Strana 37
#84209
BOXART STORY
The boxart of the January P-51 release is
symbolic in many respects, both for the deployment
of this type over the Europe and for its pilot, Major
James Howell Howard. The painting depicts
Howard’s victory over a Bf 110 on 30 January 1944,
thanks to which he became the first ace of the
354th FG.
“Jimmy” Howard was born in April 1913 to
American parents living in Canton, China. His father
worked as an ophthalmologist. When “Jimmy” was
fourteen years old, the family returned to the USA
and settled in St. Louis, Missouri.
In 1937 James Howard graduated from college
and intended to continue studying medicine,
but ultimately decided to join the U.S. Navy.
In August 1939, he became a naval aviator, with
the rank of Ensign, and successively served with
three different fighter units, including VF-6 aboard
USS Saratoga.
In June 1941, however, he joined the American
Volunteer Group (AVG), known as Flying Tigers.
During the fighting in China, as a flight leader
within the 2nd Squadron of the AVG, he destroyed
four Japanese aircraft on the ground, shot down
two fighters, and was credited with a one-third
share in the destruction of one reconnaissance
aircraft.
In January 1943, with the rank of Captain, he was
assigned to the 332nd FS of the 329th FG. This was
an operational training unit equipped with P-38s.
It operated from several bases in California, and
Howard served with it until May 1943. His next
posting became the 354th Fighter Group, which
was preparing in California for combat deployment
with P-39s. James Howard assumed command
of the 356th Fighter Squadron, replacing Capt.
Charles Johnson, a veteran of combat over New
Guinea. Howard inherited from Johnson a group of
highly motivated pilots, but it was Howard himself
who, through his rigorous leadership and a training
program based on experience from the AVG, turned
his airmen into a perfectly prepared, cooperative,
and aggressive team.
At the turn of October and November 1943, the
354th FG sailed to Great Britain. At that time,
American command in Europe decided that units
equipped with P-51B Mustangs powered by Merlin
engines would be administratively assigned to
the 9th Air Force, but operationally subordinated
to the 8th Air Force. The Mustangs were a key
reinforcement for heavy bomber escorts.
The first unit to receive Merlin-powered
Mustangs was the 354th FG, which is why it earned
the nickname “Pioneer Mustang Group”; this was
not, however, an official combat designation.
Its enthusiastic pilots were given only two weeks
to convert to the new type!
The unit actually took off for combat for the
first time on 1 December according the dead-line.
But its first confirmed aerial victory was scored
only on its fifth mission, on 16 December, when
Lt. Charles F. Gumm was credited with a Bf 109
during a raid on Bremen.
Before the end of 1943, James Howard also
contributed to the first successes when he shot
down a Bf 109 on 20 December. It is not clear,
however, whether he achieved this victory in his
personal aircraft marked AJ
-
A.
Howard’s great day came on 11 January 1944,
during the raid on Halberstadt and Oschersleben.
On this mission he flew aircraft AJ
-
X and led the
formation of the entire 354th FG. His task was to
cover the bombers over the target. He sent one
squadron ahead to cover the forward box and,
with two squadrons, covered the rear boxes. After
the first encounter with enemy fighters, Howard
found himself alone, without his flight. Despite this
disadvantage, he decided to stay with the bombers
in the central part of the Combat Wing and, over the
course of thirty minutes, attacked German aircraft
within his reach a total of five times. Gradually,
three of his Mustang’s machine guns ceased firing,
but he managed to claim two Bf 110s and one
Fw 190 as confirmed kills, one Bf 109 as a probable,
and damaged another.
During the hour-long battle, the Pioneer Mustang
Group claimed 16 confirmed victories, 7 probables,
and 19 damaged aircraft.
After returning to England, the 401st BG reported
in, having searched for the lone Mustang pilot that
had defended them for thirty minutes against 30 to
40 German aircraft. It was Howard, and the crews
aboard the B-17 bombers testified that Howard
had achieved six confirmed kills. Howard, however,
refused any change to his claims.
The modest Howard was somewhat taken aback
by the press attention and took it poorly that the
press officers forced him to use symbols of the
Japanese aircraft he had destroyed on the ground
beneath his cockpit.
For his performance on 11 January 1944,
James Howard was awarded the Medal of Honor
on 5 June. He was the only fighter pilot on the
Western European battlefield to receive the highest
American decoration. When Lieutenant General
Carl Spaatz presented it to him, Howard modestly
told the press: “I seen my duty and I done it.”
Illustration: Piotr Forkasiewicz
Medal of Honor
Text: Jan Bobek
INFO Eduard
37
January 2026