(if you have anything to add to this page, email me and I'll add it for you)

  Of the fifteen Fighter Groups flying combat operations in the 8th Air Force at the end of the War in Europe, the 339th was the fourteenth assigned, beginning combat operations on April 30, 1944, and ending on April 21, 1945, not quite a year. Some of the early Fighter Groups began combat operations in late 1942 and early 1943. The Fighter Groups which began combat operations early had more time and opportunities to run up their tally of enemy aircraft destroyed over what the later arriving Fighter Groups could achieve. But based upon a rate of enemy aircraft destroyed per unit of time, some of the late arrivals did very well.

  On this basis, the 339th ranks seventh out of fifteen in the destruction of enemy aircraft in the air and first out of fifteen in the destruction of enemy aircraft on the ground and, also, first in the combined total for air and ground. In the air the 339th received confirmation on 233.5 enemy aircraft destroyed and on the ground 423.5, a combined total of 657 enemy aircraft destroyed.

  The Aces were:

  The 339th destroyed almost twice as many German aircraft on the ground as in aerial combat. This made for more impressive individual pilot totals than those scored in the air. L/Col Joseph L. Thury, 505th Squadron CO, was second highest in the 8th Air Force with 25½ destroyed on the ground; the highest scorer being L/Col Elwyn Righetti of the 55th Fighter Group with 27 destroyed.

  The highest five scorers in each Squadron for enemy aircraft destroyed on the ground were:

  The 339th Fighter Group started combat operations with 87 pilots. Casualties and combat tour completion required replacement pilots and 261 of these made a total of 348 pilots who flew on combat operations with the 339th during the War.

The Commander of the 339th Fighter Group was Col. John B. Henry, Jr.

Squadron insignia -
	503rd F.S.	504th F.S.	505th F.S.
Squadron Codes -	D7	5Q	6N

click for a larger map

click for a larger map

	The 503rd Fighter Squadron Image Page
	The 504th Fighter Squadron Image page
	The 505th Fighter Squadron Image page
	Images from gun camera footage from all squadrons
	Images of the Command Staff from the 339th Fighter Group
	Images from Daily Life around the base
	Complete Mission List for the 339th F.G. - 264 Combat Missions
	Images of Luftwaffe Pilots facing the 339th
	Photos of current 339th Fighter group reunions
STORY	A written story by Lt. Cecil Byrd, of the 505th Fighter Squadron
STORY	A written story by 2/Lt Walter R. O'Sullivan of the 504th Fighter Squadron
STORY	A written story by Mary Williams of the American Red Cross
STORY	The story of Jim Mankie's experience... being shot down by a ME262
STORY	The story of Steve Anaian's ditching in the North Sea
STORY	Larry Powell's Story of the Group's 100th Mission
LINK	Peter Randall's "Keeping the Memory Alive" - another 339th Website
LINK	Another 339th Webpage, run by Tim Ferrell
LINK	Ops records of Sgt. Richard H. Abbey

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    All photos, and scanned images thereof, are owned by the 339th FG Association, and used gratefully WITH PERMISSION on Web-Birds.com.  No commercial use of these images is permitted without the written consent of the 339th FG Assoc. and Web-Birds.Com. Please ask before posting any images to another website.

    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
• 339th FG by 339th FG
• Peter Randall's excellent site Little Friends

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