51st Fighter Group

Aces Were:
(score in this Squadron)   [Total score]
 

			HQ:	R.L. Wire (2) [5]
16th FS:	J.D. Lombard (6) [7]		25th FS:	Ø		26th FS:	L.O. Marshall (5)		449th FS	L.O. Gregg (6) [7]
	R.L. Liles (5)						E.M. Nollmeyer (5)			K. Mahon (5)
	D.A. Clinger (4) [5]						J.R. Brown (1) [4?]			R.B. Schultz (5)
	J.R. Brown (3) [4?]									G.B. McMillan (4) [8.5]
	E.R. Gross (3) [6]
	M.B. Kimball (4?)
	R.E. Smith (4?)
	C.B. Slocumb (1?)

Squadron Insignia
	16th FS		25th FS		26th FS		449th FS
	'Flying Wall'		'Our Assam Draggins'		'China's Blitzers'		'Lightning Tiger'
Identity codes ('42-'43) (while in 10th AF)	(attached. to 23rd FG) #11-40 + shark's mouth		approx #2-49 + dragon's mouth		approx #50-99 + shark's mouth
Identity codes ('43-'45) (after move to 14AF)	#351-400 -white front half of spinners,     (sometimes with back half green) -shark's mouth on P-40s -dark front half of prop spinners plus tail band on NM P-51s. (Shark mouths deleted late in war)		#200-250 -white front half of prop spinners -dragon's mouth on P-40s -black checkertails on NM P-51 (Shark mouths deleted late in war.)		#250-299 -yellow band around nose behind prop spinner -shark's mouth on P-40s; -twin yellow bands w/ black borders on vert. and horiz. tail surfaces of P-51s. (Shark's mouth deleted by summer '45)		#300-350 -red prop spinners.

Planes Flown:	P-40
	P-51

	Capt. Bob Liles of the 16th FS poses with his new P-40K, "Duke," in early 1943 at Kweilin, China. The original squadron number of this plane is unknown, but it was re-numbered 400 later that year after Liles became squadron commander. Liles was an ace with five confirmed aerial victories. Photo courtesy of George Barnes via Carl Molesworth
	Capt. Bob Liles of the 16th FS poses with his new P-40K, "Duke," in early 1943 at Kweilin, China. The original squadron number of this plane is unknown, but it was re-numbered 400 later that year after Liles became squadron commander. Liles was an ace with five confirmed aerial victories. Photo courtesy of George Barnes via Carl Molesworth
	P-51C No. 389 of the 16th FS cruises over the shore of Lake Kunming, China, 1945. Note the sharkmouth and dorsal fin extension. Photo courtesy of W. Wiser via Carl Molesworth
	16th FS Warhawks at Chengkung, China, late 1943. No. 375, at left, is a P-40M, and P-40K No. 354, at right, wears the squadron badge on its fuselage and a set of shackles for a second belly tank under the centerline. Photo courtesy of Jack Muller via Carl Molesworth
	No. 205 of the 25th FS, P-51C-10-NT serial no. 42-103860, was named "My Mike" on both sides of the nose. Shown here flying near Yunnanyi, China, in June 1945, the plane was assigned to Lt. W.L. Peet, pilot, and Sgt. Dale Bleicke, crew chief. The markings are black checkers over natural metal, with a black fuselage band bordered in yellow. Photo courtesy of Duane Biteman via Carl Molesworth
	B Flight of 26th FS referred to itself as the Eight Ball Detachment, hence the rudder marking on this P-40K, No. 87. Taken in July 1943 when B Flighth was stationed at Mokalbari, Assam, India, the photo shows ( top row from left): Sgt. Hudson, S/Sgt. Patchin, S/Sgt. Washburn and T/Sgt. Zietz; Kneeling, S/Sgts. Barclay, Maurer, Heiser and Schulkins, Sgt. Goddard and S/Sgt. McCarron. Photo courtesy of Patchin via Carl Molesworth
	Lt. L.O. "Lyn" Marshall of the 26th FS poses in the cockpit of his P-40K-5 (serial no. 42-9734) at Kunming, China in 1944. The plane was named "Jaynie" and carried the squadron number 256 in white on the tail. Despite his status as a five-victory ace, Marshall said he displayed no victory markings on "Jaynie." Photo courtesy of Lyn Marshall via Carl Molesworth
	Lt. D.W. Maxwell of the 25th FS poses with P-40K-5 "LIZ", serial no. 42-46261, at Sadiya, Assam, India, in late 1942. This aircraft sometimes is illustrated with a gray top camouflage surface, but it is clearly the standard Olive Drab over Neutral Gray. Photo courtesy of Stan Strout via Carl Molesworth
	An unidentified ground crewman poses with a P-38J of the 449th FS at Yunnanyi, China, in 1944. The 449th, the only P-38 squadron in the 14th Air Force, marked its Lightnings with red propeller spinners, plus white numbers in the 300-350 range on the boom radiators. Photos of this squadron are extremely rare. Photo courtesy of the Carl Molesworth collection

25th Fighter Squadron - another squadron page

26th Fighter Squadron - another squadron page

Assam Dragon - another squadron page

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    Data for this page was found and used from the following publications-

• Air Force Combat Units of WWII, by USAF Historical Div. Air University
• Stars and Bars by Frank Olynyk
• Carl Molesworth

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