New Book I bought...........

[Bob Wright]

I had a bargain coupon for a nearby bookstore, 20% off, so bought a new book. The name of the book is Fighter Group by LtCol. (Ret) Jay Stout. It is the story of the 352nd Fighter Group, 8th Air Force, in World War II.

It much more than a unit history, however. There are many tidbits of information. For example, that the US Navy tested a captured FW-190 against the F4U Corsair and the F6F Hellcat. The conclusion was that they were about equal, but that both US Navy fighters were much superior in turning radius.

And the Spitfire, Thunderbolt, and Mustang were slightly superior in most fields. The Mustang especially much faster, but the Focke Wolf had better acceleration. Bottom line, much depended on pilot skill.

Chief complaint against the Me-109 was poor visibility from the cockpit.

Of especial interest, the first chapter is "They were Boys." Traces the boyhood of some of the ace pilots of the 353nd. Each was born just after WW I and were young during the Depression. Each found ways to work to help the family finances. All showed a determination to make money for the family while at the same time getting their education. In short, their hardships built character.

Another interest ~ many pilots regretted transitioning from their P-47 Thunderbolts to the P-51 Mustang. Main reason? The Mustang (P-51Bs) had half the firepower of the Thunderbolt. The P-47 had eight .50 cal. MGs vs four of the P-51B. (The later P-51Ds did have six guns.)

Been interesting reading, so far.

Bob Wright

 

[Wyandot Jim]

Bob,
I have not read that one yet. Pretty sad what happened to Major George E "Ratsy" Preddy Jr.

This has been one of my favorites. They flew the Jug until the end of WWII.
https://www.amazon.com/Zemkes-Wolfpack-Fighter-Group-World/dp/0879386223

Some reading for you.

Zemke's Wolfpack: 56th Fighter Group
After 'Hub' Zemke whipped them into shape, the P-47 pilots of the 56th Fighter Group
went on to score 992 1/2 confirmed kills. Article by By Don Hollway
* * *
As the survivors of the 56th Fighter Group straggled back in over the British field, their
commanding officer came down out of the control tower to meet them. Lieutenant Colonel
Hubert "Hub" Zemke had listened in helplessly to the radio chatter as his men met the
enemy over German-occupied Holland for the first time. It was April 1943, and the
Luftwaffe was still a formidable fighting force; from the confused radio traffic Zemke could
tell the combat had not gone well. Missing from the running commentary was the voice of
Major Dave Schilling, the 62nd Squadron commander to whom Zemke had entrusted the
mission. Now, as Schilling's plane put down, Zemke took a jeep over to find out what had
gone wrong.
The major's fighter, Hairless Joe, had taken some hits. But the radio, Schilling explained,
had gone out before the group ever reached the Dutch coast. Rather than abort, the
dashing but impetuous Schilling had retained command and, upon sighting a pair of
bandits, had led the 62nd's attack. Scoreless, ambushed by Messerschmitt Bf-109s and
Focke-Wulf Fw-190s, they and the group's two remaining squadrons, the 61st and 63rd,
belatedly escaped back over the English Channel. Many of the missing pilots, their aircraft
running low on fuel, had simply set down at the first English airfields they came across,
but two did not return. It had been, as Zemke later recalled, "an ignominious combat
debut."
Another commander might have taken it as an indictment of his own leadership skills.
Zemke had joined the 56th only the previous year, a 28-year-old lieutenant with
experience only as a combat observer in Great Britain and as a fighter pilot instructor in
Russia. Zemke's uncle had died flying for Germany in 1916, and two cousins were killed on
the Russian Front while Zemke was in Moscow. In the rapidly expanding U.S. Army Air
Forces, however, promotion came easily, and he had risen quickly to captain, then major,
and ultimately, as a lieutenant colonel, was placed in command of the group. That the
56th had lost 18 men even before shipping for England he attributed to the combination
of inexperienced, gung-ho flyboys and a brand-new, trouble prone fighter--Republic's P-
47B Thunderbolt, the "Jug."
"The pilots were all eager young fellows who thought the Thunderbolt was a terrific fighter
simply because they had flown nothing else," said Zemke. Above 20,000 feet the P-47 was
capable of speeds up to 400 mph and the quickest roll rate of any fighter in the U.S.
inventory. But even with a turbosupercharged Pratt & Whitney R-2800 Double Wasp radial
engine capable (in later models) of 2,800 hp, the plane required almost a half-mile run
just to get 50 feet off the ground. Zemke noted that the aircraft "accelerated poorly and
climbed not too much better from a slow airspeed" and that "overall the P-47 was a big
disappointment."
In England, the 56th took over an ex-RAF (Royal Air Force) grass strip at Horsham Saint
Faith, Norfolk County. (When he was turning over the airstrip to Zemke, Schilling, and

Continues here

http://www.eaf51.org/newweb/Documenti/Storia/Zemke_ENG.pdf

 

[Bob Wright]

Thanks for that.

Years ago I read another book, an account of the 56th Fighter Group, called Thunderbolt, by Robert Johnson. I believe Robert was his first name. He was one of the high scoring aces of the 56th.

One account he gave was that his P-47 was badly damaged, and his canopy was jammed so he could not bail out. So he headed back to England with his crippled Thunderbolt. Twice he was attacked by German fighters who ran out of ammunition trying to bring him down. He made it back safely. After the war, he went to work with Republic Aviation.

I had a friend at my church, a retired Maj Gen., who had flown the Rf-84F. He once told me that if a runway were built to encircle the Earth, Republic could build a plane that would take all of it for take off.

Bob Wright