| 49th Fighter Group | |
|---|---|
 P-40E Warhawk aircraft of the 49th Fighter Group at Darwin, 1942 | |
| Active | 1942–1945 |
| Branch | United States Army Air Forces |
| Nickname(s) | Fighting 49ers |
| Engagements | Australia New Guinea Philippines (1944–1945) |
| Insignia | |
| 49th Fighter Group Emblem |  |
| Aircraft flown | |
| Fighter | P-40 Warhawk P-38 Lightning |
The 49th Fighter Group was a fighter aircraft unit of the Fifth Air Force that was located in the Asiatic-Pacific Theater during World War II. [1] [2]
The group was constituted as 49th Pursuit Group (Interceptor) on 20 November 1940 and activated on 15 January 1941. Stationed at Selfridge Field in Michigan, the group moved to Morrison Field in Florida in May 1941 and trained with Curtiss P-36 Hawk aircraft.
The group was sent overseas to Australia in January 1942 and was assigned to the Fifth Air Force. They moved to Darwin in April 1942 and was redesignated 49th Fighter Group in May.
The group was equipped with P-40's Curtiss P-40 Warhawk aircraft in Australia and after a brief period of training, provided air defense for the Northern Territory. The 9th Fighter Squadron was stationed at Livingstone, 8th Fighter Squadron was stationed at Strauss Airfield and the 7th Fighter Squadron was stationed at Batchelor. [3]
The 49th Fighter Group was awarded a Distinguished Unit Citation for engaging the enemy in frequent and intense aerial combat while operating with limited material and facilities between March and August 1942.
The group moved to New Guinea in October 1942 to help stall the Japanese drive southward from Buna to Port Moresby. They engaged primarily in air defense of Port Moresby and also escorted bombers and transports, and attacked enemy installations, supply lines, and troop concentrations in support of Allied ground forces.
They participated in the Allied offensive that pushed the Japanese back along the Buna trail and took part in the Battle of the Bismarck Sea in March 1943. They fought for control of the approaches to Huon Gulf, and supported ground forces during the campaign in which the Allies eventually recovered New Guinea. They covered landings on Noemfoor and had a part in the conquest of Biak.
In September 1944, the group was equipped completely in with Lockheed P-38 Lightning aircraft. These two engine fighter aircraft were used to fly long-range escort and attack missions to Mindanao, Halmahera, Ceram, and Borneo,
The 49th Fighter Group arrived in the Philippines in October 1944, shortly after the assault landings during the Battle of Leyte. The group was awarded a Distinguished Unit Citation for operations against the Japanese on Leyte.
They engaged enemy fighters, attacked shipping in Ormoc Bay, supported ground forces, and covered the Allied invasion of Luzon during the Battle of Luzon. Other missions from the Philippines included strikes against industry and transportation on Formosa and against shipping along the China coast.
The group moved to Okinawa in August 1945 and to Atsugi, Japan in September.
The group was awarded three Distinguished Unit Citations: Australia, 14 March-25 August 1942; Papua, October 1942-23 – January 1943; and Philippine Islands, 27 October – 7 December 1944.
Richard Bong was the top ace of World War II, was awarded the Medal of Honor for combat in October and November 1944. [4] He was credited with shooting down 40 Japanese aircraft, all with the P-38 Lightning. He died in California in August 1945 while testing a P-80 Shooting Star jet aircraft.
Paul Wurtsmith commanded the 49th Fighter Group from December 1941 to November 1942. During his command the group shot down 78 enemy aircraft in the defending Darwin against Japanese air attacks. In 1943 he assumed command of the V Fighter Command and in 1945 commanded the Thirteenth Air Force in the Southern Philippines and Borneo campaigns. Wurtsmith was killed in September 1946 when his B-25 Mitchell crashed near Asheville, North Carolina.
Robert H. White was assigned to the 8th Fighter Squadron and was credited with nine victories over Japanese aircraft. He flew a P-40 Warhawk nicknamed the "Kansas City Kitty" and was awarded the Silver Star, and the Distinguished Flying Cross four separate times in recognition of his bravery and skill. [5]
Gerald R. Johnson was a quadruple ace with 22 kills and was awarded with the Distinguished Service Cross, Silver Star, Legion of Merit, Distinguished Flying Cross, and Air Medal. [6] Johnson was with the 54th Fighter Group of the Eleventh Air Force in Alaska before transferring to Australia. He became commander of the 9th Fighter Squadron in August 1943. He was killed in October 1945 two months after the end of the war when the B-25 Mitchell he was piloting crashed in a typhoon.
James B. Morehead was an ace with eight aerial victories. [7] He received a Distinguished Service Cross for shooting down three Japanese aircraft on a single mission in February 1942. [8] He received a second Distinguished Service Cross flying with the 1st Fighter Group in Italy from April to October 1944.
James P. Hagerstrom was assigned to the 8th Fighter Squadron of the 49th Fighter Group after his flight training in 1942 and shipped with the group to Australia. He finished his tour of 170 combat missions in February 1945 credited with six enemy aircraft destroyed. [9] Hagerstrom scored an additional 8.5 victories during the Korean War and flew combat missions in the Vietnam War.
George Preddy is best known as the top P-51 Mustang ace of World War II as a pilot in the European Theater but he flew his first combat missions over Darwin with the 9th Fighter Squadron of the 49th Fighter Group. Preddy was hospitalized after a mid air collision with another P-40, and was reassigned to the 352nd Fighter Group at RAF Bodney in England. [10]
Comedian Dan Rowan (born Daniel Hale David) was a pilot in the 8th Fighter Squadron. [11] He downed 2 Japanese aircraft in his P-40 before being shot down himself in New Guinea and seriously injured.
Richard Ira Bong was a United States Army Air Forces major and Medal of Honor recipient in World War II. He was one of the most decorated American fighter pilots and the country's top flying ace in the war, credited with shooting down 40 Japanese aircraft, all with the Lockheed P-38 Lightning fighter. He died in California while testing a Lockheed P-80 jet fighter shortly before the war ended.
The 4th Fighter Group was an American element of the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) Eighth Air Force during World War II. The group was known as the Debden Eagles because it was created from the three Eagle Squadrons of the Royal Air Force: No. 71, No. 121 Squadron RAF, and No. 133 Squadron RAF. These squadrons became the 334th, 335th, and 336th Fighter Squadrons of the 4th Fighter Group based at RAF Debden. The group was the first fighter group to fly combat missions over Germany airspace, the first to escort bombers over Berlin, and the first selected to escort bombers on shuttle bombing runs landing in Russia. The group was credited with shooting down 1,016 German planes.
Duane Willard Beeson was an American fighter pilot and flying ace of World War II. He scored 22.08 victories, including 17.3 air-to-air kills, 12 of which were scored in the P-47C/D Thunderbolt, and 5.3 of which were scored in the P-51-B Mustang. Beeson was one of ten United States Army Air Forces pilots who became an ace in two different types of fighter aircraft.
Sidney Sterling Woods was an American fighter ace of World War II with 7 victories in Europe and the Pacific theater.
Major George Earl Preddy Jr. was a United States Army Air Forces officer during World War II and an American ace credited with 26.83 enemy air-to-air kills, ranking him as the top P-51 Mustang ace of World War II and eighth on the list of all-time highest scoring American aces. Preddy was born and grew up in Greensboro, North Carolina.
Jay Thorpe Robbins was a career officer in the United States Air Force who rose to the rank of lieutenant general. He was also a United States Army Air Forces fighter ace of World War II.
The 7th Fighter Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit, last assigned to the 49th Operations Group. It was last stationed at Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico. On 2 May 2014, the 7th Fighter Squadron was inactivated.
The North-Western Area Campaign was an air campaign fought between the Allied and Japanese air forces over northern Australia and the Netherlands East Indies (NEI) between 1942 and 1945. The campaign began with the Japanese bombing of Darwin on 19 February 1942 and continued until the end of the war.
Paul Bernard Wurtsmith was a United States Army Air Forces general during World War II.
Robert Wayne Aschenbrener was an American fighter pilot and flying ace of World War II.
The 49th Operations Group is the operational flying component of the United States Air Force 49th Wing. It is stationed at Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico, and is a part of Air Combat Command (ACC).
The 8th Operations Group is the operational flying component of the United States Air Force 8th Fighter Wing. It is stationed at Kunsan Air Base, South Korea, and is a part of Pacific Air Forces (PACAF).
The 487th Fighter Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It activated during World War II and was assigned to the 352nd Fighter Group of VIII Fighter Command. After training in the United States, it deployed to the European Theater of Operations, where it earned two Distinguished Unit Citations and a French Croix de Guerre with Palm for its combat actions. Following V-E Day, it returned to the United States and was inactivated at the Port of Embarkation, Camp Kilmer, New Jersey on 9 November 1945.
Air Commodore Gordon Henry Steege, DSO, DFC was a senior officer in the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). He became a fighter ace in World War II, credited with eight aerial victories. Joining the RAAF in July 1937, Steege first saw action with No. 3 Squadron in the Middle East, where he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross after shooting down three German aircraft in a single sortie. He rose to command No. 450 Squadron in the Desert Air Force, before being posted to the South West Pacific, where he led Nos. 73 and 81 Wings. He earned the Distinguished Service Order for his "outstanding leadership", and finished the war a temporary group captain.
The 352nd Fighter Group was a unit of the Eighth Air Force that was located in the European Theater of Operations during World War II. The unit served as bomber escort, counter-air patrols, and attacking ground targets. It initially flew P-47 Thunderbolt aircraft before converting to P-51 Mustang in April 1944. The group was located at RAF Bodney in England for the majority of its service and were nicknamed the Blue-nosed Bastards of Bodney due to the distinctive blue of the nose and upper cowl of the P-51 Mustangs of the group.
William Thomas Whisner Jr. was a career officer and pilot in the United States Air Force, retiring as a colonel with 30 years of military service. He was a fighter ace with Army Air Forces over Europe in World War II and a jet fighter ace with the Air Force in the Korean War.
James Philo Hagerstrom was a fighter ace of both the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) in World War II and the U.S. Air Force (USAF) in the Korean War. With a career total of 14.5 victories, he is one of seven American pilots to have achieved ace status in two different wars.
North-Western Area Command was one of several geographically based commands raised by the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) during World War II. Its wartime sphere of operations included the Northern Territory, adjacent portions of Queensland and Western Australia, and the Dutch East Indies. The command was formed in January 1942, following the outbreak of the Pacific War, from the western part of Northern Area Command, which had covered all of northern Australia and Papua. Headquartered at Darwin, North-Western Area Command was initially responsible for air defence, aerial reconnaissance and protection of the sea lanes within its boundaries.
Gerald Richard Johnson was a World War II flying ace who flew for the United States Army Air Forces. Johnson commanded the 9th Fighter Squadron and 49th Fighter Group, and became the fourth ranking fighter ace in the Pacific during World War II. He ended his war career with 22 kills.
John Dave Landers was a colonel in the United States Army Air Forces. He flew with the 9th Fighter Squadron in the Pacific commanded the 357th Fighter Group and the 78th Fighter Group during World War II.
This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency website http://www.afhra.af.mil/ .
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Previously: Philippine Department Air Force (1941); Far East Air Force (1941-1942) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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