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that the 363rd Fighter Group, also assigned
to the Ninth Air Force, was second in line to
receive Mustangs, VIII Fighter Command put the
engines of military bureaucracy into overdrive
to insure that the rest of the Mustangs went to
the Eighth Air Force as they became available.
Additionally, the RAF had received P-51Bs, which
were called the Mustang III in that service, and
was in process of equipping four veteran Fighter
Command squadrons with the new fighter. RAF
Chief Sir Charles Portal agreed to send these
units to support VIII Fighter Command as soon as
they were operationally qualified.
The need of the Mustang for over-the-target
support was so great that the 354th group
participated in their first escort mission over
Germany on December 5, a record for arrival-
to-first mission timing in VIII Fighter Command.
The group sent 36 P-51s, again led by Don
Blakeslee with group commander Martin flying
wing, escorting bombers striking airfields
around Bordeaux. The 55th 34 P-38s along with
the 354th’s 36 Mustangs for target cover, though
the Luftwaffe failed to come up. On December
11, the 354th suffered their first loss during
a mission to Bremen, though no enemy fighters
were encountered. On December 13 the 354th
ce lebr ated th eir fir st mo nth wi th the P- 51 by s ending
36 Mustangs to fly target cover over Kiel, their
first trip to Germany. The 354th finally met the
enemy in combat during the escort mission
to Bremen on December 16 and claimed one
Bf-110 shot down by 2nd Lieutenant Lt. Charles
F. Gumm of the 355th squadron. Colonel Martin
led this all-354th mission. On the way home,
the 353rd squadron’s 2nd Lieutenant Glenn
T. Eagleston became the first pilot to survive
bailing out after he managed to get across the
Channel and almost to the English coast after his
Mustang had been damaged by the rear gunner of
a Bf-110G he claimed as a probable. Fortunately
for him, he was spotted by the crew of an RAF
rescue launch just as he touched down in the icy
waters and was plucked aboard after only five
minutes of what he later said was, “The coldest
I ever was in my life.”
A third mission to Bremen on December
20 saw the group contribute 47 P-51s led by
Colonel Martin to an escort force of 26 P-38s and
418 P-47s; the 546 B-17s and B-24s made thid the
largest mission so far in Eighth Air Force history.
Over the target, James Howard spotted three
Bf-109s. One made the mistake of pulling up
under a B-17 as he completed his gunnery pass,
giving Howard the chance to close in from four
o’clock. While still out of range, he fired a burst
to scare his opponent away from the bomber as
the pilot positioned for another attack. Howard
rapidly closed the Bf-109 from dead astern.
When it filled his gunsight, he fired a two-
second burst and it emitted heavy black smoke.
ARTICLES
Duane Beeson was leading ace of the 4th‘s 334th Fighter
Squadron. His P-51B was named “Boise Bee” in honor of his
hometwon, Boise, Idaho. The dark areas on the airplane are
residue from the cocooning done to protect the airframe on
its trans-Atlantic delivery voyage. (USAF Official)
Debden air station was home of the 4th Fighter Group. It was a pre-war RAF air base, and the 4th was assigned
there in 1942 when they were still the Eagle Squadrons of the RAF. (USAF Official)
Captain Don Gentile (l) and his crew chief, T/Sgt
John Ferra (r) of the 4th Group’ 336th Fighter
Squadron. (USAF Official)
1st Lieutenant John T. Godfrey (l) with his dog Lucky
and crew chief T/Sgt Ed Krantz. Godfrey flew missions
as Don Gentile’s wingman and the two were hyped by
VIII Fighter Command Public Relations as the famous
“leader” and “wingman” during the “Ace Race” publicity
stunt in early 1944. (USAF Official)
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May 2024