WW2 USAAF Fighter Groups Books.

Debden, Kingscliffe, Alconbury– names that evoke  images of P-51s, P-47s, B-17s. This book features comparative photos taken 35  years apart, with details and anecdotes about each of the major U.S. bases in England. Some fields are still in use today by USAFE, others are abandoned and weed-covered, but each is a piece of history. 240 pgs., 8½"x 12", hdbd

Witness a most amazing change of scenery. Here is a look at the WWII B-26, P-47, and Glider bases in England, with superb documentation of  their original layout, construction and history, contrasted to their current use as  farms, housing tracts, private airfields and even race tracks. 256 pgs., 510 photos,  8½"x 12", hdbd.

P-51s of the 4th Fighter Group were the first  to escort bombers over Berlin as well as from England to Russia. At war’s end they  had made over 1,000 enemy kills. The book details everyday operations of the  famous group from their Eagle Squadron beginnings to their unprecedented  accomplishments. Sources include squadron diaries and personal accounts. 224 pgs., 170 photos, 8½"x 11", hdbd

The 8th Fighter Group in WWII. The 8th took the first P-39s into  combat against the Imperial Japanese Navy. They added victories in P-40s and  P-47s, and finally took the air war to the enemy with P-38s over Rabaul Hollandia. 500 photos, 320 pgs., 8½"x 11", hdbd.

Follow the WWII exploits of the 20th Fighter Group, flying their P-38  Lightnings and P-51 Mustangs over Europe. You'll read of such famous aces as Jack  Ilfrey in his P-38 "Happy Jack's Go Buggy" and Jim Morris in his "'Til We Meet Again."  But even better, you'll read of the less famous yet equally brave men who went about their task day by day, month by month. A wonderful look at what one typical  Group experienced during the war. 80 pgs., 200 B&W photos, 32 color profiles and  more. 8½"x 11", sfbd.

The first and only definitive history of this famous fighter group, from it’s  earliest days with the P-38 Lightning through the acquisition of P-51 Mustangs and  the defeat of Germany. Includes dozens of first-hand accounts of air combat with Messerschmitts, Focke-Wulfs, Junkers, as well as the secret high performance Me262. 176 pgs., 200 rare B&W photos, 8½"x 11", hdbd.

Book Description 
With names like Zemke, Schilling, Gabreski, Mahurin and Johnson, the 56th Fighter Group was, and still is, one  of the legendary fighter units of World War II. BEWARE THE THUNDERBOLT ( the apt official motto of the  56th) is the story of the 56th Fighter Group in a chronological narrative of their combat missions. Composed of  heroic pilots that aggressively took the air war into the enemy heartland in 1943, the "Wolfpack's" P-47 Thunderbolt contrails crossed high in the upper stratosphere as they escorted heavy bomber missions, or fell upon  the enemy on the ground as their pilots destroyed over 1000 Luftwaffe aircraft. The story is also coupled with  their post-war history of innovative Mustang missions to Alaska, and the first trans-Atlantic jet fighter missions in  the P-80 Shooting Star. The foreword is by Hub Zemke, former commander of the 56th Fighter Group. David  McLaren is also the author of Lockheed F-94 Starfire (with Marty Isham), available from Schiffer Publishing., over 250 color and b/w photographs, 8 1/2" x 11", index, appendices 

Fly through the skies with Ilfrey in his P-38 as he and his unit, the famed 94th Fighter Squadron, become the first group of American  aircraft to fly from the USA to England. Thrill to the stories of aerial combat over North Africa as Ilfrey becomes one of America’s first WWII air aces. Over 190 B&W  and color photos, 3 color aircraft profiles, 128 pgs., 8½"x 11", hdbd.

Question:  What fighter group was the 94th Fighter Squadron from.

The biography of Herschel "Herky" Green  and the 325th Fighter Group in Europe. The story takes the reader through Green’s  experiences with P-40s in Casablanca in 1943, his first combat missions, bomber  escorting, and eighteen aerial victories with the 15th Air Force. Absorbing reading. 278 photos, appendices, 192 pgs., 8½"x 11", hdbd.

The 348th was the most  successful P-47 unit in the Pacific. Ranging over the Japanese homeland, first in P-47s and later in P-51s, the 348th completed their impressive record with honor  under the leadership of Colonel Neel Kearby. 224 pgs., 350 photos, 8½"x 11", hdbd.

The 350th Fighter Group in the Mediterranean Campaign 2 November, 1942 to 2 May 1945. The group comprised the 345th, 346th, and 347th Fighter Squadrons, flying  against the Luftwaffe during the Moroccan, Tunisian, Sicilian and Italian campaigns in P-39s and P-47s. 80 pgs., 90 photos, 9"x 12", sfbd.

Book Description 
This is a biography of Major George E. Preddy, Jr. who became the leading active ace in the European Theater  of Operations during World War II. When he was killed on Christmas Day 1944 by Allied ground fire, he was  the top P-51 Mustang ace of all time, with 27 aerial and five ground victories. George's younger brother, Bill, was  killed on April 17, 1945 while strafing an enemy aerodrome near Prague. A chapter is devoted to his short career  in which he claimed two aerial victories. 

The author, Joe Noah, noahbjr@kerrlake.com , April 11, 1999 The art work for the dust cover sets this volume apart.  Troy White is an aviation artist extraordinaire. He depicts the aerial battle that took place on July 29, 1944 near   Merseberg, Germany. George Preddy, leading his squadron, was credited with one Me 109; the 352nd Fighter Group claimed a total of eight enemy fighters. Troy entitled his original oil on canvas painting "American Patrol." 

A personal narrative of the wartime  experiences of a combat pilot with the 8th AF's 353rd Fighter Group, 350th Fighter Squadron. Bill flew both P-47s and P-51s and augments his interesting story with over 60 photos and stills from his own gun camera film. 128 pgs., 8½"x 11", sfbd.

Unit history of a P-51 fighter group of the 8th AF that fought in Europe for  a year and a half. This high-scoring unit included such personnel as Kit Cason, John England, Bud Anderson, Dick Peterson, and Chuck Yeager, among others. 160 pgs., 180-photos and paintings, sfbd.

Bud Anderson is a flyer's flyer. From flight leader with the 357th Fighter Group flying P-51 Mustangs in WWII Europe where he achieved triple-ace status with 16½ kills, to his years as a test pilot, to his command of an F-86 jet  fighter squadron and an F-105 wing in Asia, Anderson was, as Chuck Yeager said, "…the best fighter pilot I ever saw." Now's your chance to read the thrilling memoirs of the famed triple-ace Anderson. 328 pgs., 6"x 9", hdbd.

Combat was a one-on-one deadly duel.  After the battle, a fighter pilot then became a navigator, flying a 500 mile path filled with obstacles such as enemy aircraft, anti-aircraft fire and foul weather. The writer   takes you along in the P-51 cockpit as a fighter pilot of the 357th Fighter Group. Illustrated, 134 pgs., 6"x 9", hdbd.

A richly detailed  history of the 475th Fighter Group and their P-38 Lightnings in battle. Includes a  complete Group roster and a Victories list. 165 pgs., 150 photos, 8½"x 11", sfbd.

Close air support of infantry and tanks was  key to Allied success in WWII. Flying rugged P-47 Thunderbolts nearly at ground level  - or "Angels Zero" - over northwestern Europe, the pilots of the 9th Air Force strafed  and dive-bombed bridges, rail yards, supply depots, troops and tanks. This was the  most dangerous of air operations, exacting heavy casualties. Here is a recounting of  support missions with the 366th Fighter Group, linking daily experiences in the cockpit  with events in the wider European theater. A wonderful combination of both personal and historical detail vividly recreates this lesser-known aspect of the air war in  Europe. 208 pgs., 24 B&W photos, 6"x 9", hdbd.

Unit history of the 475th P-38 Fighter Group in WWII, the fastest-scoring outfit in the SW Pacific. Compiled from American, Australian and Japanese records,  included are interviews with the veterans. You get color profiles, victory lists, and  over 300 P-38s listed by serial number and pilot. 700 plus photos, 320 pgs., 8½"x 11", hdbd.

Click Here for a List of WW2 Bomber Groups

Listing of Bomb Groups