353rd Fighter Group (USAAF)

The 353rd Fighter Group (USAAF) served with the Eighth Air Force, providing bomber escorts, flying ground attack missions and protecting troop transports.

The group was constituted in September 1942 and activated on 1 October 1942. It moved to Britain in May-June 1943 and was assigned to the Eighth Air Force. The 353rd became operational in August 1943, the first of a series of Eighth Air Force fighter groups to become operational in the second half of 1943.

The group was equipped with the P-47 Thunderbolt when it made its combat debut. It flew a mix of bomber escort and ground attack missions, and was also used to attack the Luftwaffe.

Between August 1943 and February 1944 the group was used to escort bombers attacking targets in western Europe and to attack targets in France and the Low Countries. It took part in 'Big Week', the attack on the Luftwaffe in 20-25 February 1944. Between March and May it increasingly acted as a fighter-bomber unit during the campaign that led up to the D-Day invasions.

During Operation Overlord the group was used to provide close support for the troops and air cover over the beach head. It also supported the American breakthrough at St Lo in July 1944.

The group was awarded a Distinguished Unit Citation for its actions during Operation Market Garden, where it escorted transport aircraft and acted as a fighter-bomber unit (17-23 September 1944).

In October 1944 the group converted to the P-51 Mustang. It used its new aircraft in the same roles as the Thunderbird - bomber escort, fighter bomber missions and attacks on the Luftwaffe. It took part in the Battle of the Bulge at the end of 1944 and the crossing of the Rhine in March 1945.

The group returned to the United States in October 1945 and was inactivated on 18 October.

Books

Clean Sweep – VIII Fighter Command against the Luftwaffe, 1942-45, Thomas McKelvey Cleaver. Looks at the long, costly battle fought by VIII Fighter Command over Europe to protect the bombers of the 8th Air Force, combining detailed accounts of individual air battles with a wider look at the complex technological battle that saw the Americans slowly gain the edge over their German rivals, in particular with the arrival of the long range P-51B Mustang, going from a short range force to a massive technically skilled force equipped with large numbers of long range aircraft capable of reaching just about anywhere in Germany, leaving the Luftwaffe with nowhere to hide (Read Full Review)

‘Big Week’ 1944 – Operation Argument and the breaking of the Jadgwaffe, Douglas C. Dildy. Looks at the USAAF’s concentrated attack on the German aircraft industry, a week of massive bombing raids that forced the Luftwaffe into an equally massive defensive effort that cost them around 150 aircrew at a time when they could hardly afford those losses, as well as cutting German fighter production by around 2,000 aircraft, and proving that the long range escort fighter was the key to a successful daylight bombing campaign (Read Full Review)

Aircraft

Timeline

Commanders (with date of appointment)

Lt Col Joseph A Morris: c. 15 Oct 1942
Lt Col Loren G McCollom: 18 Aug 1943
Col Glenn E Duncan: 25 Nov 1943
Col Ben Rimerman: 7 Jul 1944
Col Glenn E Duncan: 22 Apr 1945
Lt Col William B Bailey: 9 Sep 1945
Lt Col Robert A Elder: 24 Sep 1945-unkn

Main Bases

Mitchel Field, NY: 1 Oct 1942
Richmond AAB, Va: c. 7 Oct 1942
Baltimore, Md: c. 26 Oct 1942-c. 27 May 1943
Goxhill, England: Jun 1943
Metfield, England: 3 Aug 1943
Raydon, England: Apr 1944-0ct 1945
Camp Kilmer, NJ: c. 16-18 Oct 1945.

Component Units

Assigned To

October 1942-May 1943: Philadephia Fighter Wing; I Fighter Command; First Air Force
1943-September 1944: 66th Fighter Wing; VIII Fighter Command; Eighth Air Force
September 1944-Late 1945: 66th Fighter Wing; 3rd Air Division; Eighth Air Force

How to cite this article: Rickard, J (17 February 2016), 353rd Fighter Group (USAAF), http://www.historyofwar.org/air/units/USAAF/353rd_Fighter_Group.html

29 September 1942	Constituted as 353rd Fighter Group
1 October 1942	Activated
May-June 1943	To Britain and Eighth Air Force
October 1945	To United States
18 October 1945	Inactivated