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4th Fighter Group - Debden Eagles Chris Bucholtz | ||||||||||||
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Cena okładkowa: 14.99 GBP
Cena detaliczna: 63.00 zł
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| Formed around a nucleus of pilots already seasoned by their experience as volunteers in the RAF’s Eagle Squadrons, the 4th Fighter Group was established in England in October 1942. The RAF’s Nos 71, 121 and 133 Sqns became the USAAF’s 334th, 335th and 336th Fighter Squadrons, and flew Spitfires until April 1943 when they changed to P-47 Thunderbolts. In July 1943, the 4th was the first Eighth Air Force fighter group to penetrate German air space. The group’s record of 583 air and 469 ground victories was unmatched in the Eighth Air Force, and the group produced a cast of characters that included legendary aces Don Blakeslee, Pierce McKennon, ’Kid’ Hofer, Duane Beeson, ’Steve’ Pisanos and Howard Hively. The team of John Godfrey and Don Gentile was celebrated in the US media, and their supposed competition was characterised as the first American ’ace race’ of the War. The 4th was the first group to escort US bombers to Berlin, and participated in the Operation Frantic shuttle missions to Russia. While primarily a bomber escort group, the 4th also played roles in supporting the D-Day landings, Operation Market Garden, the Battle of the Bulge and the crossing of the Rhine. The group’s achievements came at a price, however, for 248 aircraft were lost in combat, with 125 pilots killed in action and 105 being taken prisoner - a 42 percent casualty rate. | ||||||||||||