The 356th Fighter Group is an inactive

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Si ...

organization. Its last assignment was with the

Army Service Forces The Army Service Forces was one of the three autonomous components of the United States Army during World War II, the others being the Army Air Forces and Army Ground Forces, created on 9 March 1942. By dividing the Army into three large comman ...

, being stationed at

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 ...

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delawa ...

. It was inactivated on 10 November 1945. During World War II the group was an

Eighth Air Force The Eighth Air Force (Air Forces Strategic) is a numbered air force (NAF) of the United States Air Force's Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC). It is headquartered at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana. The command serves as Air Forc ...

fighter unit stationed in England. Assigned to

RAF Martlesham Heath Royal Air Force Martlesham Heath or more simply RAF Martlesham Heath is a former Royal Air Force station located southwest of Woodbridge, Suffolk, England. It was active between 1917 and 1963, and played an important role in the development o ...

in 1943. Despite excellent leadership had highest ratio of losses to enemy aircraft claims of all Eighth Air Force fighter groups. It earned 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 actions on 17, 18, and 23 September 1944 for support of

Operation Market-Garden Operation Market Garden was an Allied military operation during the Second World War fought in the Netherlands from 17 to 27 September 1944. Its objective was to create a salient into German territory with a bridgehead over the River Rhine, ...

airborne forces in the Netherlands.

History

: ''See 118th Airlift Wing for additional lineage and history information'' Organized and trained in the Northeast United States by

First Air Force The First Air Force (Air Forces Northern; 1 AF-AFNORTH) is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Air Combat Command (ACC). It is headquartered at Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida. Its primary mission is the air defense of the C ...

. During training was part of the air defense of the northeast, being attached to the New York and Boston Fighter Wings. Deployed to England aboard the

RMS Queen Elizabeth RMS ''Queen Elizabeth'' was an ocean liner operated by Cunard Line. With ' she provided weekly luxury liner service between Southampton in the United Kingdom and New York City in the United States, via Cherbourg in France. While being constr ...

and served in combat as part of

VIII Fighter Command The VIII Fighter Command was a United States Army Air Forces unit of command above the wings and below the numbered air force. Its primary mission was command of fighter operations within the Eighth Air Force. In the World War II European The ...

from October 1943 to May 1945, participating in operations that prepared for the invasion of the Continent, and supporting the landings in

Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...

and the subsequent Allied drive across France and Germany. The group flew

P-47 Thunderbolt The Republic P-47 Thunderbolt is a World War II-era fighter aircraft produced by the American company Republic Aviation from 1941 through 1945. It was a successful high-altitude fighter and it also served as the foremost American fighter-bomb ...

s until they were replaced by

P-51 Mustang The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang is an American long-range, single-seat fighter and fighter-bomber used during World War II and the Korean War, among other conflicts. The Mustang was designed in April 1940 by a team headed by James ...

s in November 1944. Aircraft of the 356th were identified by a magenta/blue diamond pattern around their cowling. The group consisted of the following squadrons: *

359th Fighter Squadron 359th may refer to: *359th Bombardment Squadron, United States Air Force unit *359th Fighter Group The 359th Fighter Group was a United States Army Air Force fighter unit that was active during World War II. Following organization and trainin ...

(OC) 12 December 1942 – 10 November 1945 *

360th Fighter Squadron 36 may refer to: * 36 (number), the natural number following 35 and preceding 37 * One of these years of Gregorian or Julian calendars: ** 36 BC, 1st century BCE ** AD 36, 1st century ** 1936, 20th century ** 2036, 21st century Arts and entertain ...

(PI) 12 December 1942 – 10 November 1945 *

361st Fighter Squadron 361st may refer to: * 361st Bombardment Squadron or 1st Antisubmarine Squadron, inactive United States Air Force unit *361st Fighter Group, World War II United States Army Air Forces combat organization * 361st Fighter Squadron or 461st Flight Test ...

(QI) 12 December 1942 – 10 November 1945 From October 1943 until January 1944, operated as escort for

B-17 Flying Fortress 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 Liberator 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 ...

bombers that attacked such objectives as industrial areas, missile sites, airfields, and communications. Fighters from the 356th engaged primarily in bombing and strafing missions after 3 January 1944, with its targets including U-boat installations, barges, shipyards, aerodromes, hangars, marshalling yards, locomotives, trucks, oil facilities,

flak tower Flak towers (german: link=no, Flaktürme) were large, above-ground, anti-aircraft gun blockhouse towers constructed by Nazi Germany. There were 8 flak tower complexes in the cities of Berlin (three), Hamburg (two), and Vienna (three) from 1940 on ...

s, and radar stations. Bombed and strafed in the

Arnhem Arnhem ( or ; german: Arnheim; South Guelderish: ''Èrnem'') is a city and municipality situated in the eastern part of the Netherlands about 55 km south east of Utrecht. It is the capital of the province of Gelderland, located on both ban ...

area on 17, 18, and 23 September 1944 to neutralize enemy gun emplacements, and received a

for this contribution to the airborne attack on the Netherlands. In early 1945, group's

s clashed with German

Me 262 The Messerschmitt Me 262, nicknamed ''Schwalbe'' (German: "Swallow") in fighter versions, or ''Sturmvogel'' (German: "Storm Bird") in fighter-bomber versions, is a fighter aircraft and fighter-bomber that was designed and produced by the German ...

jet aircraft. The group flew its last combat mission, escorting B-17's dropping propaganda leaflets, on 7 May 1945. It returned to

and was inactivated on 10 November 1945. Redesignated

118th Fighter Group The 118th Wing (118 WG) is a unit of the Tennessee Air National Guard, stationed at Berry Field Air National Guard Base, Nashville, Tennessee. The 118th is equipped with the MQ-9 Reaper. If activated to federal service, it is gained by the Unite ...

. Allotted to

Tennessee Air National Guard The Tennessee Air National Guard (TN ANG) is the aerial militia of the State of Tennessee, United States of America. It is, along with the Tennessee Army National Guard, an element of the Tennessee National Guard. As state militia units, the units ...

on 24 May 1946

Lineage

* Constituted as 356th Fighter Group on 8 December 1942 : Activated on 12 December 1942 : Inactivated on 10 November 1945. * Redesignated

. Allotted to ANG (Tennessee) on 24 May 1946

Assignments

I Fighter Command I Fighter Command was a United States Army Air Forces intermediate command responsible for command and control of the fighter operations within the First Air Force during World War II. It was initially established in June 1941 as the 1st In ...

, 12 December 1942 – 15 August 1943 : Attached to:

New York Fighter Wing The New York Fighter Wing is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with the I Fighter Command, stationed at Mitchel Field, New York It was inactivated on 10 April 1944. The wing was a World War II air defense organiza ...

30 May – 4 July 1943 : Attached to:

Boston Fighter Wing Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- most p ...

4 July – 15 August 1943 * 65th Fighter Wing, 26 August 1943 *

67th Fighter Wing The 67th Fighter Wing was a unit of the United States Air Force for four years, between 1946 and 1950. It was located at Logan Airport, in Boston, Massachusetts. It is unrelated to the modern 67th Network Warfare Wing. History World War II The ...

, 8 August 1944 : Attached to: 1st Bombardment (later Air) Division, 15 September 1944 – 2 November 1945 *

(for inactivation), 4–10 November 1945

Stations

Westover Field Westover may refer to: People * Al Westover (born 1954), American professional basketball player in Australia * Arthur Westover (1864–1935), Canadian sport shooter and 1908 Olympian * Charles Westover (1934–1990), better known as Del Shannon, ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

, 12 December 1942 * Groton Army Airfield,

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the ...

, 12 March 1943 *

Mitchel Field Mitchell may refer to: People *Mitchell (surname) *Mitchell (given name) Places Australia * Mitchell, Australian Capital Territory, a light-industrial estate * Mitchell, New South Wales, a suburb of Bathurst * Mitchell, Northern Territory ...

, New York, 30 May 1943 * Grenier Field,

New Hampshire New Hampshire is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

, 4 July – 15 August 1943 *

RAF Goxhill Royal Air Force Goxhill or RAF Goxhill is a former Royal Air Force station located east of Goxhill, on the south bank of the Humber Estuary, opposite the city of Kingston upon Hull, in north Lincolnshire, England. Origins During the First World ...

(USAAF Station 345), England, 27 August 1943 *

(USAAF Station 369), England, 5 October 1943 – 4 November 1945 *

, 9–10 November 1945

References

External links

Captain John Pershing Perrin DFC, 1943/44 356th FG/361st Fighter Squadron Ace – who died so others might live
* Wartime air crash. Perrin Memorial
John Perrin, Class of '40 The Rutgers Oral History Archives
{{Authority control Fighter groups of the United States Army Air Forces Military units and formations established in 1942