Fighter Group : The 352nd "e;Blue-Nosed Bastards"e; in World War II

The 352nd Fighter Group was constituted in September 1942 and activated at Brandley Field, CT on October 1, 1942. Two of its squadrons, the 21st (later changed to the 486th) and the 34th (later changed to the 487th) had long combat histories, but like the newly formed 328th, were short on experienced personnel. Early flight training in the P-47 Thunderbolts was at Westover, Trumbell, LaGuardia and Mitchel fields. Most of the enlisted personnel, Det. "A" of the 1st Service Group arrived in January, 1943. The Group embarked from New York harbor July 1, 1943, arriving in Scotland July 5th and, a few days later, reached their new base at Bodney, England. Training for combat became intense during those next few months. The Group flew its first combat mission on September 9, 1943, an uneventful sweep out over the North Sea to escort returning B-17s. Some 40 pilots participated in this mission. Although the 352nd had several minor encounters with the enemy in their early missions, it wasn't until November 26th that Major J. C. Meyer, C.O. of the 487th Squadron scored their first victory- an Me-109 attacking the bombers near Gronigen - the first of many victories for the 352nd. During WWII the 352nd flew 420 missions, 59,387 operational combat hours, destroyed 776 enemy aircraft and had 29 aerial aces. Returning to the U.S. at war's end, the unit was deactivated.