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The 339th Fighter Group was a unit of the United States Air Forces during World War II.Maurer, Maurer (1983). ''Air Force Combat Units Of World War II''. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History. . It comprised the 503rd, 504th, and 505th Fighter Squadrons. The group was an Eighth Air Force fighter unit stationed in England assigned to
RAF Fowlmere Fowlmere Airfield is a small airfield located northeast of Royston, Hertfordshire and southwest of Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England. It was previously a Royal Air Force satellite station, RAF Fowlmere. History First World War Flying a ...
. It had the highest claims of air and ground enemy aircraft victories in one year, and was the only group to claim over a hundred ground strafing victories on two occasions – 105 on 4 April 1945 and 118 on 16 April 1945. It was inactivated on 18 October 1945.


Formation and training

The group was constituted as the 339th Bombardment Group (Dive) on 3 August at Hunter Field,
Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...
as a
Third Air Force The Third Air Force (Air Forces Europe) (3 AF) is a numbered air force of the United States Air Forces in Europe - Air Forces Africa (USAFE-AFAFRICA). Its headquarters is Ramstein Air Base, Germany. It is responsible for all U.S. air forces in Eu ...
Operational Training Unit Royal Air Force Operational Training Units (OTUs) were training units that prepared aircrew for operations on a particular type or types of aircraft or roles. OTUs ; No. 1 (Coastal) Operational Training Unit RAF (1 OTU): The Unit was formed in ...
and was equipped with
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and
A-25 Shrike A- or a- may refer to: ;A-hyphen * A- (plane), a U.S. military aircraft prefix * Privative a, a prefix expressing negation * Copulative a, a prefix expressing unification ;A-minus * A−, a blood type in the ABO blood group system * A− (grade) ...
dive bombers. The group moved to
Drew Field Tampa International Airport is an international airport west of Downtown Tampa, in Hillsborough County, Florida, United States. The airport is publicly owned by Hillsborough County Aviation Authority (HCAA)., effective December 30, 2021. The ...
, Florida, in February 1943 then to Walterboro Army Airfield, South Carolina, in July 1943 and finally to
Rice Army Airfield Rice Army Air Field (also known as Rice Air Base or Rice AAF) is an abandoned World War II airfield in Rice Valley of the southern Mojave Desert, located east-southeast of the community of Rice. The airfield is located in Riverside County ju ...
, California, in September 1943. The latter was part of Desert Training Center in Mojave Desert. They converted to
Bell P-39 Airacobra The Bell P-39 Airacobra is a fighter produced by Bell Aircraft for the United States Army Air Forces during World War II. It was one of the principal American fighters in service when the United States entered combat. The P-39 was used by the ...
aircraft in 1943.


European theatre

The group was reassigned to the
66th Fighter Wing The 66th Fighter Wing is a disbanded unit of the United States Air Force, last stationed at Chicago Municipal Airport, Illinois. It was withdrawn from the Illinois Air National Guard and inactivated on 31 October 1950. History World War II Es ...
of VIII Fighter Command and stationed at
RAF Fowlmere Fowlmere Airfield is a small airfield located northeast of Royston, Hertfordshire and southwest of Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England. It was previously a Royal Air Force satellite station, RAF Fowlmere. History First World War Flying a ...
in England in April 1944 and was redesignated 339th Fighter Group in May 1944. They were equipped with P-51 Mustang aircraft and the first combat operation was on 30 April 1944. The unit engaged primarily in
B-17 The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is a four-engined heavy bomber developed in the 1930s for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC). Relatively fast and high-flying for a bomber of its era, the B-17 was used primarily in the European Theater ...
/
B-24 The Consolidated B-24 Liberator is an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and some initial production aircraft were laid down as export models ...
escort duties during its first five weeks of operations, and afterwards flew many escort missions to cover the operations of medium and heavy bombers that struck strategic objectives, interdicted the enemy's communications, or supported operations on the ground. The group strafed airfields and other targets of opportunity while on escort missions. The 339th received a
Distinguished Unit Citation The Presidential Unit Citation (PUC), originally called the Distinguished Unit Citation, is awarded to units of the uniformed services of the United States, and those of allied countries, for extraordinary heroism in action against an armed enem ...
for operations on 10 and 11 September 1944. On the first of those days, when it escorted bombers to a target in Germany and then attacked an aerodrome near
Erding Erding () is a town in Bavaria, Germany, and capital of the rural district of the same name. It had a population of 36,469 in 2019. The original Erdinger Weissbier is a well-known Bavarian specialty. Erding is located around 31 kilometers n ...
, the group destroyed or damaged many enemy planes despite the intense fire it encountered from anti-aircraft guns and small arms. The following day the bomber formation being escorted to Munich was attacked by enemy fighters, but members of the 339th group destroyed a number of the interceptors and drove off the others and at the same time, other members of the 339th were attacking an airfield near Karlsruhe, where they encountered heavy fire but were able to destroy or damage many of the aircraft parked on the field. The 339th provided fighter cover over the English Channel and the coast of Normandy during the invasion of France in June 1944. They strafed and dive-bombed vehicles, locomotives, marshalling yards, anti-aircraft batteries, and troops while Allied forces fought to break out of the beachhead in France. The group attacked transportation targets as Allied armies drove across France after the breakthrough at Saint-Lô in July and flew area patrols during the airborne attack on Holland in September. They escorted bombers and flew patrols during the
Battle of the Bulge The Battle of the Bulge, also known as the Ardennes Offensive, was the last major German offensive campaign on the Western Front during World War II. The battle lasted from 16 December 1944 to 28 January 1945, towards the end of the war ...
from December 1944 – January 1945. They provided area patrols during the assault across the Rhine in March 1945.


Aces of the 339th FG


Post war

The 339th Fighter Group returned to
Camp Kilmer Located in Central New Jersey, Camp Kilmer is a former United States Army camp that was activated in June 1942 as a staging area and part of an installation of the New York Port of Embarkation. The camp was organized as part of the Army Service F ...
, New Jersey and was inactivated on 18 October 1945. The unit was redesignated
107th Fighter Group 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...
and allotted to the
New York National Guard The New York State Division of Military and Naval Affairs (NYS DMNA) is responsible for the state's New York Army National Guard, New York Air National Guard, New York Guard and the New York Naval Militia. It is headed by Adjutant General of Ne ...
on 24 May 1946.


References


External links

* * {{USAAF 8th Air Force UK Military units and formations established in 1942 Fighter groups of the United States Army Air Forces Military units and formations disestablished in 1945 1942 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state) 1945 disestablishments in New Jersey