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American Fighters

2nd Air Division

The 4th FG was one of the oldest of the 8th Air Force fighter groups and actually flew British Spitfires prior to receiving new Republic P-47 Thunderbolts in April of 1943. Also in April 1943 the 56th Fighter Group arrived in England equipped with the mighty P-47s. The 479th FG was a late comer; it was May 1944 when they came to England equipped with Lockheed P-38 Lightnings. The 4th FG, the 355th FG, and the 361st FG all changed over to North American P-51 Mustangs in April and May of 1944. By October of 1944, the 479th FG had flown their last mission in the P-38 and had converted to the P-51. The 56th FG was the only fighter group in all the 8th Air Force that never changed to the P-51; it stayed with their beloved P-47 to the end of WWII. Major Francis Gabreski was the leading ace of the 8th AF with 28 kills and he was with the 56th FG.

The Lockheed P-38 was designed by Kelly Johnson in his famous "skunk works" in 1938. Its design was unique to say the least. It was the first modern fighter with a nose wheel, it was the first fighter equipped with exhaust-driven turbo-superchargers, the first to have a "bubble" canopy from the very beginning of its design, and the twin-boom configuration was one-of-a-kind for a fighter. The engines were the same Allison V-12 liquid-cooled engines that were used on the, Curtis P-40 and the Bell P-39, except the turbo-superchargers provided excellent high altitude performance. The first flight was on January 27, 1939 and there were problems. There was a tail flutter during a dive or in high speed manuvering. Counter-balances were attached to the top and bottom of the elevator, the propellers contra-rotated to eliminate torque and turned toward each other at the top. The engines were changed from right to left, now the props turned away from each other at the top which provided smoother air flow over the tail surfaces and the flutter was gone.

Most of the P-38s delivered to the 8th AF were P-38Js with 1425 HP engines and a top speed of 425 mph at 30,000 feet. The range was over 1,000 miles, which meant the P-38 could escort bombers to any target in Germany. It could out-maneuver a ME-109 and stay with the FW-190. The armament was four .50 caliber machine guns and one 200 mm cannon all mounted in the nose for very concentrated fire-power. There were some problems with the supercharger intercoolers in the very cold temperatures at high altitude over Europe, the P-51 with the Rolls Royce Merlin engine was becoming available, and the P-38 was in high demand in the Pacific Theater because of the long over-water missions where the safety factor of the twin engines was very desirable. Therefore, the P-38 saw limited use in the 8th Air Force and the 2nd Air Division. The leading American ace of WWII was Richard Bong with 40 victories, all in the P-38 in the Pacific.

In 1936 there was the Seversky P-35, in 1940 came the Republic P-43; both forerunners of the Republic P-47 and all designed by Alexander Kartveli. Late in 1940 a Pratt-Whitney R-2800 engines of 2,000 HP was mounted on a P-43 and the P-47 was born. This engine had an internal geardriven single stage supercharger plus an exhaust-driven turbo-supercharger which gave the P-47 excellent high altitude performance to 42,000 feet. Performance was outstanding; it could out-climb or out-dive any fighter to (late, and top speed of the P-47D was 433 mph. There were a total of 11,600 of this model built. In March of 1943, the 4th Fighter Group of the 8th AF received new P-47s to replace their Spitfires. The first victory by a P-47 was a Focke Wulf 190 shot down by Major Don Blakeslee on April 15, 1943. By the end of 1943 nine fighter groups would be equipped with the P-47.

It was a rugged and agile airplane, an able match for any German fighter, but, it had one major fault as a bomber escort: it lacked sufficient range to reach the more distant German targets. By January 1944, P-51s began replacing P-47s as bomber escorts in the 8th AF. After D-Day, the 9th Air Force moved from England to France and the P-47 was an ideal airplane for troop support missions. Its eight wing mounted .50 caliber machine guns were just the thing for strafing targets such as airfields, railway stations, bridges, locomotives, rail cars, tanks, and other armored vehicles. It could also carry a one thousand pound bomb under each wing, or ten rockets. From D-Day to VE Day the P-47s of the 9th and 12th Air Forces destroyed 9,000 locomotives, 86,000 rail cars, 68,000 trucks, and 6,000 tanks. It was a very tough bird.

You may have heard how the British came to Curtis Aviation in 1940 seeking to buy new Curtis P-40 fighters. Curtis was very busy turning out fighters for the U.S. Army Air Corps, but suggested the Brits check with North American Aviation who had a fighter airplane on the drawing boards but no orders. North American promised the Brits a new fighter in 120 days. (This is a very abbreviated version of this oft told story.) Actually the airframe was completed in 107 days and had to wait a few days for the Allison engine. The first flight was October 25, 1940 with good results. The USAAF acquired two of the first order of ten; the rest went to the RAF as the P-51A Mustang. It was faster than a Spitfire at low altitudes; well suited for reconnaissance and strafing missions; the engine was not supercharged which eliminated high altitude missions. Even so, the Brits were well pleased with their new Mustang. The USAAF ordered 500 of the new P-51s equipped with bomb racks and dive brakes, and the A-36 dive bomber was born.

Some say it was a British test pilot who recommended a Rolls Royce Merlin engine be fitted in to the P-51 airframe to improve high altitude performance. Others say because Packard Motor Company got a license to produce the Rolls Royce Merlin in America that it was North American Aviation itself who decided to outfit the P-51 with the Merlin engine. The XP-51B with the 1595 HP Packard Merlin first flew in November of 1942. Top speed at 30,000 feet was 441 mph; the two-speed, two-stage supercharger required no pilot action; at 17,000 feet it shifted itself into high blower automatically. It was very maneuverable, sensitive to control inputs, a pilot friendly kind of airplane. The internal fuel tanks contained 425 gallons which gave it a range of 1,000 miles; add drop fuel tanks under the wings and the range exceeds 1,500 miles. Here was the perfect bomber escort fighter airplane. The 354th Fighter Group was outfitted with P-51Bs in December of 1943. Add 100 HP, install a bubble canopy, add a small dorsal fin ahead of the vertical tail, and you have the famous P-51D, acclaimed as the best propeller-driven fighter airplane of WWII. The six .50 caliber machine gums and the ability to carry two 1,000 pound bombs made it a fearsome weapon at low attitude, and maneuverability and speed at high altitude made it superior to all German fighters, except perhaps the jet engine powered ME-262. The long range made it the perfect bomber escort; the P-51D was the best!

As more P-51s became available throughout 1944, fighter groups changed over from P-47s and P-38s to the P-51 with one notable exception. The 56th FG retained their beloved P-17s to wars end. On April 7,1945 I was flying my 35th and last mission. The target was a munitions factory at Krummel near Hamburg. I saw a P-47 in a vertical dive shoot down a ME-262 jet fighter, the only fighter action I witnessed during my tour of missions.

Oak Mackey. The Journal 2nd Air Division. Volume 44 Number 3, Fall 2005.

B-17 Escorts P-38 To Safety

My stateside training for combat was some 50 hours in the razorback P-47, firing nary a shot. We did get considerable low-level navigation flights which was invigorating to skim at tree top level or below, but likely not amusing to the local residents who endured our devilish tactics.

Debarking at Tripoli, quickly found myself near the village of San Servero, westerly of Foggia at the spur of Italy. Displaying my best 2nd Lt salute to the squadron commander, Major Lee Wiseman; I was informed to take a short flight in the P-38. I had never seen a P-38 or been in the cockpit of a twin engine air-craft, so I asked for the Pilot's Operating Manual. He stated there was no manual available and move as I was scheduled for a mission.

Checked out a parachute, oxygen mask and canvas helmet and was jeeped to a P-38 where the crew chief instructed me on the procedure for getting to the cockpit by opening a retractable scissor like ladder at the trailing end of the gondola fuselage. Settling into the cockpit, the crew chief reached over and started the engines. Taxiing on the steel mats to the runway, I felt at home in the cockpit. At the end of the dirt runway, which was the width of a residential street and some 2000 feet long at best, pushed the throttles forward and was impressed by the purr of 1400 horse power on each side. With no external load, the counterrotating props thrust me into the air in short order. This was love at first flight and the machine endeared me with each passing mission.

My first mission was a short strafing run in northern Italy, staying on the deck until reaching the target. The next day was an exposure to our primary mission; escorting B-17s and B-24s into the territorial belly occupied by Germany long range bombers, this time to Ploesti. Awoke that morning to the distant sound of bombers herding into formations and heading to the target. After a hefty breakfast - there were no snacks for the next five hours or more - the skies were silent as we were briefed on our role in protecting the bombers; namely, do not get sucked into a battle that would expose the bombers to assault. Briefly we were to position between the bombers and any enemy aircraft, entering into battle only if the bombers were threatened. The more agile P-51s were responsible for engaging the enemy fighters and pursue them, even to tree top level.

Our flight became airborne some two hours after the bombers set course for the target area. We would rendezvous with the bomber formations about 150-200 miles from the target. Over the bomber formation, reduced the RPM and increased the manifold pressure to conserve fuel. My more experienced tent mate instructed me on this procedure, which was passed over from Charles Lindbergh who was flying the P-38 in the Pacific area. We split the squadron into flights of four to cover the bomber string, staying two to three thousand feet above in lazy S turns to stay abreast of the bombers and have better sight for enemy fighters.

The temperature inside the cockpit was the same as the outside temperature - damn cold - 50 to 60 degrees below zero. I had traded my leather jacket for British fur-lined boots; but my feet were numb. Looking down on the graceful B-17s I began to absorb the plight of the crews jammed in a tube of thin aluminum at sub zero temperature and sitting on several tons of explosives. Had those crews been aware how green I was behind [and between] the ears; their apprehensions would have been increasingly tense. More aggravating were the bursts of antiaircraft fire over the target - Ploesti - incessant blasts of fire leaving a thick cloud of black smoke. I agonized for the crews that flew into that pulsating dark mass of fire power with its attendant shrapnel. It did not seem plausible that any aircraft could survive such compact antiaircraft defense. No words or monuments can adequately portray the skill and courage of those bomber crews.

Nearing the flak area, we broke off coverage. Fighter pilots may not be the most intelligent lot, but neither the allied or German fighters penetrated the flak zone. While skirting the target area I noted a conspicuously large burst of flak which I reported in my intelligence debriefing. Only on later mission did I realize those bursts were bombers receiving a direct hit in the bomb bay. We would pick the bombers up as they exited, often scattered vertically and horizontally. The German fighters preyed on the stragglers or crippled aircraft as we sought to provide cover. It was at this stage that we were more likely to engage the enemy.

Believe it was on my sixth escort mission to Ploesti that I was separated from my flight short of the target area, so maneuvered to the north to pick up any stragglers. Obviously too close to the flak zone, my plane took a hit in the right engine, which I feathered while pushing the throttle forward on the left engine to retain airspeed. The power in the left engine diminished, inadequate to maintain altitude, thus began a slow descent toward home; some 500 plus miles distance. My objective then was to reach Yugoslavia, bail out and have the local tribes return me home through a network of those friendly to the U.S.

Heading away from Ploesti, the visibility was unlimited and no other aircraft were in sight; it was like someone flipped a switch and the war was over. It was an eerie sensation being in a war zone of tranquility - and a bit lonely. I grasped the placid beauty of the quilt of farmlands and villages basking in an admixture of midsummer greens and scattered patterns of gray and brown. At about 15,000 feet, I could maintain altitude at a comfortably speed above stalling. However, I felt like a pinata hanging on a heavenly string awaiting someone to swat me.

In that moment of mixed emotions - serene anxiety - observed a crippled B-17 several miles to my left and eased toward it cautiously so as not to be mistaken for a German at the controls. In North Africa there were reports of downed U.S. planes being repaired, and German pilots mischievously attacking allied planes. Hanging off the right wing of the B-17, the waist gunner waved and I signaled in return, comforted by the protection of their gunners and relaxed knowing some 16 or so other eyes were scanning the skies, allowing me to check my instruments and calculate my fuel and position for the flight home.. I wondered how this would look on my fighter pilot resume: "Crippled B-17 escorts fighter to safety". At that juncture, I didn't care.

Am unaware how long I ambled along under the protective wing of that B-17 - seemed like hours. As we approached the mountains of Yugoslavia, I drifted down and away, picking up speed. Shortly, the gleaming Adriatic reflected the sun streams and some small boats were hugging the crusty shore, a scene that made me complacent. That was short lived as some tracers altered my composure, dictating some modest evasive action. I was directly over Spit where the Germans harbored one of the elite antiaircraft units. I assume most of the soldiers had called it quits for the day as I was an easy target. From there it was clear sailing.

I wonder if that B-17 crew made it back okay. I'd like to thank them for their hospitality and security of the escort.

Lee Fisher. B-17 Escorts P-38 To Safety. Bomber Legends. Volume 2 No. 3 2005. Editor's note: If anyone has information on this incident, please write to Lee Fisher, c/o Bomber Legends, 1672 Main Street. Ste. E-124, Ramona. CA 92065.

Report of Joint Fighter Conf. NAS Patuxent River, MD 16-23 Oct. 1944. A must for the buff or historian, this book covers the views of the military services, test pilots, engineers, scientists, and a transcript of proceedings. Discusses the qualities of aircraft such as the P-39, P-47, P-38, P-51, etc. in relation to their adversaries. Serving to promote cross-talk between all aspects of aircraft fighter production and use.

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