dlng the 65th PH Post VE-Day. ...men unde!'w'n& codes "Nt'M'e tnuoduced. tne 65Ul FW m8f1ur"I& w"its diSplayed as j.A·1. the numeraJ b8trC the If'ldI'r'lduaJ identity. lind d fferent on each of the wlJ'lC'S aIrcraft. The P47. of the 66th FW
HQ
Aetrt had c::heckettIC*d
rnar1Ol'CS of s.mrlar pattern end size
to that earned by 78th FG ThunderbOlts. The fOWS of lQUafes..,.. red. white. &1een. yeIow and
b1~ m that ordel'.....,th vanallOfl by one square If'l adJOlnlf\l rOW'S SO that. for e~, the red
P-47[>.25-RE 42·26637 of the 551at nlj••5th nQ, Hethel, Au,...t 1 .... Unlike most aircraft ."l&ned to the 495th FlG. 42·26637 w.. I'IOt • Wa,.wea" aircraft: retired from • combllt Iroup. It was .cqulred to Pfovkte M-J Oen 'Bill' Kepner Command1nc General of VIII AChier Command, with. "Chle, which he could UN on SOft'"
oPeration.,
albeit that none wer. over enemy 'anftory. When Kepner beca",. the Command1nc Gene "
r.
of the 2nd Bomb DlvtsJon In Aucust 1944, 42.26637 remained hi. persoMl nt nd based at Hethel alrfteld. In Norfolk. not hi, from hi. twIadqu.rte,... mou •• was
P-47e-.ttE 414380 of the 448th Bomb GrouP. s.ethlnc. July 1944 In the summer of 1944 BChth AIr Force heaY)' bombardment poups were each ~ two Waf-Weary TlntncM~ to allow senlOf oH\c4IfS to obServe and direct the assemllly of their rnasaJve bombef formation. _ • fast and ~ aircraft was requitM to accomplWl thl. task. One of the Thunde~ Hnt to the 448th BG at 5ee'thIn&. In Norfolk, w.. P-47C 41~380, wtlk:h gcj pr.~y Hrved wfth the 49Sth FTG. SlrtppM of It. tralnlne codes. the .Ircraft WH painted up wfth marldnCS similar to those c.afflecI on the croup'. 8024•.
P-47s in other units A handful of ThunderbOlts were also on the strength of other EIghth Air Force uMS to( various purposes. For example. the Eighth Air Force HQ Squadron at Bovlngdon had at IUTles 8 collection of up 10 a dozen Of more dIfferent types for Its offlcers to use on official dutlOS. or 10 maintain their reqUIred nylng hours. A P47 was Included In this 'leet, the longest serving bemg 8 [).11. RE model Inhenlcd from the 495th FTG that continued to carry the code VM-g.
P-47D-~E 42-8619 of the 334th FS/4th FO, hbden, May 1941 In May 1945 aU P-51-equlpped nghter Croups were Informed that they would receive two or th,ee P47s so that pilots could gaIn expenence on the type. It w.s expected that on transfer to the Paclne. many pilots mleht be .sslened to units "ylne the lone-rance P....7N With a reduced ,equlrement for alr/.e. rescue, the P47s of the 5th Emelcency Rescue . ~uadron we,e used for this purpose, with one of those received by the 4th FO belna: 2-8619. A..I£ned to the 334th FS, the .Ircraft w.s elven the appropnate Operational Tralnlnc Unit markings. Twelve months earlier. this machine had Initially been Issued to the 355th FG, the Thunderbolt continuing Ita combat employment .s LM-Q with the 56th FG
~~~:,c~~~e:ha:r:::~~i'w~:;:':: ~K~tachment
B, 65th AChter Wine In
• SQuares rose diagonally from front to rear. No CO()es ew fndMdual aircraft letters were camec:l on
the fuselages of the 66th FW Thunderbolts. Post......ar UnderwlIC 'buZZ' codes were 66FW, followed by a hyphen and an fndMdual!ette,. No Special mat1uICs are known for 67th FW P-47s The Eighth Air Force's four gunnery lind tow-t8f&et n18t'ltS used W8f-weary P-47s for tOVottC drogue targets, although the most ecttve and Pl'0I0fCed use 'Us by the In::I Gunnery lind TOW' Target Al&ht, based at East Wretham. It usually had four ThundefbO/ts on strerCth. wtuch c.neCI the standard P-47 tn>e ldenllty rnarkrrcs In white on eamouftaee firnshe$. These TlY..ndefbOIts were War-Weary examples. With 8 WW prefIX or suffIX to the tall number. Unrt codes ~re U
painted In white In the normal P-47 Size and IocatlOl'\. As worn Thundertlolls became more plefIlIful. they were made available to tlofOOef combat
\\11'1& headquarters for liaison purposes, some pm.,. a tad device that embcXIted the ~ of the combat groups Wlth,n the Wing. Also. In the late 5UI'l"If'f'Ief of 1944 P47s were made available to combat groups few use In morntonna theIr fonnabOnS. By the end of hostJi,tle$ most bomber
groups
had two W8lWeary P-47s 8sscned. end these were usually decked out .... the
colours and Insf&nla earned by the bombers.
'II • N7111underbolt Unite of .... E~ Air F _
Thunderbolts of the Aces
COMUT IIV'OIIT
CAYfAJN JOIl
Officially, the term 'ace' had no place In USAAF'docttlne, but there was htUe restraInt on ~ pUbliC relatlOl'ls personnel embracing this popular accolade. Origmatlnc wIth the French in the FIrst Worid W8l. a PilOt who brought down fl\o<e Of more enemy a,rcraft was accorDed ace status. Wtule the concentrated 81r f'lhtlll& on the Western Front dunng 1914·18 may hlMl allowed for 8 POSl\Ne ident,flC&tJOn of viCtors In the ma;onty 0' combats. the pace and spread of air combat In the second WOOd WiJI frequently did not; and althoulh lun C8mef8 film was standard on US Etghlh A1r Force fl&hters, the interpretatIOn 01 e"QXlsed frames did not always hOld lnHl to wt\8t h«I actually happened. Only in post...... ar years has eYIdenoe been available from bOth sides l'ltliCh shows that In some cases &lrct'l!IIrt credited as deStloyed actualty sUrYl"o1!d. whIle others claimed as prObables
or damaged were desttoyed. The
have to be In doubt, a/bf!lt that. &IY8 or take a w:tOt)' Ot of Indl\oldual prowess and &ood fortune.
preclso 'scores' of many pilots two, the total does gIVe en indlC8!JOl"1
The successful de.sttuellon of enemy aIrcraft In the air dunrc the 5e<:ond WOOd War was often a easo of betng In the right place at the right time, either by fOttune or design. There
was
25ApnJ 19"
11mc"- 0lJ...., htluB lncalJl)fl Sanct :liJficid
ConWI'om .. 10 H,lIOth dooth, \~I) Wr
C'".IdlIl8(~"h"l:night In lhe ,j(;inJI) (JI'\lr'lCl :linIromt:.1 dcddt:d 10 ",nfl:thc'flCld unmcdwd) ~l("fIht:b«fnrnchul.uw.ldk"ru.~IrJfU" bomblRIC il I lnt:w thl\ .'"1) 10 tA-kC' pl..au at 09+0 holn After m::a1I at 091 - boun _"";I ftl'Tn b) our ""'JlUp I
I..;: finl~
BFl(}U
\llj()u)nc
8cT'OftIkftt .. hl. ct.umnJ 1201lu.~ 1-_H_\\l'(It~Ul
ThU/lolJc'rtlo.>h... ;tOO ''''I ''''010. \hlblriahll. "'00 " - dtWon fh"(' 0( hl~ ... \r~m'~l'('r...n IllThundnbolL\. fbnk ~(".nI~\Ulon
.. hon'llUlutldnltll(' 61eh FIX 10,) ",tuch theIlh 1(; br~~ .\UCOfl nuckOI:~\iuouJ OfKr~lk.... ~1 n,ght> ""Ih hI' W'lUp".)oo from lilt kool; of hb lnd the o.xhco", h
enoJ 01,11.'" .uch) fli&tu Ilofh Ik'coonand
\hJ.h Iud b«n COJp(ut't'db} 1hc'~Jrl) "f"lngo( 19-11
saw
c~ l~
t'Ioklr. loward, 'anC')' and crui\C"d atound IhIC' B-I"i. ""tuch "C'rt: aPJ'f'OXhina from thlC' south unaconed 1bc
bllmJ I IDOl o.mC'f':I ~ 0( Ihl~;I("tion and thC'n tumC'd In) ~ upon :J Ju ~2 puled ;u IhC' W'Ulh thC'C'nurt: ~oflhb !ih.lp."hich!lpOUltd fbmn;lUO\vtht' 11....1:
their attacker until it was too late. It was also the ease that
rWlt .. I"ftAI
lJ (;ok hbsccd a tunpr ;II tht: 'iOUIh
t'd8c
ollhc flt'kl, lumaJ kft ~d) and
~ltC'd hod on inlO;l FW 190 "uh:J bbdr;: and)'dJOw chc.'CIr.e:tnJ ~A I~
scores were amassed by those who flew these positions. Some pilots were UnOoubtedty better mar1wnerI, handled their aircraft more expertty and kept a better lookout.
1'JUl]l/)n'ollncmdlu) ~ "'~ ~'Cd on IhC' t'n{lIllC' and wtnK roou.1M 10;1 ft'lNC'd cal'l0Pl hIC' ....'b wubk 10 obst'n~ IhC' ~ :urcrMI cxpkxk.1lili> aploWon
b) lJ ~.lJ Sobicskl,(08ov.~hdun(! and 10thlC' rWt-1 o(lJ
Nevertheless, the 'aIr ace' has become part of popular folklore, With 8dutatiOn for the 'five clown &lOt)' boys', whereas the many pilots who were credIted With four and a $hate in the
(.lIk. hn\il) danu~;I
desltUCtion of another enemy are, unfairly, viewed as 'also rans'.
p.ui.t'd t.in mfDne and
I
""("\T1'. ....';U)ttn
,null buiklintt and l\;lnJt:lr,1UtTOYo1) mi»ulft;l WOOP of norlh ....-01 nf lhe 1inltomc
OJ
W18k crwne )!up:. p.lrlt'd
For the foregoing reasons. the number of Qualifying USAAF fighter aces has generally been
lJ Cibnkkr wn lllO'if'l~ 100 f~ 10 piCk QUI;I UfMd1'be fb#lt prott't"dcd nonh-
reduced In post-wsr years. For example, at one time the 56th FG claimed 56 aces. but this was based on the Inclusion of ground strafing cred.ts.
'hm' tlt:<'ot'lt'r !llorch :lircr:dt p.lrir.ed, tWO In IIle: ....1XXb aiontt Iht' ~ oflhe flckl
C'ot;l~ lhe f"O()(lOp:.of NallC}'.At thct:d1tc oftht' 1000n I !oolwa ~u11 (»~urt:
npn
,,"h
up a)t'lln~ a ctulClU (ob\.i()u)l) a German heldqwnen) I drdC'd
he8Vl1y defencled airfields rated eQual to air victories in an EIghth AIr Force pllol's score. Post.
lurpl} ;lnd came In on Ihe one b) lht' c1uIC:lU II cxpk)dcd ;II lilt: fiNi buNllJ Cok'
war, the USAF historical agencies obviousty decided that aircraft deStlO)'ed on the ground should
IhQroulthl) ~lr-.lfcd lilt: bumintt 1>hlp lmd lhe' cffi!IC:III1 di.S(X'nlnl( K''enl Gcmun
not be rated any differently from the destruction 01 other ground targets by strafing. Therefore,
....Il1ic:r. lJ GlIn"kr follo.....ed wlIll a 1'>imlbr .:Iuac" on tht' bumlntt 1'>Jllp. In an WlOiniJltt field, a ""In-burtt r.ldar il'lSl:allation .... llh ;lCCt"~tio .....:t510C'l11t'd.but II ....-u
the USAFpubUShed listing of USAAF pilots credited WIth destroying enemy aircraft Is confined to aIr comba\.
On current Information, 61 EIghth Air Force pilots rate as P-47 aces. By far and f1.Nay the
cdw: of the' fldd ~ ~n1n C'O'\"t:ftd
thl.. potnll1l) ~ (l"O'olcdO\vmd I ~'f:'d llUkdtc'o.upt
and rb.n'to from IhIC' bornIxd ara ofthlC' fldd
SQuadron and element leaders nearty alWays made the Interception. and most of the higtl
From the spring of 1944, enemy aircraft destroyed In the far more dangerous task of strafing
bea f~ d>btrtn1 tht- nrlfth ntd
... lhe tidd. lhe tunpt an:J. and IhIC' ~(TX:b ara .lIh oo":l!iUllnll: xC"W"X'). and I.&bcr.lU) ~ ~ !he t"fUJ.rt: fldd 11~"1lI' ~tut O\tt ownal('d lhe 11111(" rcqwt'C"d 10 rnrn IhIC' fadd.our fbghl 01 lour ",,",pi Jm\t:d 1OO ~JOn.D the tat bo'~ .. nr IIliD
Yery lItUe duelling In the sky. One dIStingUIshed ftg,hter leader held that nine out of ten fChter pilots shot dOwn never
W GUCKEYSON
\"~Ih I--V:l,(ilw K.
C;lptJohoGud.q_ollht.\-"'ItI~"J!'O"r'~:IIR'f>Otdut
hb combll CTa1tI~on P-1~1) ~2,-"121
lIffi(' 10 " ..11 (or hOOlC. Nt'".lr lJul.:&nCl.1>lilI on dlc dc:ck.1 notkctl:ll bl')tC: ~""I\e1ln'lot' of r-.«1.:Ir !l'Crt:t:n moumcd on:ll drcubrcoocrnl: bbt', lJ Gbnkkr aoo I (U,'<'\l II
largest total Is that of the 56th FG with 40, which Is not surprising, as this was the only group to
IllUbh:' 10 firt:. bUII.t Cole t'".llied if oul to lJ Soble,,,I, ....ho fired;l Iof'll( bunt.:lt III. grt::a.1 nun)' stn"o.at:: ~-ed on II ~ "fler ...."\" c.:hmbC'd
fly the Thunderbolt In combat throughout its operational commitment. The runner up is the 78th
101 I~.OOO fl :md crosx:d out :.11 Dun"i~, Althoup,h al IC;llol 15 ('nml) aircn.fl wt'rt: dc:1'>trD)'Cd on N;mq '" lht' bombt'n.1 ("'o(ltIUlt' 1hcTC' "ett
FG WIth ten P-47 aces, then comes the 353rd FG With five, the 41,h FG With four and the 35200,
355th and 356th with one each. The 358th. 359th and 361st FGs lalled to produce a single ace whilst equipped with the P-47. Indeed, the 358th was ooty operational fOf a few weeks before transferring to the Ninth Air Force, and scored just one aerial victor)' credit dunng this time.
l1~plm "'Ill )('niceablt' when we
left.
TIlt' follo.....lntt cbiOlS:art: nuck:Capc GuckC)')I)fI, I Ju 52 ;lnd I l:jocltt ~orch dcsu'Orcd.lJ Cok',I I'" 190~roycdand 1 Julll¢C'fdolmlfllt"d lJ "'Dbil:,,,I, 1 r.ldar ~ and 2 h;lnttJr'$ danugt'd Ammunilion o.pt'ndcd~Guc"C)wn 7}9 rounds. Cole' IO} 1 rounc:b. SobIc::oJ;l 652 rouncb and Gbnkkr 2% round,
The famous 4th FG, heir to the RAF 'Eagle' SQuadrons, had some 30 aces, although only four of these scored the
Beeson ended up a POW, being shot doWn on 6 MarCh 1944. Personal aircraft usec:I by Hank
reqUisite five kills flylng the P-47. The group's
Mills earned the code QP-Q, the first being P-47C 41.{)191.
mOSI
successful
Individual
WIth
the
'ames A Goodson of the 336th FS was also credited WIth (1Ve vw;:tones f!yIn& P-47s. ThIs
Thunderbolt was Duane W Beeson, who
remal1lab!e P1k)t raIsed hiS total to 14 f'I)'i.-.l P-S1s, and also had 15 ground strafi~ \'Clones to
claImed 12 of hIs 17.333 victories In P-47s-
hiS credrt, wt\en he too was brought down by ground fire and made a pnsoner on 20 June 1944.
11 of these In his personal aIrcraft P-470 42-
Goodson used his ass.gned P-470 42·7959 Vf.W tocl8Jm hIS first VICtim on 22 June 1943. then
7890 QP·B, named BOISE BEE. Beeson's
lee Gover's 41.{)574 Vf.G to shoot down two Fw 1905 on 16 August 1943 and finally \lHmont
remalMli kills came whIle ftylng P-51Bs,
Garrlson's 42·74663 VRi to claim two more FocKe-Wurt" flitlters on 7 January 1944
before he was brought clown by flak and made
Vermont Garrison was credited WIth shootq doWn seYen enemy fChters. an but one wh Ie
a prtsoner on 5 AprIl 1944. Beeson was also
ftyIng P-47s_ He also had 8 thifd..share In ~~ down a 10 88. Garrison used P-47C 41-6573
the first P-47 ace In the 4th FG, achleVlng this
VF-S to claim two Fw 190s on 14 Januar)' 1944, hJs asslglleCl all'Ct8n (42·74663 Vf'.H) to down a Bf 109 on the last day of that month, Willard M,nllUwl"s 41.{)180 IJf-U for an Fw 190 on 6 February, hiS own aIrcraft aga.n fOf a Bf 109 four days later. and finally Lee ~·s 41-6574 Vf.G to destroy an Fw 190 on 25 February. Garnson new F-86 sabres ""'lth the 4th Fct!tet Interceptor WIt'li during the Korean War, shootl~ down ten MIG-1Ss.
accolade 00 the mission of B October 1943. Another 334th FS p11o1 to become a P-47 ace was Henry l Mills With five victories. He
added another ftylng a Mustang, and like
80 • P-47 Thunderbo" Unit. of the EIl&hth Air Force
Thunderbolt. of the Ace. •
81
like the otJ\Cr three Thunderbolt aces of the 4th FG. Garflson had fll'$t served With the RAF. Four other PIlOts of the aroup had SCOl'es of four enemy 81rcraft shot down wtulo f¥nI Thunderbolts - Donald S Gentlle, Roy W Evans, James A CIa~ and Raymond C Care, and these men had also started out 'WIth the RAF 'Eagle' Squadrons, Of the 40 PIlots wOO rated aces .n the 56th Ri, half had at one tlme been membef$ of the 61st FS, The two lOP aces In the ETa most of theIr mlss.ons 'lIrlth thIS SQuadron, Francis S Gabreskl, 'WIth 28 eenaJ YIClOoeS and three by strafing. was ftrlrc hiS assIgned aorcraft fOf 20 of these actIOnS, HIS first ass.gned P-47s were coded HV-f. but the last three he C8fned HVA Ten kdls were c1allTled II'l P-47D 42,75510 HV~ between 29 January and 27 March 1944 While h,s new 'Superbolt', 42'26418, was m the pamtshoP, Gabreski use
new
sconne
new
IROII
(--'J"!
(.~ht"
"lnJ,,~,
1'".....
(.~hfto..ll
till.hltr 1'1101"
,1"fl~"1
lht
,.xl."" "I'/,I\I}.' I' i~C Jtll""lunl 'I t,uhm ",,191\ /1(' tu.JWllud,lmhh lir"ol \kUlI") .. I}("fl tlu_
1'''''''l'h"u*'"'ph ""', t .. l.cn
umlt IU611T nn Jo.;C'
\ ..., tr:llK,.. ( ... hre,ll p"~,jnh"
1'-,-1) l!--~'U() 11\,\ IOh~","un 1'Jllll1c' 'RI'1f' '!mh.." "ef"C ~
1I/,tml.('-,~1
p
I II.()BO lM I. In
It II 6
tJIUfllnofl9U _comnloflpolk') >Up .. oo "IILldrofl "li'~II)w<('..ch " ..In:r.lft ...IK"1l
T"p ""onflJe
.. hJlcMlt! Ill...... m ltul hi'
~~'k""
/l. ,1\r'IUGUr I' .1'
,,>('
Inf""lI'rl,;('nllhJTc ..,r"
h.l'c-,,"UlohcodM..,1nl '''Ihl~''''",~,,,,,
!It('IfT (--'J'I Rubcn'
J"hn"'" In the oKlpll of hI" P_l-I) 1!'~(ll.\1 1""1n \l.m:h 1911
The ax'1tl) l,pa
~
dtran~I'rI,;(>nJcd,n
"'hate' ..lbnllllc1T \IlJ..' nu'UCtlf~laJ.."Ihc'
\11?fJlJ
cl"n flWncr nk:l,-,lllc
W1)
,
.........
HJlr"'T c.ap
J> .-Ull!'*'
. 0-.
\
T
l.arnn!tDbo
(""muu(OIIIb
lbD nnNnn
.....~ 1.JlCT ...JUpiN ItIl' uhH,Db
uno"
cUI IlbIijl:l\LI The I" "IC1......,"lab<1b ~Iamnho.bol
do,w... '" (o("l'lUk'on 19 ........,... l'#II'i1ik fl\~ .. lhe'll"
pjIlf_'.-.h
82 ......7 Thundelboit Unit. of the EI~h Air Force
.
tm;HT l.llP. 1ft'..!
,""
COMBAT REPORT
._u
~"'I-'~:" ,.: ..
1.-anw;.Jlbr
(.()1..0'0. IILUrRT 7J \iKE b"nJl
.. tu.. Oftlbc'kf'l
"'lltbc'~ hili(
-Sll
''''1/)
V"hU,
tJ\.t.I,,:h IIf...
Tunt IIV'I'J IllOhoun
...
UIl.llwmlllll
l'\In.l J..lJil. .. lton
lkeu.a-ll " ...
'
\t~)wuflfU<-lINmlDl'f~;o.rrJ
(~JonlJJI~ " ...
inttr 41)
u.
<.Inud frum It.., 1_' ~1 ••1 It. .Ilh UI
I I" ~/(("h.. deill';and onhm'lcd Jb<",r .,Ih w..-.od 'uibdiI)
A~~(·,:'~:A=~I'.:::7::~7JlJ:" -:U:::;;:' t:~:"~~:=:-": '.II
1l,l(.1.; a (:umh........ Ina 'U~ LIlt' R."U.and.ll bot MJUth 11.- (,I .. f .n rbcc-d Chr' 1ll)f1I~m Ibn" ~nd fln.ll (;lm'lh,;ll ""10K ..t,U/urthcrb.l..... TII("Oo(" P'''''tlUm hdd '''''I'K"M'ty ;lflhnor.""lIhlhcflMhtC'r'lfWolIllutl<" JUU.. .uJ1lKJI!\(.JII)lOl'\c •• Jh";and~lht~ Aller ru.... IOK I)ummc:r ulo., ..clU no d.tn't CfICfIr) .uun tud hc'c'n "CnI bd • .... ,.... dut a (f~nllrallt'd tunc ","1\ IU .."r.ad.&nd (;QUkJ br CofX"-ud Thn irdurnutJIXI bad httD fnXt\
tl.lnd I
"!;"IT
(n"'"cttc"wound.md~"''''nn1. .-t.ITI~ ~.lhc()lwl ~lhn .. Cft'hnna:~Thnf~.on•
.lI
l~kJ!l1
nnnh MwJ"'llh lhcLttot.ut f'C':u,ombu _"'llullhr r~~ , lhnt'" . ~ t-"ol . J . \ hdd b more- ltun ~)~..s wutl J ~ke orr ( fC'J( C,(' J rnJlJ.-J.lr ('l,~ ,\.Illhe' umt rcowxl\ 01 ~ ,"-oaununt fl"X.Ir InlO him lie J\ b,'.1 \C'C'fI ~ dmoo-n In J ~C'C'JI dne IrJJIltIR J mik' ..I, t' ~ he- ~ <,hont) 1hccT'J(ler J 'Ie 109 .... J\ tdnmf.cd ,111 \C""k" dl\Utll,.c 10 lhc tolM,8,h Uk! ~ I flnrt,
*
FredenC't J ChtStensen of the 62nd FS ....as crecllted ....lth 21 end 1 shared aeoal vClDneS. A replacement Pilot .no JO
The hrghest lotal of victories cl8ltned by a PIlOt serVIng ....Ith the 63td FS.....as 19,25 credrted to Walker M 'Bud' Manunn. His firsl assigned aircraft ....as deSltoyed In 8 flying accident. but hiS second. 42-8487 UN-M, ....as used In 16 of hiS 19 successful combaLS, as well 8S In the two
\lllrn1ton.droppln)t mr J.Il1tuok andlnmmm)tlhc";un:nft A(lernllC" IUmlll Jun.:k ....llh lltL\ \'c I09JI ...."1dc.... >J1'C'f1 thrunk 11'1UnLI an
.tlIc
Stought dOwn by return fire from a Do 217 thai he attecked on 27 March 1944, Manunn evaded capture. FoIJO',o.-,ng a spell on leave, he ser'o-'ed wrth the P·51().equrpped Jrd FS/Jrd Fe (Air
l()~ortknc"C1k)n '1;0 h'I\ .... ("It;" ft"lt\"'C'r
Convnando) In the PhllrPPlnes. He was credrted ....rth one Japanese aIrcraft deSltoyed. fty\rC
~ mc pull up rex (ar
Shared VlCtontts. This P-47D was a Pfesenl8tlOO aircraft. manted "SPlRfT OF ATLANTIC etTY, N.J.•.
F-86s
lI'1
MiG end
the Korean Wat, MahuM destroyed 3.5 M'~15s before he ....as himself shot down by 8 Impr\soned
In North Korea
Gerald W Johnson,
sewn
vwno 'l'lIas ortgln8lty credIted
81rcraft end shared
Ifl
as the firs! ace of the 56th FG, destroyed
another ~ ....rth the 615t FS. sent 10 the 356th FG In late
~ 1943 for 11 weekS to help rarse expenence !eYeIS 'l'lIlthm the 356th FG. he added
another VICtory. Upon tetUll"lttll to the 56th FG. Johnson conwnancted the 63rd FS, end another ecrn enemy 3ItCI'aft were shoI down. When transferred to the 61S1 FS. hIS personal P-47D .... as 42·7877 HV..(). a presentabon au-craft marked -JACKSON COUNTY. MICHfGAN FIGHTER". In the
be,,.
63rd FS. Johnson new 42-76249 UN-V. cl&tTl"'" rIVe enemy a,rcraft wrth thrs rlgtlter before brought dOwn m It by ground fire and captured. RematnII'C in the USAF post.war, Johnson rose to command the Elgtlth AJr Force during the Vietnam conflICt. Hubert Zemke, the ongJ08J combat commander of the 56th FG, destroyed 15 enemy aircr8ft ftytng P-47s, and shared In another before /TIOVIng to the 479lh FG. whera he cla'med I:WO more
1Irt' alAboul .\OOr;lM..... 'lh
0(
hmin$ him .... lIh nil .un:r.Ut lie .....".. b.~
"C'C'O
railma tum (<)f 'oC'\"a"JI nuk
J
1l""01l do- 0 m fIN urc:k ...... _'C"
JIlt'IU'I
J
"f'In that
J
"'t'C'f' ..bl~ .ttb llamc JJ1d
bcooJDc.' lillmW:'d Jnd n"'JIdxd our ~
t'
J
IoIx
\&l IllY\I>.I"plltlnlJlthc~J.llllude'''''wnC'w..~Cnto''l Ilccoolmllt"dl...........rdc';mdp.wultn tum-dl" ...,rll"'lntt"'t- upafricndh ~ _"ho hc l,."lould houn«'_ ........... CO JP'J"U.I'thnJ .,Irnn .II mik Of 1\1>0 ..11 him he' mU!>l tulC '<'Cfl U". iIIIInnlWm he .~ .neo .I "'Icqt dill 1.) "'IC'JI uplbc manifoId.md R P\I and d<Wo Itnt.:.ud lhe' lInl;b lhr" cncnn I.. "0 J"'UOC' 1•• _IItcn oo.hat l"'~ 10 dude' u., '1\ r'C".k"l1On o lhe.- ;l1Lk.l \(1'"\ ...... wth lhccT'Jflt'f'. Ih" C'fI('IIT\ .1Ircnh ttroLc mlo lioPknt lbmc ;md ... ttll t ~ If) .I lll.'1OU'o !ipI\ au-,J.fI.1o, the' ardL .. t,('.II1tnturullOft IuoJ bttn Op;lOlk-lJ tn rm fir(thl.~ then:' IuoJbccn Jb-c>ll,llri\ n<)t1f'l(' If) tbc \tcmlll ofth,.. &In.-nft 1()C3 "'1 ~
k "' ..., ;d.m
nu, \k 1119" cl..luntd bl our nlJo:hI ~ ~l'O"'C'l1
....' thnc I..'"m hr Do oJdinik'
b\ .111\ 01 1,1.. Our .II{IXl onh C1U."<"d tum 10 l'orc1I. do\\ n.....nt.. Yln'"lh"C'JK'1TI\ alln·... fl tK-pnburru~.w~~cofflntmnh,uri\ ;tnl.I(limhnJ NO.hl 2Q00(lf! • hat I J"'<. t'duronc: ' " I
1m dll~ct,,)fl 1U.,t abol"C lhe' 'o('"JIuc;1'n1 doud ~"CI 11lC" dJ\"C
"'.I..' J IooIt of':Ul.u Of)(:
m
I~
tueh I puIk'\J UllUnd Into lhc ""m and .~ at*'
fl)'lOg a P-51. 'Hub' Zemke kept his P-47C 41-6330 LM·Z ....ith the 62nd FS until the autumn of
lrun nn JJn;nh (or In IA" o( JpproXlm.llCk l~ mph \1 (l,ono II I round I hotd und!:rJ.,,-.c Ihe I~ 190 ~ J con~Nc dl'I.,lI.O('(', "0 J' rm ck~ DIC oJ,,:tpf\C'l. nn Ihnltttc ..." op:noJ w...... fl',llld he .... (mld hrca},: InlO lhc cloud JI ;In) m<'Imcnl, I opcOC'd UP.lI Jppnl'lm.llt'h ~'.III'd, 10 .I jU\1IUf"" u'n ..... fttlttn hit.. dun;
1943, ....hen he then moved It to the 63rd FS, where It become UN·S. On relurnlng from a temporary assIgnment In the US, he had P-47Ds 42·75864, 42·76471 and 42·26413 all
a_Ill.' "'nl)tlllcned 0111 Jpln In;t ,URht dl\~.I .....\\ ;a fl:\\ more Illl' \h .,lI.mmUmltOn ~\'t'OUI JI thl' n""Olo("nl.M),J Itt" cotl ('om"'l h\ J'!'UIlirqt ur
marked 8S UN-Z. seven kills and the solttery shared claim were made In the lest of these fIghters, whICh was also the first 'bubble' canopy Thunderbolt received by the aroup. Zemke elso had 6.5 Sltafing viCtories
lhe rU'lCbJ(C" 111C pliO! immnhJtd) hnlkC' In \\Iut I thou¢u \\-oWd he .II lull ,,)11 ..... I C'OflI.nlX'll h) fire- In I'nlt" hcoJooJ tnln
J
dlmh 11th ..1f't'DII "'..., nOI '<'en ;t~jn. J...' iI mu~t hJl'C" IlOIlo(" 10 a 'tnlJl,tlt oJl\"C mlo
J
J
Olmf'k1CO
Jl; :In
-.l''''' rua, and
1.'i
<Jolnl\nJ. pcndJnlot thc a.~,mcnt of 111, (.'<)1111).,111 film (01' In) culu.luon 11K' nlShl I~C"I' fC'10Im\C'lI;md WCT\t hncnr
1"-47 Thundertlolt Unit. of tile E~ Air Force
84 •
11/(.'"
Thunderbolta of tile Ace. • 85
1.111 ,.... u'.lJIWITfIln;
\blCoC'T3kl
"''''''-onfln>lh"
.h'rj . . . . . . . . . .
..... ~OCH4C\l.tJl"lw:fl
1ft .. ~~(
tlotlJlIf\,( •
Ill!' ~'Uftl/l""rw.k'd lhee Mn,lf'\l'a"n..........
utl')+'
<....-r KnraS
_ _ dw ..... - . -
thc.InIJunctllb.&r lul\ atkl:f\l'.'<""n'('
II and I tIun'd.flf'Till 91f.1lJrIn_f*-n,... nov - . , _..,. Ow
paftNbd.... lhe ~·,,)'.; 1bt &U\.ntl
dwM,dn.I9t'
lhc'fomlof
, ...1....... 11'1
V.lllbl(.~
..rwl
.....
~.aJ~lbr:
~hK•
Ik
.Iltht
~j,-
I~H
.--r'. ..
I!JI' .... uI .... llIir-.lIi«ntI
~uC\l.ln:tI
anoJabboJuil,hthc'
t.Iil hfle"..tnItJo hand, "~P*M('tlUd lhc'
t'Wld "'..'
"-CD!
not p.uncnl
NUC' lbo,
"~'J"'Oh,lN\dutIO
felix 0 w, amson was credIted With 13 eenal VICtOneS dut'1rW t'llfO t.our5 with the 62nd FS At fltSt he tIew II I'IIJtT'lber of different P-471, but by the l!JUt.LWM of 1943 he had been asscned 42-22541 l.M-M lIS hiS pef$Of'\aI lI.rcratt. On return,. . from 1eaVe', W lflamson flew 44-19767
",,""""""
.a.prbc.luunolmJno>,<,
huld-Itld"o(othf(. Th~"', juhn...lIt
l.M-M end then P-47M 4421207 LM-M_ He was Iol~ II'l II ~ 8CCIdent 00 24 ......1 1947 Leroy A SChretbef was c::onIlCIeted to be one of the most pr~ pdots ... the group. wtlCh he JOIned as II rep&acement In the Il..ItI"Wl"Ie of 1943. HIS fm t'NO w::tones CM'Il! on 30 Nt'( tha )Ie_whlle ~GabreskJ'S42·7871 HV..f.and he does not eppeerto NNe had an asSCOedP-47 unt.ll bette transferred from the 61st to the 62nd FS In Al.JOISt 1943. where 42-22537 LM-T became hIS telUlar mount. He ShOt down r~ of his VICtJmS. and shared ... the destructJc)n of two more, tlyIn& this ThundetboIt In ear1y Apr'II 1944 SChreur receNed a new LM-T, 4J,.25577....
-u<\hot<Juooo,n"l ~U1II"filylntth
Boleslaw MIChal Glad'jch. a Pohsh Adr Fo«:e PllOt who flew SPItfires with the RAF. got himself '!OMe
•
.atentlnntUwu'1n
r
fnncT
on
ll,},fl·
thr'UDC't.b\
thai Bud
\Un;h
\Uh~
the end of the wat. Dunrc this time he shot cbwn ten 8lfcraft wt'tllst ft)'Inc with the 51st FS. HIS first asSigned P-47 was 42-75224 HV-Q.. named Pens'fJ II, whiCh was eventually replaced by 42-26300 HV-y Pe'W~ III. He then flew 44-19718 HV-M end flnally P-47M 44·21127 HV-M. 'Mike' GIlJd)och h8d previOusly claimed at least eight killS with the RAF In SPitfires plior to his
.. ;u
~lool.\bhUlUl
"7dnlC.lj'ICun-.but
J<-.hn-on_.,..'rn.1dtJ
assignment to the 56th. taking his overaJt tally to 18. He also deSlIO)'e
""
'Nhich he
The next highest score In the 56th FG was that of Joe H Powers WIth 12, but like Bob JotInson. he was moved to the 62nd FS as a nlghl leader. where he added another three VICtories (the third shared With his WIngman). HIS final victIm Is believed to have been the great GUniher Ran. the Luftwaffe ace With 276 victories 10 his credit. Powers' first assigned aircraft was P-47C 41-6267 HV-V. In December 1943 he started nyin« a new P47D-1o-RE model, 4275163 HV-f, and claimed six of his victories with this aircraft. nicknamed Powers' Girl. \Yhen serving With the 62nd FS. he took over 42-76363 LM-F, and Powers was t1yIng this Thulldcrbolt on the occasion of his final combat on 12 May 1944. Joe Powers new Mustangs In the Korean War, and failed to return from a fighter·bomber mission on 18 January 1951.
Paul A Conger also had a total of 11.5 victories, 6.5 of these being claimed 'Nhde he was serving WIth the 61st FS. and the remaInder With the 63rd FS. Conger's first asslifled aircraft was P-47C 41-6401 HV-G Dream Baby, which he flew until late November 1943, when he changed to new P-47D-l().RE 42·75435 HV~, christened HoIfywood High Harter. None of the six victories of hiS first tour were claImed while
JOE H POWERS JR 621'Id
flying these aircraft. After leave In the US, Conger returned to the 63n:1 FS. 'Nhlch he commanded from mid-January to mld-MarCh 1945_ Hls
1-"SI%th F(,
first assigned P-47M (UN-C) was Wf'Itten off In France, and he then tOOk over 44-21134 UN-f 8emyce, wf'llch he used to claim the 56th FG's
12M.:.Ir 190
TIme: 12jOhOlln Loanion \ldnlt), Fnnkfurt Condilions 21IOth doud.:.ll 6.000
1\\-:1.\ Indln~ Icl;'jus !'lqU.:.Jdron when Red lr.Ider c:allcd :m m.:.JCk '0
I "hd nol:
"I:'C
first loll WIth this model on 14 January 1945 when he shot down a
n
them . .:.Ioo cokl Rcd I.r.ader. IJ GtttnI:',10 inllblC
8f 109 and damaged another MIChael J Quil10t scored 11 viCtones. all wtule servitl& WIth the 6200 lU\
.11~
Iii:' haded 10'lUnJ thnn.:.lntl 1 5.1\\ lIx:m ItlCn_ Red lr.Ider firnl .:.Illhe wI end 109300 the cnemr.:.J11"Cnft ~.:.Jncd "lnokinfl; and spun Inlo Iix' WntlOO t:hutc .:.Ipp:;tred
I '("rted .1[IUonc of the 1()(h at 22.000 fl and final!)' c:lughl him on thedcck I firnla bUN OUI of r:l"lOf' lhen held n1) rltC.llhen firt'tl.:.J.n<.lIlhcr huN at .1bollt .i'iO );.Irtb. hutlnfl; IhI: 109 all O\'l;'r the kfl wingroot and u.iJ The 109 ~rted ~mamlnK ]drool I then S1M1cd a Ionlt
ctu."C' Ih~ ~inK':'l onl) one would be- finrtjt Aller:lbool fil"t' mlnul", orthl5. thc Hi'll "'opped "'mamlng itl)coI.loo ..uned IralilnS bbd, smoi.:~.1 kepi Wins picturn of him hoptns hc "'.l~ fCOins 10 hit. ....u uJ!).smaJl bloc [wnn bq 1tI (on'TfWI~.
bl:IQ" the U''t'C
l~
killed on 15 ApnI. HIS tolaI aenaI w:toneS were ~
st8ff~.
COMBAT REPORT
CA!'1J\J
was shot down by &rOU'ld fire and
destroyed. one probabPy des~ and sa ctamaee
With
\t) gUM WCI"t' not firing 100 WI;'U . .1OO
10 corne OUI o( hI.' aJuOSl poru and thc englflC began 10 bum.Thc 109 cr:uhcd 1010 a ~nuJl field on Ihe OlllSkltti 0(3 MTUU 1000'n Ilc kd )Jonlt on hll hell) and lhen nipped O"ott on hIS fJQck and 'nc 3 v.-ondcrful Job 0( ~1.:.J1l1llt" h me IhlUOt(houl. fired .:.II Ih" lime: 'llllf:C lhen: \\".1) noeh/nlt [urthC1' to lhooc al. \\CClmC home. I cb.tm one \It 109 dotl"O)"Cd.lMrinj{ WIth m) Volnsnun.FIO\II.lk AmmUOlIM>rl apcndcd 9i- l'Olln
FS. His first asStgOed aIrcraft was P-47C 4Ui215 lM-K. In whiCtl he obtaIned t'NO of hIS victones, and 'Nhen thIS aIrcraft was rewed. hts new lM-K was P-470 42-75244. After leave In the US, QuII10t returned for a second tour. but he was shot down by flak end captured on 10 september 1944 'IOItule ftyi,. 42·27383 lM-J. Robert J Rankin had II total of ten vtCtor.es. all 'IOIlth the 61st FS_ His assigned aircraft was 42·74662 HV-H. named woed Wadue Weegte. and he shot down four enemy aIrcraft .... ,th It. HIS m8lt'l 'd8MTI to fame' was bei,. the first P-47 pilOt 11"1 the ETO to down frve enemy aircraft In one day. This rare feat was echleved on 12 May 1944 wtlen he
was
flying 42-25836 HV-M. The remaIning 21 56th FG pilOts who quelrfy as alt aces are
detailed In the folkWrlng table (~af). tQðer 'IOI'th their offteial
1U1l~
\&ocNII \I
... .-..u.
<.bdrd!
c_lodv%Ctlt(. dunnlkl~J"l'I'iOd l"lIIIf~fh...
_.trlhrl."llJ1ldurr (:.-w.1 MId br 1X"''C1' I't'tumnt' ll( !If'l,ltC\lIlIn.... IManu!
, ...l'ln('
........7 Thunderbolt Units of the EIChth Air Force
Thunderbolts of the Aces •
011
J:t4....
87
\,.. j \lId.....1
"'fII""l'·'..rlllt
unt('n1'lIllll(' .........Il .. "I 1,~1iI1
(~.mnJUlI(''''''
lJu."I"U III""MII
I \IJ In Iiior' Li.t'
~,n ....
,,' 1'1-11 110; .. ~, ~~II"'.<\ran.. mJd"C'pnnhr'r 1<,I1t
moJ
fk,t. " unlll Ill'
rnn,,~·tlll·I-\1
1C'twuu') I<J'~J-"",
.....n:otJlhc'b-.cr",aI 11 "Itl',1('f\,lJ \
,,~
... tlhllu.
IIl.kf\ln('!x1.. C'C"Il
II "cl"lnnhrr I 'If I mtl I I JJJluu, I"''' "";anulLUl.... nT 1fUl\a1~lh'ho;
<."<.i.I'" "',Ih ~ Il'I<4l1"mJ hb< .. '" ... hik 1u)llnlOl:noJ .c~
,.in("o
....
(... hkh "rn.\DIh
'.JU1ln.I ~ ~)"'n'(' totals and assl£fled aircraft. In the case of replacement PilOts, Of those of lower rank. they usually had 10 Share an aircraft upon JOin,ng a squadron. Of new any mactune made available
dunn« the earty ....eekS of their tour. When an assigned atrcraft .....8S under repair, modifICation Of rna,<)( overhaul, a pdOI might temporanly
n:ntlC"rn.lUl .. Iu.{ J:.KL.ooo cornplnnJ 116 "U_.ton...ttnl 19-11100 \l-'ll"h l~"
P-471)4.R£ 42-74753 of the 14th FS/78th FG, Du.x:ford, Aprt11944 Brown In the late ~ of 1943, this flChter was named OI(JE fof hi. home .me. Brown UMd tI to &hoot down IJx enemy alrc"", InetudlnC his ftrat on 27 september 1.943. When he r"*vM a new blir. met:a' ftnlsh P470 .., ApttI1944, he had Ihls t:!Vetlthe same recocntllon Mltl8fS WZ.J. and 42·74753 then became WZ-V - _til '-tIM In the year tM MltlefS were ctt.n&ed 10 WZ-Y. This aircraft flew more ttwn 70 sortIn. Quince Brown was killed att.r be1nc 5hOt down by ftak whlMl .tIaflnC on 6 5eptembef 1944 In 44-19569 WZ·Z, OHIE II.
.....l&ned 10 111 Quince
be assrgned another. Also, If his 81fcraft .....as lost
while bem& flown by another pllot he might take over the lost man's figtller unlil a replacement fot his arrived.
The ten PIlots In the 78th FG whO were offICIally e:tasSlfJe
l Brown. whO was cred.ted WIth 12 destroyed .n the air plus 1 shared. He
FS. and lost his life early .n hiS second tOlJr. fall.ng to flak on 6 september 1944. H,s P-47s other aces In the 51st FS were:
'Here named OK/E, and he used 42·74753 WZ·J to claIm 7.333 of these YIC100es
Frank W Kllbbe Robert A Lamb Robert J Keen leslie C Smith
commanded the 84th FS, and obumoo Slit of hiS kills III P47C 41-6630 WZ·Z SpokBtne Oflf!f.
Frank E McCauley
7 Blr, P470 42-76179 HV-V Lillie Chief 7 air, P-47C 41-6211 HV·l & P-470 42·75053 HV-1, 6 air and 4 ground, P·.170 42·75070 HV·Q Ice CDkJ Karlf' 7 air (1 with 62nd FS). 4.5 P-47D 44-19925 lM-L
ground. P47D 42·26044 HV-Z &
28 May 1944. All but one of hiS vk:tories 'Here scored In hiS assigned a.reran. Whlch were P-47D 42-74690 and later 42·26020. both coded Hl-l. Juchhelm also had SlX stnJfing YICtOneS
5.5 air, P-47C 41-6271 HV-Z
Donavon F Smith
5.5 8lf and 2 ground. P-47C 41-6319 HV-M & P-410s 42-75272 HV.U & 42·28382 HV-$
Steven Gerick
5 air and 2 ground, P-470 42·26024 HV.()
Evan 0 McM,nn Bennelt
5 Blf and 2 ground. P-47D 42·7877 HV-D (KJIIed In ActIon 6/6/44) 5 and! shared Blr. P-47D 42-22790 HV-l
Joseph H
Next In hne. both .....1th nine VlCI.C>OeS were Eugene P Roberts and AlwIn M Jue:t\helm. Robec'ts Juc:hhelm served With the 83rd FS, and became a PoW aner a collision oYer enemy temlory on
Other aces In the 62nd FS were: Stanley B Morrill
9 aJr. P-47C 41-6387 l.M-f (Killed 29/3/44)
MIChael J Jackson
8 air and 5.5 ground. P-47D 44-19780 lM-J & P-47M 44-21177 lM-J
Billy G Edens Mark l Moseley
7 aIr and 3 ground. P-47D 42-75093l..M-f (POW 10/9/44) 6.5 air, P-47Q 42·25522 lM-H
Walter V Cook
6 air. P-47C 41-6343lMW UTTLECOOK/E
Joe W Icard
5 a.r. P-47Q 42·75040 lM-l (Killed In ActIOtl 8/2/44)
Other lICes In the 63rd FS were: John H Truluck 7 air and 1 ground. P-47Q 42·74750 UN-l LJJdy Jane George F Hall 6 81r. P-47Qs 42-7896 UN-H & 42·75266 UN{ C8meron M Hart 6 air, P-47Qs 42·26299 UN-B & 44-19937 UN-B Harold E ComstOCK 5 alf and 2 ground, P-47Cs 41-6326 & 41-6326 UN-V & P-47Qs 42-75870 & 44-20455 UN-Y
Joel ....
_w"'C!
5 a.r. P-47C 41-6584 UN--E & P-47Qs 42·75069 UHf & 42-75855 UN-[ (Killed In ActIOn 18/7/44) 5 air (+3 .....lth 356th FG). P-47C 41-6325 UNo-V & P47Q 42-75109 UNW
"n
c. . ~
--* ftr\..... 1IP. ........ ,",,", ..i 'Dd .. hl~ b-I
m ..... fr,c ....
.!!"c>.!. 11 eJ, ..... t...ftB. .. bk
. . . . WJII..h . . . .
\
dJt~
..-o
~(W~b\
w.
'ft"'-''' .lftnbr ""' .."'flIUn:d
88 •
P-47 Thunderbolt Unit. of the EIghth Air Force
Thunderbolta of the Ace. •
89
U/7 'k1 .... ~ . .
J'U«'IIIW""'" ""......... (Judo
....nhlI:liI ....cad!.c~ 'p'_"..,lbr~n
In lbt,.1p61 ....
-.-«
.10633~llL.",,*,
...
1hC''''"l...:nlr~bt
~""lUc~.
O'C'oI
..".....,."ta
.c:t
prdutJIr
"'N_
!JO~IW'"
............ ctwfWildl cTlx
\.Itf...n.-c"
IUI .. _
IJ~
tt.nJoadJr uuuJd
J-Tc;m .... c.tun.t" '1'w1ll 1,-s..fInWJnlt..
........ nM
_ ~
-~
l'It~dJb.auam
.. _
,
1..IlC1l"'r1bt..l JIm
JoInIo... .., o;..-dulw'd1< I A
~ . . ~Ina -.bt06" INa tud . . J'ft'"
_c. ..
John J Hockery, who new ....Ith the 82nc1 FS, cla,med seven VlCtones 10 two tours. and ga.ne';:!'l'o(llUJ Ilwi'fllts on ~!n.'1Il "('l't"otl('n"u~IOcluOfDtHx\Onk"rc-~... lhc:s.. ;a",~onQu;nccKlm\n5M-D \t7:) "Tl't' rq>b«d b)' U\~ .. htn hr loll Q\'cT1lnI ;Un."""1 n·~-i-~_' .. hkil;oholud
ll-.-"
indwidtWlcun" c1uf'l«lnJ 10 \ :II !he'
'Wl1("
(00
II
~:an:'8_i.orue(broom)~)mbobl'IW1c.J
"""-ntI'
an eighth kilt dunng the KOfean War. His personal 81fcraft was 44-19950 MX·L. Grant M Tul1ey scored all SUI of his victories In P470 42-7998 MX·ti. and James W Wilkinson also scored s l lolls, but none of these were actueved In hiS assigned aIrcraft. He was tlylrc 42·26387 MXW for the last of these 19 May 19441. and he was killed II'l a borrowed 8lrcraf\ - P-a70 42·26256 MXoG - when hlt a mounta,n Wales bad June 1944 A third 8200 FS PIlot With Sut C1edlts _as Jack J 0berhanSf/:y. HIS asSCf'eCI P47s ~e 42·7883 MX·X and 44-19566 MX·X. Later. he IOtaS transferred to the 4th FG as Deputy CO. Three 78th FG pilOts had scores of (lYe enemy Blrcraft shot down. Peter E Pompetll of the 84th FS, who also had two &round dalms, baaed four of hiS aenal VlCtones .. ,th hiS P-47C 41-6393 WZ-R Axe !he ~IS. Pompenl went the wWf of most VIII Flitlter CorTvnand PllOtS"W1lO ....ere mISSing In action - downed by flak. In hiS case on 17 MarCh 1944 to become a POW Jack C Price from the same squadron new P47C 41-6270 Wl-A and then P-470 42·74641 WZ·A. both named Feafher Merchanf. He new a second tour with the 20th FG
..
thbt!tthl" 8ElOW £.vf)P4-;lCC"'Oolthc-&h Fe. \bj El«t1X Robnb (in III(' oxkpil) and C1pt Ou.~ london JlOK(orltKpl't'~tn~pl('mlx-rl?-lJ
Il) IhcnMobcn,hadcLllm('\l.IJlI<,lb
(and onc pmlubk,hcrl(:(' the: M"Icn C1'U»C"'o):mdI.ondonr,Il""lO:"bnc!
It
top 10
dUnng vroeathef 00 4
Johmo.....
• JCdo... _11w M1U3ftlJ!an ..... .... !.!l....tonpn 19. . .andL&kn~lk
didDllIi''I'vp.'iIbouI ~ fiIbl tMJo-'C'W'(. d-*'lI-- f .
1<;1:
dr'tUYodMd, ~,.,..IQ-
-~
piIo(lu\lllIllhc'~incllonofbnnJt
the: EWllhs t1~ confl~ xr
COMBAT REPORT
lsi UEurF..NAN'f J-lARRY L MlU.ER JR .\2&h FV3'Und f(i ZO
"'ronu,""
19-' I
1irncl~ho\l"
I..o~·;ulon 1)I':lOkenhcim Conl!ilion~ 0\ (,rc:l..\.I;1I
jnno (I
I~::::~~:I::~t~;('\\:~tl:~';I;~p;.:::T~I:~II::I:~=:::~ ~lu:;:I=;:~.;:::=I:U:t::~~:= 41.(' Thi\ pUI our fliJotht up
oqm 10
the:
~nam lihen
IdcnhfiC'd him
~ ~n \I~ 110
"<'C11\1t llut m\
~1cmcn11a.kT lJ
( ...>1 RJc.tunund.
\\'&"
ft'JUli:.
O\l'T"\.hooI.llUmalllbi
.rU.~ Oil
,,)(1.1'11
he;; utl 'loC'CtlOn Gi\ inJt him more
~rc:I.1
ronunun! firinJt until I
W~
dd1~ChQn. 1 COlllinuni finl\lt. ob~~",1\It \.1m.
\\ilhin IO(lranh of
hlnl.OO'ol'f'I!l!t
aum nlOfT
Pulllnst up hc-.ldc the encnl) .. 11'Cr.l(t. I noticnl llul hb ri¢1l ('ntot.llle Iud '>lOppnl HJOI/ Pt'lcr ''Omllelh b ~ll _hun/)' afler achlennM h., fiB! 'kt"ryonjO}ullI91S IlcClaln1<'d(ourofhlsthO:-klll.ln~ .... II>rAxfJ" 11.(.W:''oIi-/lln>c motl(i~ IHllaloft'1Olo('on nrlr ~t41h tG Thundrmulr., U" (he Ioc:'lIllon ollhc plJoc and c","", ~p;o.ntl thtbucri!bbd:\IOllh)ctJowkllnifilt
1'0'
"'"il him. I pulkd up "harpl) to l't'~in '>OnI~ of nI)
1000t
~llittKk
and hoth C'n1031loC" ~ and III l.hc ~ nwn ~!h oIlhJ" .l.ln__n t't
on hl" \\lOS
~nd
1'0('1("
llul hl" 'dl
aq"fl('
md h('l!l.,;appe:trcd In Ih('c1oudl<:11 -i,OOO (I nih ;ICllon 1001. pl:l('e h~l\\ttn IO,OO().Ind ~.OOO (1.llhcn n:jQ10C'I.1 lkm('(] I11C throuJth dunnJ::lll thh .1clloll I d~lm onc ,,~ lID tk\tro)'C'd \mmunitioll «p.1ndcd: 9~2 round,
\\.1" ...mnl..lll$
In dolnJo: thD I nOli«'d the enem\ .1Il'n':lft \\~
In ~n
\\llh 111\
~nd l~
\ftCT
ur'H.'OnlnllUNc "I'ln d"e ckmalt
k.ldn: \\hlltue.l
90 •
Thunderbolt. of the Ace. •
P-47 Thunderbolt Unit. of the EI....th Air Force
91
COMBAT REPORT
1(,/(.",
I'll UmJfEN l'oT QUE."'TE
\UlloM«
\\1I1J" \'no:r~ Mlf't'\l"llhh"'1r~1'" ...' .... 'dI~i1lhlllw: ~ "Io.f"1 ," I.lIIIIII Ir ;IIIIN ...... lM'("lh"
t'oJJ,InUoit') 1')11 11(lN"
...JolllICT
w:;~~~n;::,I~:I:~:~:-::,f:n:~.:::::: ::~;r;',II: ::'::;U~r I~~~\:~~~;;.u::-(~=;~ ~
"'~~ ~crulr,.lJlR lhe k-~ ho." I" 6-1-\ (Me ut Iht Ikd T",.... "'.1.\ "-~ lfl ~ homI'w:T lTplft 01 .liud.... (0 U OK lI'I the lhr~M"'cdCI"",,I>Olhcb()mhc~U 8r,.m "l(.hlCdmcnt'rm .un:r.ah~1 11)0(,-,,1 lulthc>OlA -'c ~J(~lumllJ'A-Wthccnntn
lxlll fl. ntlie' t>lljdu
."biInnl.all ..........lh" 11llll1ok"lt>
""';an
,111'1,.1'.111 "'hKh nude' J pt.)C1 dI\1~ lum "'1)"'\ 10 .1lt~1o. u\ frum llUI u/lhe.'"," fhc.' cncrm .un.nfl UInC hno.klll1.11 U '1iJut' f1tIdJIlz3lk1 &nJ.lI.lhnUI II ..n-Iot.... 10 me I fil'l:'d.l..helft huN hdc_ he.' fb~lCd tJ, Ibm IlUmnlmd "'.I-~ ~1111 hn IJJI ftrtJIA hum .IhclUl 2\0 ,;mh md . .
m...m.o..hlIwon ' ....-t:Ilhrrlln."'C'IIIhrr
'Il.· Ihr ltu..l
1U:liIlJ:11 do¥>n l,,;l" lut.. lm lhe "'1Jl~\ fI('at lhe.' fu."CulllC' Il~- htt.lfnC "'"""" I "~\ In U Urpn .. hhoo\poI.mdludllltw'nlo.ul( ...\hc ~bdlO·.urdme u Brun lC.lOL up"" P lIOn hrluoolhccnnm am..nft andcortliralcd irtftM, I do flQI"~ .11 ",tul1Jtlllkk I pl1Ilnl uul. 001 ml lCIum ("1tT'trd!TlC' un" 1<) 12UIX) ft u 8o.ut umc h.M;t. up and Ihc t1iIcbI (".ll!K" hunx·
rmcl·... tw.aDnf'C'.."
JIb-• ...-..LIC"h
.&hn.I ..,ttwr~n, ~I\"
he.'r I (:ulm(~t'\\ 190dntfO}cd....urt"J .. llh IJ 1~"2Jl
....,IftIlII!I.K"fUllo..D •
.... hlhc\..!n.JH,hc' ......1Mmn,1 I \
,1mut
(AIf".hhfJr'i.. IUII"cJ.~lllfll.'f1
~'ID'\"",«(l." 1M ~"!nd H. EIn.>l.hnt>o"", \k,,~'1'
191~
11~lh'lIJn
1.I",Itl
1'-.-IlI! "_"'litH, IA.".lmcI t)u'thc 1'<"1'"
J. QUI"
\bUh I li'\lnd 1(,
AnlnlUmu.)fl ap;anckd- 180 round..
It"""n.,!
"r.UlRK'''''>fk'' Char1es P London clallned 811 hiS VlCt0ne5 fI~ P-47C 41-6335 Hl.D EI Jt!frpO. He .... iIlS the first USAAF PIlot ftyJng from the UK to ShOOt dawn ftve enemy 8JtcnJft. thUs becornllC the pretnlCf E'ihth AJr Force ace. HIS fifth VICtory as obuuned on 30 Jut)' 1943 The 352nd FG achJeVed wonders Ith the Mustang. but only one of ItS pilots ·made ace while flylng Thunderbolts. He .....as VlliJl K Meroney 01 the 487th FS, who downed eqO'lt enemy 81rCfah and shared In the dcsttUCllQrl of t¥o9 more. All hIS VlCtones were Ildl~ en P-47D 42-8473 HD-V. and he reached the magICal fIVe on 30 January 1944 Meroney ....as brought
down while flymg a P·51 on 8 Apnl1944 and made a pow, He went on to fly Thun6er}ets In the Korean War and F-4 Phantom Us In VIetnam. before retJnn& from the USAF In 1970. Two othef 352nd FG pilots came close to becomIng aces .....t ule fly!ne P-47s. John F Thornell and Don 5 Bryan each claiming four and one shared monos. Both men went on to enJOY further successes With the P-51. Thornell finishing his lOtH .....Ith 17.25 kllls aod Bryan 13.333.
Uf7'l.t\lfItll "cn»lt"} "':!.
3Hnd
/(,.on~
lllur1mJlWlU ....pbmhholluOU'lr )ucn",,(ulr.Jonlh.ll Itthnkj~'>rl
Il".lln"lIlnunwlll.u "1·l'oMl1ItflUll'~
forMudt-m I'd"'. 1"_\lCT1~'lTrIt
,";l..\ht)f1I00"lIlJ* 1oJ1l1hc'iu--un,lo.'
82 • N7111underbott Unit. of tile EI...... Air Force
ThundertJolta of tile Aces •
83
COMIIAT RUORT
1ST UElJrP.NANT JAMP.s A WYATl' ~Wch I V~'Sl"h 1(. B loll) tlJ~' 1\mt" I ito l..un l.«auon k.Id .&nd W-:L un (.undll.MJn, l/JOdoud.d IO.(.IQfJ" hvtbdr..M
1~I_JlJh
I;=:::~:::::t~~":'===~:;~Alw=~::::=~OO;::-~.=:=~",:::
tK..JuljltOt'";Inj th('nonha~ \\c Immakltd) ,wuflgln bdundlhnn and tUned cluntllllC up to thcvktd ol;dxoa.c 1I'JI.-,h" ~ dIe).t"R" f1k'nl) alrt"t:l.ft.hUl .... ere not)llft" unllllltq' n:achaJ the Kkl:un and ~'Vl'Unlt IOUtII "'Ith In ~11I hdund and a1moW ktd .. 1th lhrm A' .... c hc2d«! ~uth I gW tlK) .... C'n:' 2.11 rw IlJOt lind Ihat lheft" "-U 2l1Olhcr 1)IIl( uf lIbou1 ZO lIl)O\c I.hcnl 1bq ..'tft' hodIna ,..., II bul. CJI B-~h "'hidl .... crc procc'C"dl1ll¢ca~ out oflhe 'lricumumtcr ~ JU'lt hcfln the) bc'pn lhcir lItl.M..:l .. ~ 1m thc:m KhlC J.~t lut them fiOoi. ,.nl;c .... c too a ""WII altitude ..d\~nuJIC O'\'C!' Red and \\lULC l1!Kht, .and .1:' umc ~n 111 II .ft'\ t&i(dII dtwt' I • • ,>n (..apum Ilolnl, Idl Capwn Ik>lrn pk\ed OUt 1.. '0 f\\, and kt"dlcd ou: 1I1 pcriCC1 powuon on the OIIC un the k1t u I tf\l'lltlCd lJ9n" 10 blc lhr JDC'onthctlJt,hl.1 u .... tum fi~md)Ol" man) Cl)nI.'aI1nIc.'d'lt.n.Ln...",Kmd thccod.pd.J..nd • ~>molhaCf\lC'1llW.wcnfI;\. lamr ",cron theJcrrron the "Ptl.he app:&n"llu,· 'IXIlled me md)Uned I., bn:a.Io: lI1l1 cb\&n« rildtllum \1\ ,~.,.-"JnU1CtCdby oalhr ndJI tio.k' o( III) canop). but I Jt:l\"'C h,m .... lul IlhouWlI "';I) .1bouI II Ddu lead and fltftl II Ion« burw ThrouWl lhe lefl ~ of nil canopl I ~'" nI) ~nLet 2.11 O'\'n hun It -u Ilrl) ~)O(U13 It.. I wold twdh !l« 1lI ... thn./lUld1 1m pm NItbJ I 'Amt;llncd Ihb Ind and fift"d lIJPln. tc:cinll nlOft" ~nl.et (rol1l .... 1I1JC up to 11lfo( lJp IUxI. vnol.c poured from tu\ cnpnc '<'CtKXt .and ht' llippc' ,\('t' and M;lncd 10 ~pln down Ilhen Maned ..... 0fT)1nl¢ abuuI Cal>t;tln lIoJm.110 I puUcd up:and toincd hJm,u I cro-.)C'(I under hun I sn. ltw fhmn ..'t."ft" tUJtJtiIt \<J cumc 'rum hbsupct'durp;-1"~ionI 1!'ICn ",)I)ucda 190 in :a dninglurn bclo'lto:and ~t1) 1011I) Icft ~ I .. nll dO'll',n on hun puDcd.-ho:lUt II ndU k uf me Ft'ISWl bbncb..... hen I ~ .... 1.....0 f'l I~ approach lilt from tJx ngtu relIf I dsmbcd no lhc' ctoulh tnn! C'OliJ"< to Ihc south :and OC"'A for sn"Cf:ll m,nulO. men lumcd Z-o dq;trco md .lIpu1 CRI"','oC'd ow Ot'n' the 1-oUIlltt 7~ .-hcne I uird '"'~(tlll) to JOIn Up .... llh two othC"fP-4-s 1Oc) pulkda.....a) and left fl1C . .)() Ilhrollkd ...~ I»d. andc:amt'OUl :a)o)fl(".~ LJ 1.anJIl:'I" bout mid<;h.:anncl lie guided nK" inlo Woodbridge l>2!c1) I am ttn.:aln dell the pilot ofm) first plan(' mu~ h.:a\"C b«n kllkd (rom the ....<1) lhe coon) Jjn:nft lul'd1cd .:ant.I'lIIlt'l'll dl.rv.n.huc .. 'C .. C'n:' l~ '''') do!4:lllgOlhacnctll) au'enft anc! OUfo n alfCml forme 10 L«p m" et'bOll 111m I tul tum ....llh cnough IOI.nok.-L hun do'lIIln I m..urc 1bc nvnd one I kflO" I Ilil. but m) O'\lo n ~p 1) tul .:and I "'"15 ...-OUndnJ bcfon- 1cuukI ...'lul Iuppcncd (0 hull 1 ..."'OUId abolll.c 10 nukc 2 cblffi l\)(oUpulI1\'(ill»A IloIm.'lIIlho ~ not ~IO Idl hng.,n~""" From h6pn1cct ~ o n hi Jeo;ry III from the: nun) concenlraled ~nl.o ....hJCh he px on hn fiN huN.111li almcN ttrUm thai he ~ lhc 190"""'"
.,.root
tBtJlr. (~JlC".&II"
Bn:Uwn.uwJh" ~ctn.ltIl~
Idt"" ... -.unl(~ dUrl'ftl\Unln ••I\'Ibc'dI. ~nnounT "titIllldunJ\ ...nl' Ik'd.lum ~nd t~
"n.dV"'-ftIIl("n" 8u-.tll:l("(''
Iu
J'MnlnJ ....
rn!~
.do.... boc..",.lWld
..
The 353n:I FG's fIVe Thunderbolt aces were headed by Glenn E Duncan ....Ith 19 destroyed and one shated by strafing.. The group CO was brought down by flak on 7 July 1944 but he evaded caPture to return to the 353fd near the end of hoslilitles. He had no less lha~ seven assigned ThUnderbolts. all coded LH-X, the lasl foor of .....hich were named Dove of Peace The senals of three of these aircraft were 42-8634. 42-25506 and 42.25971. . Walter C Beckham was the next highesl scorer, and he was at one lime the leoolng Eighth Alr Force ace. Most of his 18 victories were oblall"led flying 42-8476 YJ.X UrTLE DEMON
=:
a:e: ;::. the 351st FS, and he too was shot down by flak on 22 February 1944:
Kenneth W Gallup Clalmed rune aenal and two ground mones. He came to the UK WIth the Ninth A.r Force's 36th FG. and was transferred to the 353td FG HQ In May 1944 _ hIS personal P-47s were on the stlength of the 350th FS. Of the three known Thundetbolts assigned to Gallup. all 0' whiCh were named RAT A OAT. one was 42·26525 lH-N James N Poindexter ot the 352nd FS scored seven aerial and t~r ground strafing credits all while flying P47s - one 0' his aSSigned aircraft was 42-26586 SX.G Honey 11. Polndekter wa~ killed In a P-51 crash at Capel St Mary. in SuffOlk. on 3 January 1945. Wilham J MagUire of the 351s1 FS shot down nve enemy aircraft while n)'ing ThUnderbolts Two of his .assigned P47s were 42-8685 YJ.M Boston 8u/1 and 42·26126 YJ.M. whiCh boast~ a sImIlar niCkname. Dunng a .second tour WIth the SQuadron, tlying P,S1s he added another two
:~~=~~~.S3nd FG
:::
ace.
Wilham F Tanner. Claimed' 4.5 of hIS 5.5 aenal
The 355th FG's soN! P47 ace was Norman E Olson, credIted WIth Six senal VlCtones He
:~~D-:: 4h~S
P-S1 was hit by fl~k ~ 8 Apnl 1944. Olson's nrst 357th FS ThUncle~1t -841305-P. named MA FRAN:¥lJ - this aircraft was lost while being flown
:~:~~ ~1::u::/:9~:ember
1943. He claimed his first kill on 7 November 1943 and his
The 356th FG also produced Just one P47 ace. Oavld F Thwaltes of the 361st FS. who was credIted WIth SIX aerial victories. H,s aSSigned ThUnderbolts were 42.75214 QR and 42.76457 QI·l of the 361st FS. both of whICh were named POLLY.
oJ'
no
ro.
There were P-47 aces Within the 359th although the rernatkatMe Ra-"mond S Wetmore, who eventually amassed 21 aeflal VICtories and one shared In a group \f\tlefe only one other pltot ran his score Into doUble figures. scored four and one shared With the P-4 7. He new 370th FS P47D 42-8663 CR.Q for his first combats. and ....as then ass.gned 42-76068 CRoP. Fellow 359th FG palot Robert J Booth was ae(lited .... th four enemy 8IrCf8fi fl)'1l1 P-47s. and later added three more ,n P-51s. HIS personal P-47D Within the 369th FS was 42-8695 rv.f" o./j.- 80«1. and three of hiS VlCtones W'Cfe obtaIned .... Ith thiS on 8 June 1944 and made II PoW.
~.
Booth"as
~
down by'"
The last P47 group to JOin the Eighth !oJr Force ""as the 361st ro. and It too f.1ed to produce an ai' ace wtnle eqUipped ....Ith Thunderbolts. The hlghest-sconrw PilOt .... th the P-47 was George l Mernn. CO of the 375th FS, who Shot down three Fw 190s. HIS personal P-470 was 42·75404 E2-A, named Dr. 1.P.DBlly. HaVIng claImed a further two kills .....Ith the MuStq following his uflit'S conversion to the North Amencen lightel in mld-M8)'. Mernn .... as kIlled In 8 P-51C on 7 June 1944 while fI)'lng a ground attack mlSSW)l'l til SUpp()l't of
landings. His fighter crashed neer Nantes. having Mher been hit by fI the ground
the Normand)'
or Sl1l"iply f'lown M'lto
. . . . N7 Tllunderbolt Unit. of the EI~ Air Force
Tllundettlolta of the Acea • 95
COMBAT REPORT
COMBAT ANALYSIS
1st UEtlfENANT EUGENE COLE
MAJOR WAJ.KER M MAJ I URlN
.\~5Ihl·~_~)I'II'(I
63nJ rV'S6ch I'G
RApril1911
\tuch 19044
nmC':II~houn
Loc:lIiOn \'lC'inll) Dkphol2 alrl"l('k1
ComJllk>Iu pxx1 'l'lbihl)'. ~ttt\l hue
I
n nl) opinion. X't'bl ('onthal I," I luI( 01 wtul Ilu ~ n 10 be:
t>I
Ulo h4l\""C 300mC "on
of an Idn furnK'd in our
I~
,.,.hoI
In
""''C
lht'
mQ\ 10 \to'i'C
fuu.ll) II"
"1.10 J
uxnb;lt 1he.l1~ \\c like to lhmk ltul the bank ,..lIt ~umc proponll'xu. c:qlDl W
theW: (l(dK' RIO\.~
'0\1
know hcw.' II I~
• ~
plIoI:
~
the OIhc'r,lhq both JVIt lhnr
l«'1h 10 bc'.I1 hell, and tln;tll) the dcadI) comb.1I bcWn'lC ""'1111 \Ioknl nunonn'ring b) holh I);lnl('$ nih tldd or IhouWll b nllln:l) crroncoU) 11lC coml);ll lI.w;llly ,,,1.0
rbu' :11 :I hdl of:a ~ptttI - the coenl) :lcmpbnc Is 0111) ~ (or II f("\\ !>CCOfld.!i In nine ClI.)C" out of ten the \1cto.. 1lC'\"(T SC'<') lib .'Ic'llm cr",1,h A.. 11 J'n'ull oflhe' "ronM kk2. Ihe new pilot who 11~ ~, a )cfl) ~hlp ~ In to :illlrl hell bent (or ntt1k)fl, ;md "lodi up (<<,U0le (uule" ;u 11K' dkkcm I)('awc he dKln I
lnd II \l1l1.b.m A 'bulenbush's .liupportJnA ;l>1::lICIDC:llI,
,n fnghtening the lIun I
k~, bcC'.lWiC r\~
C'l:'I1 ~CftJ
done' it mr~lf nun) limn In 00, I\e
~"n ~
cbmcd ~ ctunces b) ,US! WI $Ol1 01 an allxk The cond~ I dra"" from Ihl\ b lhat no combal Q ",..onh"" Ilik
~
thr
dlxianft pilot doa hb won. In a \C'f) cool and cakulatlnJt "':I) J dotlt do It lhal wa) m\'oC'lf, bUI I think dut If I Iu\t" ItO' IhinttS prell) ""ell fi(turt*d OUI bd'on: I nule a tM.>linct",I ~I:tnd a much IxIlCT duno: of wgglng t1Ei11 ftU) I m goinJt do" n :UICT 111t" t"anJin:d poInt\ In ;tn :1.II:ack .Ire. firM Ix ~ure of lour own ~lllon ~ Ilul thc're are no jcrrio :around to m:akt" :an :auxk on )'OU Secondl), nul{' ~ul't" Ihal )'OIl Lnt,m ""lullht" lIun Is dolng.T'1' 10 figure OUI "lUI rOll "oukl do ifrou wttl: in his ,,,.,...niOn,And thln:ltl.I'1IO get u~un on 111m Thb b cxIR:mcl) ImporulU, bcoWJC' lfKt" Iht" ekmenl of~urprU;c Q ~.Ihe)ar)' b about len IlJ1lt":S 2.'> dJfncult 10 ~ lown E\~ If Ix b not SI1fl)risc'd.1x ..uU cuft ~ lillO the sun - so the dunces 01 ung 10 him bcl"on: he c:a.n nul.c a lum arc pmll darned ~ La.o.t, cso-..c nghl up ',,\oId rutkkrand lei jtO,~ helllx:a dad lIun 'o",t~arc: "hat I considcr"IO E\nl thou(lh I dotl'l pr:IClice Ihem 11t)~,al k2.'>.I I 1'1 10
he lhe n~ imponanl poInl~ ofcomwl
,ust
Ikfore I e\'Cr!O.l\\ :a jCTT)', I u...etI to ~pcnd hoUD IUS! ~iUlng In Ihe old ~ck thinLinft up c:ucll) "lui I would do If Ihc jc'rn ,,~\ In "tid! and \uch a [l<»ilion,:and what I would do ifhe w:a~ doing -.onu"lhioJt d\C.' I think Ilul II :all p:lid off In the Ionft nm A couple- olllffilr", I lu,c- hccn fonun:llc In nlllnlnjt imo IU~1 the )lIuadon I had drelnlCd of at one lime oranod\aTIlen, I didn t ha'e 10 tlun'" I jlbl *-"cd, bccau."C I had mcTIu.1h h«n In Ilut \'C'1' [l<»lllon IxfoR:.1 bclle-\'C it helped. At l(':;bll would ~\0C2le it I stili do II. and I hope llut I run 11110 a coupk JIlOR: oIlhc oJrr~m ~J"'I~
,lx'c'ausc Iht") p:.l) big divi
Al Ihe ~ lime, I aJ"-:I)"S inu);inc ""hal I would do If J "ere nul.1"J: Ibc: atlxk I also ha\'l: II aJl rlgUtC'd OIJI ~hcn It.: Hun " JI1 rm uiL II <m luppcn an) tune.:and liOmc1l1lln I~ J Io.no\\ lhall dont corn.tlkr lhe drelnlln~ lime ,,~cd II \
~POI
Ihe j{'"1., 10:0 down :lOcJ lo-"t"l him En:'T)'One know'" :aboUI lIu\ \ub;CU, -.0 I IhU\k llul 1\
...",.j
t'nl.>U#t
One Ihlns: lh:al I hdlen~ ~1'IOuld bC' \Iro..-ton f'ClJOrb of C'U') JUOUP 1lkl"C dall\ ··umnur> !'tT"..".. llul "e get lhe nat d:a) :aflef' ach ml1t..luff 10 fomlubte "OmC pb.n of allxi. tlul I would me If I ,,~ lhe C.nnun l.'Onlrol\lCT ~ . I ur\.... I kno" wt I ftOt ml fiD! 'iClorr from rc:a.dm8 11K' ~ report\ IUrned In h~ (icnc Robert) Orllbc: dR he flN ~ll ~ C'OUJ'k u~.1c'rnc-- Ix' flU! In the m~lon rcpon~ ho.. Iht" Jttrio Wttl: ltnll\t( up far OUI 10 lhe \.de :md nul.Jns hca<J..on UOl! h~.. complC'lc
'0\\
111C ncxI m~1 Import:anl thinjot I~ Ihe dut)'of:lll the po\illon) In:a .,quadron 1\"(' bca1 fonunate
10
Ihat llu\'l: aJwa\\ beat in a 1\l1I1I~ f'O"'lll<Xl
lc-:adlllJt a fllJthl. I \llIIlhlnk Ill:lt II b the wlflWlun \\00 coUnI", 1 couldn·1 \11001 down a Ihins if I W:l.\ WOfT....,,'S :aboul "hcthcf "'illfUlUn.lie l\ Iht" n'lO\1 imponanl ~U) in Ihe -quadron (ro"tlml('(/~m("(if)
Of"
noot I h.W :a
. . . 11-47 Thunderbolt Units of the
EI~h
Air Force
LUFTWAFFE COLOURS 'IJ\JOIt \lAI.KER M I\WIURJ • (mllUmuYI) II ~.. ur 1\) tht" \\II~nun hi C\)\'C"t hh. ck'11lC'nt IC'J<.kr no nYuer .... h.1I ...un·,1 "new. II .. toURh lIl ...it b.ld. ;am) tdl ;a IolU) thAI he.- h cleu hochhloJ I{) he IhnlUlolh .... lIh hh lourlllJl U k-."(';I UtJlll,") 11k Itll\ \\00 .....11 fill ~l ",Ill be the' ':11\ \\110 ILL" hn'n iLI\1"J( d~ I'J('rtnl ,uh;l,,;a ",mJtnUn tic' .... llIthcll IOL't 11K" dUlltC' ttl "Ion' .UtlJ proh.thh .....11 Jun' p"lfitt'd b) r()llu\\~ t<JOMJ .... msnun \.. 'h>fth hi' ",~hl in API (Wll(lC''' '\0«(' - AI"I'I'M.M.ll"l"K'l'\:lnjt Illf..Tnd.... n~) '0. h't the .... ul$nlnl. ~K-" (:I.1IM' 10 the nun )\111 0) .... llh ~ lllt. bc:hllw ,1noJ In tum 100L. out tn lrunt ~ \\ U.1Ild )"Ou '" 1I1lt'" to do> .JJI tht' ,1w.K>Clf\Il; )UU ....
..... hr l.an ..hnut &.'.... 11 J.krn But Icl()j,. .11 II Ihl' .... :&) "UlJOt"rOf" !;lIcr the 1'11\ ,,)U'l't' !llnd h JCOIntt
Thundnblloll' ",h-,) tu\e hc-;IICTI me 10 lilt dn.... llx LJ."I Ihu~ llut I un "II'C'.'~' tr.ll.n~OIt IlhinL llul 01\ ltJ\lup prob;abl) d<X'o OIOf"(' Inlo~flA ltun 111)' ueha In tilt vro At Icbt. II 'tCnI1\ 111.11 .... ~ hI me l\ehcTrt lr.uOlIijl,('\a'lncc I ~ 10 Ihcpuup.;and 11IIUJUI1C.' 111l'UOtlll\llC lU 00 "01,) ltll 1M wubO\'t'r It ~II) JM') 1:.\-.;"1') ",unh~hll h-,lOf In 11lt'.lU' I' Ilw' I1lU'>I \-..Iu;ahk lhiO): t1UI I It.no", of Mtn' JJ.I, .... -c;lt'(' fbthlllijl, fQrour In~ \\om" muf'C'. w~;lt'(' rllL!llilljC for lhe !T'IO'l \-:alwh&r lhl~ IIIth<' ""wk1 - Frn'\klfll I thlnlt. lIuI I~ 1"'-0 thl~,;at'(' .... cil "'\)1'111 ;a !llIk pr.K'1K'C "ctW umcr.a ~unl\('n ...' ;ab-oluld\ 1M Tnl.X't nlwbk' Il'all\into: .l. nun (;t nACt!) ht.e Ill(' t't'1I thlfllL. onl) pbp:d '" ItII our ovon ..rul'" "-I UI ImpOrUn«' l"Uflln fornullOfl - hoIh I:lClk'1l "00 cb< A )tQCXI fomullun ll)'t'1' "'111 ;l1rtlO'>l nunWACtutt' ~.)C)bnc - o,()f11C,'thll\Jllll ",llKh "'e lklflllu,,:~0(;1., II j, Third COf'!'IC" XTOhaI~.b«:aU)(':lItU\ ",he) lflO\'\ ",lui hbanupbllC.' ~"I doWOn'IIu\T 10"''OrT) ;abuul hn", 10 nulc II d!.) II \\ hoCTI hc cuukJ u.."C' lhe' tunc )11OUC1fIlL 00'" n ;a Ilun Founh. an)QOC It.nov., IUS! 110", ~ a tt'd-hot oUlfil kIob \\ hcn Ihq ule ,)(1 m.J boo The.') t't'1Ih k>ol pood 1111' I' .III cJ.'lOc.' h) pf"K1KT.;and don'l ltunk lilt') ..Jon'1 f«1 proucJ of lhclll!!Cht"' "'hen lhe.') do mac ROOd bodllltL' ;and ukN,lfb I 1t.ncJv. ~-.Iu"C' I 01 In oneofthoo.c tt'dhol oulfib.aod il nuln mc r«1 ~;1.< hcllTIw: ""nX' old uk>m Jppl~.'An)1hin~v,onh dOlnlt b worth c.Ioir'ql
The most comprehensive shJdy of the camouflage and markings of the LuftwaHe fighter force ever published VOlUME ONE s.ctJon. 1-4
VOWME TWO s.euon.1-4
[.rdeJC,....,
_ ...
RRP £12.95 """ t!lCCWlCI
RRP £14.95
Eric Mombeek wlthJ.RkhardSmlttlMd
Eric Mombeek w EddIe I
.wta Dntd
CtMk
....
",cli ~.I("rW all1c."r.l \\on..J doni lnu\\ or;alhU\~ llul do"C'!) p31nlld\ )hoollll$l in (0011);11 i cnUlnl) whh I did \I)' \hootin~ b pl'oh:lt~) Illc- ",onl.n lhe ",hok'Air r-orcr- illla'" llul m())1 ofu~ f«llhe ""mcJnT}' John.o,()f1 b prol»llI) Ihe ~ )hoIln IhcAlr Force.bul he won't I('U mt" 11<1'" he l.k,)c<.11 Ilu\c 10 I:C1 ck»ccnou~ to the Ilun 10 ~ch QUI :md club him hcfol"t' I an hll him 1·)u;lII)'.nT1l1h;a1 ",on'l won. UUI.ho)
II I lnC'\\ hu", 10 Pf".. CIICC ~lOOIlnst.1 would :>pcod :In 01) w;tldng hou.... :III It II "'e..lnd 1 ,ptIl of Ihc Air FoI'C(:):II.):1. ""Ilak, rould onl) shoot pcrfttll). we would double our)('Q1"t' Wllh no cffon :II :1111 VOllcn thc m:l" ~ l"umc lonh who h;u Im('ml'd:l w-:a) of 'llllUbllrtgromlul,rompklc wIIIl ~hOOlln~ do"," Ihc IUltCl,lhclI wc will win Ihc:l.lr w;lr lullCbdown
P-47D-25-RE 42·26634 of the 350th F5/3153rd FO, R.ydon, July 1944 This P-470 was one ot flve Thunderbolts used by nln.klll ace Lt Col Kenneth W Gallup during his time with the 3S3rd FG. He claimed 811 of his kllli betweon 28 May and 28 Aue:ult. some of which were undoubtedly scored with thll "ehter. Gallup had tll'lt come to the UK with the Ninth Air Force'l P-47~Ulppe
Birth of the Jagdwaffe • The Spanish Civil War Blin:krieg. The Battie of Britain • The Balkans • lamarouo • North Africa and the Mediterranean • Ground Support Equipment • The Eastern Front • The Western Front and North West Europe • The Defence of the Rekh A\'IIII8tI6e ftom molt good book shopa and hobby stota - or simply contact ClASStC PUBUCATIONS .... our webstte -':
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• In this book, Roger Freeman essential reference guide to the Eighth Air Force, profilin summer of 1942 to beyond D colour artwork and many rare progression of P-47 camoufla photograph 'galleries' of key to
I
