A Brief History of the 357^th Fighter Group

During World War II years, the U.S. Army Air Forces activated 114 fighter groups for service in the various combat zones. Some of those which were most heavily engaged in combat were the 15 groups assigned to the Mighty 8^th Air Force. Of all these 114 groups, the 357^th is among only a very few elite units with outstanding combat records. Formed and activated at Hamilton Field, Calif., under orders dated 16 December 1942, the Group began training on the P-39 at Tonopah, Nevada. Except for a very few veterans, all pilots and ground personnel were recently out of Air Force schools. For all it’s vast responsibilities, the training establishment in the U.S., did an outstanding job and seven months later, in October 1943, the 357^th Fighter Group was ready for transfer to a combat zone. 14 men had died in aircraft accidents during that time.

The 357^th arrived in England at the turn of 1943/44 and was committed to combat on 11 February 1944, the first Group of the 8^th AF to fly the mighty mustang. For a young fighter pilot eager to put his training to work, the Group could not have arrived at a better time.

The massive bomber offensive against the German aircraft industry was just beginning and brought the Luftwaffe out in force to protect their source of aircraft supply. There was violent combat almost from the beginning and the 357^th pilots began to compile a rapidly increasing number of victory credits. That spring of 1944 is now considered the beginning of the end for the once all powerful Luftwaffe.

Many incidents stand out, but we will only mention a few. The 357^th put the first allied fighters over Berlin on the 4^th of March 1944 (along with one squadron of thee 4^th Group). In August, the Group escorted a fleet of B-17s to Russia, Italy and back home on one of the shuttle missions. During the airborne landing at Arnhem in September, the 357^th destroyed 50 enemy aircraft in two days. The 14^th of January 1945 brought what will always be “THE BIG DAY”. During a massive air battle in the Berlin area, 357^th Group pilots shot down 55 ½ German fighters. No other fighter group has even come close to this score.

At wars end the Group had the highest number of aces in the 8^th AF (43), five of these were triple aces and four were double. The 357^th is credited with 595 ½ air victories, 2^nd only to the great Hub Zemke’s 56^th Group, which was in combat much longer. Considering the time factor, the 357^th was the highest scoring group in 8^th Air Force.

Written by Mr. Merle Olmsted, 357^th Fighter Group Historian, and author of “The 357^th Over Europe” available from Specialty Press at 1-800-895-4585.

Major Awards

Two Distinguished Unit Citations:

• 6 Mar and 29 Jun 44: for defense of bombers on missions to Berlin and Leipzig.
• 14 Jan 45: action on Derben mission.

Claims to Fame

First P-51 Group in 8th AF

Faster rate of air victories than with any other 8AF group during final year of war.

Highest enemy aircraft air claims for single mission – 14 Jan 45 – 56

Early History

Activated 1 Dec 42 at Hamilton Fld, CA. Moved to Tonopah AAF, NV, 4 Mar 43 and equipped with P-39s. Moved to Santo Rosa AAF, CA, 3 Jun 43, and Orville AAF, CA, 18 Aug 43, and Casper AAF, WY, 7 Oct 43. On 9 Nov 43 commenced overseas movement by leaving from Camp Shanks, NY. Sailed on the Queen Elizabeth 23 Nov 43, arriving Clyde 29 Nov 43. Assigned 9AF, IXFC, 30 Nov 43 and to Raydon. Trained with a few P-51Bs. In Jan 44 8AF exchanged 358FG for 357FG Hq. And 362FS moved 31 Jan 44, 363FS and 364FS moved 1 Feb 44.

Subsequent History

Scheduled for service with occupational forces in Germany. Moved Neubiberg (R-85) early Jul 45. Suffered shortages of aircraft and personnel during the following year. Inactivated at Neubiberg 20 Aug 46.

42 ACES OF THE 357TH FIGHTER GROUP

Patches by Jim Harley

The 357th Fighter Group in Color!