1st Fighter Group WW2 History

1942

Originally compiled by SSgt John DesHetler, 1st Fighter Wing History Office, Langley AFB, VA
edited by Pete Bartos, using Mullins' "An Escort of P-38's," the 71st Squadron diary, Gray diary, Richard diary, Hoffman diary, Brenden diary and Graham 1st FG MACR compilation

1941 
1943 
1944 
1945
3 Jan 1942 The group transfers 124 people to the 51st pursuit group
1 Feb 1942 A transfer of 129 people is made back to Selfridge to the 80th Pursuit Group.
12 Feb 1942 The 71st Squadron left the Naval Air Station at San Diego, California by truck convoy, arriving at the Grand Central Air Terminal, Glendale, California.
12 Mar 1942 Lt James Lauck, 94th FS, killed in action.
19 Mar 1942 Lt Lawrence Scholzhauer, 94th FS, killed in action.
12 Apr 1942 General Arnold, at the insistence of Eddie Rickenbacker, orders the reinstatement of the Hat in the Ring Emblem for the 94th.
18 Apr 1942 The personnel were informed that a split up of squadron personnel would be affected soon. Part of the squadrons to remain at Glendale to form a new squadrons and the remainder would be placed on foreign service. There was a great deal of joy and sorrow; joy on the part of those who were leaving for "action at last " , and sorrow on the part of the others for not being included in the group to depart. However all of the men realized that some must remain to form new squadrons on the Coast.
30 Apr 1942 Lt Walter Lichtenberger, 94th FS, killed in action.
25 Apr - 5 May 1942 Group Commander LtCol Robert S. Israel along with 474 enlisted men and 24 other officers transfer to form the cadre of the 82nd Pursuit Group.
5 May 1942 71st Squadron saddenned by the split-up of their men, including many of the older men who were with the Squadron since its activation. These men were assigned to the 96th Pursuit Squadron of the 82nd Pursuit Group, and were transferred to Muroc Lake, California.
15 May 1942 The Group is re-designated the 1st Fighter Group
17 May 1942 The Group begins its deployment to England, with the air echelon of P-38s and a small contingent of maintainers to fly initially to Dow Field, near Bangor, Maine. Ground personnel to proceed to Fort Dix, New Jersey for embarkation. Advance party of ground crew sent to Dow Field, Maine to await arrival of aircraft.
18 May 1942 27 FS maintainer contingent departs via United Air Lines for Dow Field to await arrival of P-38s.
20 May 1942 The 71st FS planes and pilots left early in the morning for their cross-country flight, and 15 maintainers who were flying by commercial aircraft left about 8:00 A.M. The remainder of the 71st Squadron was on hand to give them all a big send-off. About 4:00 P.M., the balance of the 71st Squadron entrained a t the Burbank Station of the Southern Pacific Railroad Station. Note: it is unclear from the records whether the group travelled together or as seperate squadrons as only the detailed diary of the 71st is currently available to reconstruct timelines.
20-27 May 71 FS Air Echelon route across the USA: First stop El Paso, Texas, remaining there for two days, servicing the P-38s. Then to Barksdale, Louisiana for a stay of a day and a half. The next hop was to Patterson Field, Ohio. After a two and a half day stay here the planes took off for Mitchell Army Air Field, New York. A stop-over of one and a half days gave the men a splendid opportunity to spend an evening in New York City. Following this brief respite, the planes were readied for the final hop to Bangor, Maine, where the advance party (which had departed via train on May 17th from Glendale) was waiting.
23 May 1942 Privates Chmura and Domarack, were recently assigned to the 71st, were dropped as AWOL'ers, having left the train during the night. In mid-afternoon the train arrived in Chicago. The men's spirits were greatly enhanced by the friendly hand waves and horn-tooting of the civilians passed enroute. All seemed to express the sentiment: "We're with you boys, give 'em hell!"
24 May 1942 Ground forces arrive at Fort Dix, NJ.
25 May 1942 The flying elements from all three squadrons arrived at Dow Field, where training in high-altitude formation flying takes place. Two new members of the 1st FG, Private 1cl Craddock and Private Karlsen of the 71st, listed as AWOL from Ft Dix.
3 Jun 1942 Ground Forces board the Queen Elizabeth late in the evening and into the next morning.
4 Jun 1942 Queen Elizabeth pulled out of the berth at 11:00 A.M and steamed towards the British Isles.
6 Jun 1942 The flying echelon arrived at Morris Field, North Carolina en route to California in response to the Battle of Midway. News of the Japanese retreat prompted Army Air Corp leadership to order the 1st Fighter Group back to Maine.
9 Jun 1942 The Queen Elizabeth had made its way deep into the Coastline of Northern Scotland by 7 P.M. The green countryside picturesque landscape of the country of Scotland made a deep impression upon the personnel. At approximately 10:15 P.M. the Queen Elizabeth stopped a t the small town o f Gourock. Because o f the late hour it was decided to unload in the morning. Queen Elizabeth arrives at Gourcock, Scotland where the echelon moved to an RAF station at Goxhill, England.
10 Jun 1942 Group disembarks from the Queen Elizabeth arrives at Gourcock, Scotland and the echelon moved via train to an RAF station at Goxhill, England, near the English Seacoast of Hull. British hospitality and organization throughout the journey made an immediate excellent impression upon the Group's personnel.
24 Jun 1942 The First Fighter Group begins its Operation Bolero deployment with Secret orders. The route ran from Maine to Goose Bay, Labrador, thence to Greenland, Iceland, and Scotland.
 

"Operation Bolero" trans-Atlantic travel details of one group of P-38s and support crew from the 71st squadron:

27Jun 1942 Group departs in P-38s, US transports and bombers, stopping first at Preque Isle, Maine. After a few hours stopover, on to Goose Bay Labrador, Canada, where inclement weather sets in.
12 July 42 - Weather lifts and allows departure to cold, desolate BW1, Greenland for 2 days.
14 July Group flies to Iceland to join thousands of transiting American military personnel.
16 July Group departs Iceland for Prestwick, Scotland.
20 July to Chevelston, England.
21 July 42 - arrive Goxhill, England.

"Operation Bolero" trans-Atlantic travel details of one group of P-38s and support crew from the 27th squadron:

26 Jun 1942 - Group departs in P-38s, US transports and bombers, stopping first at Presque Isle, Maine, then on to Goose Bay Labrador, Canada, where inclement weather sets in. "There wasn’t any place to spend money and we ate them out of supplies."
1 July 42 - Weather lifts and allows departure to Greenland.
2 July 42 - Group flies to Iceland but encountered bad weather. Only two transports came through, and the others had to turn back. "Was I ever glad to set my feet on ground that day," wrote crew chief Donald Brenden after landing in Iceland.

27th remained at Iceland to help defend the island against German long-range patrol aircraft.
25 July 42 - Got orders to depart Iceland
9 Aug 42 - STILL in Iceland
14 Aug 42 - A German Focke Wolfe 200 Condor was sighted overhead and AAA opened up on it. Two 27 FS planes flown by Major Weltman and Lt. Elza Shahan were just circling the field and immediately joined in pursuit of the long range German patrol aircraft. Weltman came back after emptying his guns. His prop had been damaged by a bullet which also entered the shell box, so he took another ship and took off. The German plane was shot down over the water. A P-40 set one engine on fire, then Lt. Shahan came in from above and cut loose. The plane reportedly seemed to explode in mid-air. 

22 Aug 42 - 27th departs Iceland for Prestwick, Scotland in 24 C-47 transports. "Went to a dance that night. Saw a Scottish bag pipe band, all wearing their kilts. Some fun. The Scotch, including women, were very friendly. Were very glad to see us come. At the close of the dance, they played a few bars of The Star Spangled Banner."
23 Aug 42 - to Atcham Field, England, near Shrewsbury, thence via truck to High Ercall, Shropshire, England to join the P-38s and pilots.
14 Sep 42 - 27 FS moves to Colerne, near Bath, England.
Late Oct 42 - 27 FS moves to Ibsley, England.

Flight times via C-47 reported as:
Maine to Labrador   4:50 hr.
Labrador to Greenland 5:10 hr.
Greenland to Iceland  6:15 hr.
Iceland to Scotland  5:45 hr.
Scotland to England 2:00 hr.


9 Jul 1942

The first seven P-38s arrived at Prestwick, Scotland, then Goxhill, near Hull.

The morale of the men rose tremendously today when the roar of seven P-38's was heard overhead at Goxhill. These planes were escorted by a score of British Spitfires and Hurricanes, which peeled off in close formation, and "buzzed" the field, each successively by a zooming power dive. This display caused excitement galore to all personnel of the field. It proved to be the best tonic for the morale of the men since they left the United States.

However the 27th remained at Iceland to help defend the island against German long-range patrol aircraft.
10 Jul 1942 Aircraft were located in several locations, 46 were still in Goose Bay, 15 at two separate locations in Greenland four at one, 11 on another field, and 12 in Iceland. The 94th Pursuit Squadron Headquartered at Kirton, an English tactical field with English Squadrons, accounting for the sending of so many of 1st FG men to Kirton on detached service.
14 Jul 1942 Six P-38s and a B-17 were forced down by bad weather on the Greenland Icecap. Rescue units recovered the crewmembers however all seven aircraft remained behind.
31 Jul 1942 The Bolero Status Report placed the 1st Fighter Group in England.. The Group Headquarters, the 71st, and 27th ground echelon took up station at Goxhill, while the 94th moved to nearby Kirton in Lindsay. Air echelon for the 27th still flew out of Iceland.
8 Aug 1942 No air raids worthy of mention thus far at Goxhill, except for a few scattered air raids, which did no damage whatsoever. Nonetheless, they had taken the novelty off the edge of enemy air raids by this date.
14 Aug 1942 Lt Elza D Shahan from the 27th shared credit with a P-40 pilot, Lt Joseph D. Schafer, for the first German aircraft shot down in the European Theater of Operations, an FW-200 Condor four engine reconnaissance aircraft.
19 Aug 1942 Lt Charles Oakley of the 94th is killed in an accident in the UK.
27 Aug 1942 71st moves from Goxhill to Kirton in Lindsay to join the 94th.
31 Aug 1942 The 27th completes its transfer from Iceland to Colorned, United Kingdom.
  A scramble of two 94th P-38s from Ibsley, England for bogeys over the North Sea became the first combat mission flown by the group in WW II.
1 Sep 1942 Group Headquarters located with the 94th at Kirton Lindsay.
  Colonel Stone led 32 aircraft on a sweep over France an the group's first WWII combat sorties over the continent. German pilots examined the P-38s from a respectful distance.
7 Sep 1942 Lt. Francis "Bucky" Harris became one of the first men to live after bailing out of a "38" after his engine burned out, aircraft stalled, then crashed near Avon On Tyrell, UK. [P-38F #41-7611]
10 Sep 1942 The group received new ID letters and call signs. The 27th carried HV codes and the call sign "Petdog" while the 94th used UN, call sign "Springcap." The 71st used LM codes and the call sign assigned to them was "Cragmore."
17 Sep 1942 1st Fighter Group P-38s took off in the morning to escort bombers, but returned shortly afterwards when their orders suddenly changed.
30 Sep 1942 After occasionally scrambling to meet German intruders in England with fruitless results, Rickenbacker visited to boost morale and hand out "hat in the ring" pins to the pilots of the 94th.
2 Oct 1942 As the Group conducted an escot mission to Meaulte, France, 71st FS pilot Lt. William H. Young from Andrews County,Texas was shot down and killed over a German airfield in occupied France, becoming the squadron's first combat casualty in WW II (shot down on by Unteroffizer Stoller, 2nd Staffel -2./JG26- three kilometers west of Coquelles, France near Calais at 1625hrs -- information courtesy of Belgian historian Luc Vervoort).
9 Oct 1942 1st Fighter Group reportedly escorted 110 Flying Fortresses to targets near Berlin (P38s above along with 31st Pursuit Spitfires below). "The Spits mixed it and 38's went back to help em and FW 190's beat it."
11 Oct 1942 Lt. William S.L. Pennington hit the ground during a practice run over an anti-aircraft position at Ibsley and killed, along with a British soldier in a generator shack that was struck in the crash. P-38F #41-7618
21-26 Oct 1942 The Group's ground echelon packed up, left Isbley, and arrived in Scotland awaiting transport. Finally departed Scotland on 26 October at 10:20pm in a dilapidated transport ship in a convoy.
2 Nov 1942 The Group's ground echelon, amidst many rumors in the previous weeks, discovered they were bound for North Africa.
6 Nov 1942 A sub is sunk by depth charges only 350 yards dead ahead of the transport convoy carrying the Group's ground echelon. Convoy passes through the straights of Gibraltar at 11:00pm.
9 Nov 1942 1st FG ground element wades ashore in Arzew, Algeria. Sniper fire harrasses them for the next several days, and Sgt Loren Eck, 71st, is wounded. They were also strafed by "friendly" planes, which had landed at the nearby airport thinking it was in allied hands. The French, who had not yet decided which side they were on, simply refueled these planes and sent out with their own pilots to harass the "enemy."
11 Nov 1942 A party of seven officers and 200 enlisted men established an advanced camp and airfield at Tafaroui, Algeria. Free French in Africa sign Armistice with the Allies.
12 Nov 1942 In Operation TORCH, the air echelon of P-38s start toward North Africa with an interim stop at Gibraltar. One pilot, Lt Robert Chenoweth of the 27th, was lost over the Atlantic due to mechanical difficulties. 1st Fighter Group HQ and 27th FS moves from St Leu to Tafaraoui.
13 Nov 1942 71st Fighter Squadron moves from St Leu to Tafaraoui.
14 Nov 1942

Air echelon arrives at {Lartique} Tafaroui minus two pilots from the 94th. These two airmen, Captain James Harmon, squadron commander, and Lt Jack Ilfrey landed in Lisbon, where the neutral Portuguese intended to hold the two pilots for the duration of the war. Ilfrey landed first. After they refueled his aircraft meant to be used to give a Portuguese pilot a check ride Ilfrey literally blew off the foreign officer as well as his guards as he took advantage of his position back in the cockpit and took off for Gibraltar. After this international incident, Harmon had to be smuggled out of Portugal after a four month stay.

Tafaroui was reportedly a nice looking field considering the terrain. Runways quite short. The new desert Spitfires of the 31st were also here. Other aircraft at the field included P-38s of the 14th, B-26s, B-25s, A-20s, Gen. Doolittle's B-17-G, some {Amiat} French bombers around, and some old wrecks fixed up as dummies. Tafaraoui becomes a staging and transit point for many units:

14 Nov 42: HQ 14th Fighter Group, HQ 62d Troop Carrier Group, and the 4th and 7th Troop Carrier Squadrons arrive at Tafaroui with C-47s

16 Nov 42: 8th Troop Carrier Squadron, 62d Troop Carrier Group, arrive at Tafaraoui from the UK with C-47s; the 111th and 154th Observation Squadrons, 68th Observation Group, moves from St Leu to Tafaraoui with A-20s

17 Nov 42: 437th and 438th Bombardment Squadrons (Medium), 319th Bombardment Group (Medium), move from St Leu to Tafaraoui with B-26s.

18 Nov 42: HQ 319th Bombardment Group (Medium) and the 439th, and 440th Bombardment Squadrons (Medium) move from St Leu to Tafaraoui with B-26s; "A" flight of the air echelon of the 15th Photographic Mapping Squadron, 3d Photographic Group, arrives at Tafaraoui with B-17s and F-4s.
20 Nov 1942 The Group dispersed over Northern Africa the headquarters and 27th and 71st moved to Nouvion (the 71st eventually to Maison Blanche) and 94th to Youks-les-Baines. A report from the 71st at Maison Blanche: "Left the field [Tafaroui] about 1:00 AM tonight after loading up 15 trucks for the 3rd time. Unloaded our trucks after a 50 mile drive to our new field [Nouvion, Algeria]. This field is in a hell of a rough condition - just one shack for officers quarters and radio.
23 Nov 1942 "[27th and 71st FS] planes took of this morning to escort the fortresses to bomb Sardinia where the [Germans] are based that bombed the 14th's planes and 3 or 4 [B-17 Flying] Fortresses at Algiers. They got almost there and came back when wheather turned bad. 71st planes stayed at Algiers."
26 Nov 1942 Rained hard off and on all day. Weather closed in on a B-25C + B-17E and they dropped into Maison Blanche. Ditches had to be dug around the tents to prevent flooding, but some tents were flooded out. Lt. Bernard Muldoon taxied a 71 FS P-38 into a shell hole on the muddy field.
27 Nov 1942 Thanksgiving, and the ground echelon is on a train enjoying a substantial meal of stew and English Biscuits." with a wide variety of alcoholic beverages to wash down the meal a diary entry concluded with the remark, "No casualties reported."
28 Nov 1942 The planes and the aircrew of the 94th arrived at Youks-les-Bains, Algeria
29 Nov 1942 The 94th made the group's first combat sorties in North Africa with a six ship strafing run on a German airfield at Gabes. On the flight back to Youks-les-Bains, Captain Newell Roberts and Lt Jack llfrey shared in the destruction of a Bf-110. Later, the squadron claimed responsibility for victories over two Ju-88s and a pair of Bf-109s. 27th and 71st P-38s escorted 47 C-47's which dropped 600 paratroopers on a field in Tunisia. The red, white and blue chutes all at once were reportedly a "very pretty sight."
30 Nov 1942 Cpt Joel Owens of the 27th scored a victory against an ME-109. Two more 27th pilots, Lt Lawrence Pace and Hubert Black were lost. Capt John Eiland (71st) downed an FW-190 while escorting B-26s over Bizerte.
  Twelve P-38s from Youks-les-Bains escorted nine B-26s over Djedeida. On a second mission of the day, four P-38s took off to escort nine B-26s over Gabes. A third mission involved 12 P-38s over Djedeida. All crews returned safely including a rescued B26 crew downed in enemy territory.
   
1 Dec 1942 Aircrews met the delayed arrival of the ground echelon with cheers as the aircrews have been servicing their own aircraft. Lt Laurence Butler from the 71st was killed at Maison Blanche.
2 Dec 1942 A four-plane flight from the 94th strafed Faid Pass. The flight continued to Sfax-Gabes where two out of six Me.109s sighted on the ground, parked in streets, were destroyed by Newell Roberts. Lt. Richard McWherter downed two Me. 109s. Lt. Jack Ilfrey shot down an Me. 109 and shared credit with Lt. William Lovell who downed another one himself. Some of the P-38s continued to Gabes area where they tangled with a flight of Me. 109s. Jack Ilfrey's plane sustained a hit, which knocked out his right engine. During his escape back to base Ilfrey continued to come under fire resulting in a total of 268 holes coming from a range of weapons, from small arms fire to anti-aircraft guns.
  The 94th also provided 12 P-38s for an escort mission to El Aouina, a large German airfield at Tunis. Lt Umphrey claimed an Me.109. Also, Glenn Hubbard and Victor Giles shared a JU.87. Clarence Timke and Lewis Murdock shared a victory over a second JU-87.
   
3 Dec 1942 During an escort of B-17s to Bizerte, the 27th lost three aircraft in a dogfight with Me. 109s.over Bizerte: Lt William Long (MIA), Lt William Drysdale (KIA), and Lt William Hester (wounded in action). However, three probable kills were claimed in return. Capt. Theodore Runyon of the 27th credited with two victories and Lt John Wolford (27th FS) credited with one victory.
The 94th lost two of four planes tasked to strafe the airfield at Gabes, Tunisia. Lt. Jack Longseth was hit, crashed, and killed in action. Capt. Robert E. Williams was hit by flak, crash-landed, and was taken prisoner.
  71st ground element begins to move to Maison Blanche, near Algiers, via airlift, train, and truck - with the move finally complete on 17 Dec 1942, only to start moving again on December 22nd to Biskra following the advance of allied forces across North Africa.
4 Dec 1942 The 27th lost three more over Bizerte- Lt David Everett and Lt Lawrence Pace were killed in action, and Lt Hubert Black was missing. Lt James Pate was reportedly wounded in action but managed to land in Algiers. Capt Joel Owens of the 27th was credited with a victory. The 71st claimed the squadron's first-ever combat kill, an FW-190 downed by Capt. John D. Eiland. (not credited). Lt. Russell, 71st, brought in a shot-up P-38 (canon shell thru cockpit canopy and dashboard, broken main hydraulic line) and made a belly landing.
5 Dec 1942 Lt Marcus Linn, 27 FS, ran out of gas upon returning from a mission and landed P-38 "64" five miles outside Algiers. Capt Joel Owens later attempted to fly the P-38 back to the field but ran into a hole on takeoff, breaking the nose strut, ending the war for aircraft "64"
6 Dec 1942 The 94th left a muddy Youks-les-Bains, for a short stay at Maison Blanche
7 Dec 1942 As his last day in the rank of Major, Ralph Garman replaced John Stone as Group commander.
12 Dec 1942 The 94th joined the 71st at Maison Blanche.
  Major Hubbard and Capt Newell Roberts, both of the 94th, each credited with half a victory. Along with Lt. Umphrey (94th), they shot down an Italian Cant Z-1007 bomber over the Gulf of Tunis. Lt. Everet F. Umphrey was killed in action when he inexplicably continued in a gentle glide after the attack, made a belly landing in the water, and slowly sank into the sea with no effort to escape being witnessed.
14 Dec 1942 Capt Theodore Runyon reported missing in action.
15 Dec 1942 Just two P-38s escorted 18 B-17s on a mission to Tunis.
15-17 Dec 1942 All three squadrons arrive at Biskra by rail. Some ground support elements continue to arrive until 26 Dec 1942. German air raids on Biskra in late December wounded Cpl Harry Hubbard, Sgt Loren Seyferth, and Sgt George Lee, all of the 94th FS.
18 Dec 1942

36 B-17s with 16 P-38s of the 1st Fighter Group as escort, hit Bizerte harbor and shipping offshore; a direct hit is scored on one vessel. AA and attacks by fighters result in the loss of one B-17 and four P-38s; three enemy fighters are destroyed and others damaged.

The 94th lost four P-38s: Lt Victor J. Giles was hit and killed. Lt George W. Sutcliffe was hit and downed. Suffering from burns, Sutcliffe made his way back via Algiers, and eventually completed all of his combat missions. Lt Norman Widen was shot down by German ace Anton Hafner (with 200+ victories before dying in 1944), was taken prisoner, and was visited by Hafner briefly afterwards. Lt Clark O. Jennings was shot down, but rescued by British Commandos. The 27th lost Lt Henry Smith, who was was declared a prisoner of war on 3 Jan 1943.
25 Dec 1942 Christmas Day proved to be no more special than other days with "Limey steak and kidney pie, mostly kidney" being consumed. Sgt Gray (71st) was more upbeat: "Had our White Christmas after all today. Saw snow on the mountain tops. Most beautiful country I've seen for along time. Like New Mexico with nothing green - all dried brown."
26 Dec 1942

Lt Milton Sahl and Lt Richard Jones of the 94th were both killed in action. Lt Robert Sauer of the 71st shot down a JU. 88, and Jack Ilfrey (94th) shot down two FW-190s.

27 FS ground crew departs Nouvion by train, bound for Biskra.

28 Dec 1942 Anthony Sgroi of the 71st took off in pursuit of a JU-88 (apparently damaged by AAA fire) which had just attacked the Biskra airfield. After several passes by Sgroi the bomber finally fell and the crew taken prisoner. Lt Allen Scales (71st) was killed in action.
30 Dec 1942 The Group flew a 3.5-4 hour mission escorting B-26s low level to bomb the docks at Sfax, Tunisia. No fighter opposition encountered, with fighters only known to be at Bizerta. The mission execution was well coordinated as the first bomb from B-25s and B-26s reportedly hit just as the last hit from B-17's up high.