USAAF 31st Fighter Group

31st Fighter Group

Constituted as 31st Pursuit Group (Interceptor) on 22 Dec 1939. Activated on 1 Feb 1940. Trained with P-39's and participated in maneuvers. Redesignated 31st Fighter Group in May 1942. Moved to England, May-Jun 1942. Assigned to Eighth AF and equipped with Spitfires. Entered combat in Aug 1942. Supported a raid made by Canadian, British, American, and French forces at Dieppe on 19 Aug. Escorted bombers and flew patrol and diversionary missions until Oct. Assigned to Twelfth AF for the invasion of North Africa, the pilots of the group flying Spitfires from Gibraltar to Algeria on 8 Nov 1942 and the ground echelon landing at Arzeu beach the same day. Attacked motor transports, gun positions, and troop concentrations during the three-day campaign for Algeria and French Morocco. Helped to defeat Axis forces in Tunisia by supporting ground troops and providing cover for bomber and fighter aircraft. During May and Jun 1943, provided escort for bombers on raids to Pantelleria and cover for naval convoys in the Mediterranean. Supported the landings on Sicily in July and took part in the conquest of that island. Covered the landings at Salerno early in Sep 1943 and at Anzio in Jan 1944. Also operated in close support of Allied ground forces in Italy and flew patrol and escort missions.

Assigned to Fifteenth AF in Apr 1944, converted to P-51's, and thereafter engaged primarily in escort work. Received a DUC for a mission on 21 Apr 1944 when the group, despite the severe weather that was encountered, provided cover for a force of heavy bombers during a raid on production centers in Rumania. On numerous other occasions escorted bombers that attacked objectives in Italy, France, Germany, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Austria, Hungary, Bulgaria, Rumania, Yugoslavia, and Greece. In addition provided escort for reconnaissance aircraft and for C-47's engaged in the airborne operation connected with the invasion of Southern France. Also flew strafing missions against airdromes and communications targets. Took part in an operation in which a task force from Fifteenth AF attacked targets in Rumania while flying to Russia on 22 Jul 1944 and while returning to Italy on 26 Jul; on 25 Jul, after escorting P-38's from a base in Russia for a raid on an airdrome in Poland, the 31st group made attacks on a convoy of German trucks and on a force of German fighter-bombers, being awarded a DUC for its performance. Strafed rail and highway traffic in northern Italy in Apr 1945 when Allied forces were engaged in their final offensive in that area. Returned to the US in Aug. Inactivated on 7 Nov 1945.

Activated in Germany on 20 Aug 1946. Assigned to United States Air Forces in Europe. Transferred, without personnel and equipment, to the US in Jun 1947. Assigned to Tactical Air Command and equipped with P-51's. Converted to F-84's in 1948. Redesignated 31st Fighter-Bomber Group in Jan 1950. Assigned to Strategic Air Command in Jul 1950. Redesignated 315t Fighter-Escort Group. Inactivated on 16 Jun 1952.

39th Fighter Sqn - 40th Fighter Sqn - 41st Fighter Sqn - 307th Fighter Sqn - 308th Fighter Sqn - 308th Fighter Sqn var - 309th Fighter Sqn

Squadrons. 39th: 1940-1942. 40th: 1940-1942. 41st: 1940-1942. 307th: 1942-1945; 1946-1952. 308th: 1942-1945; 1946- 1952. 309th: 1942-1945; 1946-1952.

Stations.
Selfridge Field, Mich, 1 Feb 1940;
Baer Field, Ind, 6 Dec 1941;
New Orleans AB, La, Feb-19 May 1942;
Atcham, England, 11 Jun 1942;
Westhampnett, England, 1 Aug 1942;
Tafaraoui, Algeria, 8 Nov 1942;
La Senia, Algeria, c. 12 Nov 1942;
Thelepte, Tunisia, c. 7 Feb 1943;
Tebessa, Algeria, 17 Feb 1943;
Youks-les-Bains, Algeria, 21 Feb 1943;
Kalaa Djerda, Tunisia, c. 25 Feb 1943;
Thelepte, Tunisia, 11 Mar 1943;
Djilma, Tunisia, 7 Apr 1943;
Le Sers, Tunisia, 12 Apr 1943;
Korba, Tunisia, 15 May 1943; Gozo, c. 30 Jun 1943;
Ponte Olivo, Sicily, c. 13 Jul 1943;
Agrigento, Sicily, 21 Jul 1943;
Termini, Sicily, 2 Aug 1943;
Milazzo, Sicily, 2 Sep 1943;
Montecorvino, Italy, 20 Sep 1943;
Pomigliano, Italy, 14 Oct 1943;
Castel Volturno, Italy, 19 Jan 1944;
San Severo, Italy, 2 Apr 1944;
Mondolfo, Italy, 3 Mar 1945;
Triolo Airfield, Italy, 15 Jul-Aug 1945;
Drew Field, Fla, Aug-7 Nov 1945.
Giebelstadt, Germany, 20 Aug 1946;
Kitzingen, Germany, 30 Sep 1946;
Langley Field, Va, 25 Jun 1947;
Turner Field, Ga, 4 Sep 1947-16 Jun 1952.

Commanders. Lt Col Harold H George, Feb 1940; Col John R Hawkins, 1 Jul 1941; Col Fred M Dean, 5 Dec 1942; Lt Col Frank A Hill, c. Jul 1943; Col Charles M McCorkle, c. Sep 1943; Col Yancey S Tarrant, 4 Jul 1944; Col William A Daniel, Dec 1944-unkn. Lt Col Horace A Hanes, Aug 1946-unkn; Lt Col Frederick H LeFebre, Jan 1947; Maj Arland Stanton, Feb 1947; Col Dale D Fisher, Mar 1947; Lt Col Donald M Blakeslee, May 1947; Maj Leonard P Marks, 22 Oct 1947; Col Carroll W McColpin, 1 Nov 1947; Col Earl H Dunham, c. Dec 1949; Col David C Schilling, 1 Jun 1951-16 Jun 1952.

Campaigns. Air Combat, EAME Theater; Air Offensive, Europe; Algeria-French Morocco; Tunisia; Sicily; Naples-Foggia; Anzio; Rome-Arno; Normandy; Northern France; Southern France; North Apennines; Rhineland; Central Europe; Po Valley.

Decorations. Distinguished Unit Citations: Rumania, 21 Apr 1944; Poland, 25 Jul 1944.

Insigne. Shield: Per bend nebule or and azure, in chief a wyvern, sans legs, wings endorsed of the second. Motto: Return With Honor. (Approved 28 Jun 1941.)

40th Fighter Squadron was later assigned to 35th Fighter Group in 1942/

OPERATIONS

The 40th Pursuit Squadron was activated at Selfridge Field, MI on 22 Dec 1939 as part of the 31st Pursuit Group with the 39th and 41st Squadrons. One of the early Commanders, Captain Albert P. Clark, designed the first Red Devil insignia to fit on the anticipated P-40s. Later in 1941, when the squadron was under 1st Lt. Fred M. Dean, the Red Devil was redesigned to fit on the cockpit doors of the new P-39s which were flown on the Summer-Fall maneuvers in the southeastern USA.

The squadron was at Baer Field, Fort Wayne, IN 7 Dec 1941. On 10 Dec, the ground echelon headed for Port Angeles, WA and the pilots and crews took the P-39s via the southern route to avoid the winter weather enroute to Paine Field at Everett, WA. The 31st Group was recalled to Selfridge Field and took half of the 40th to become the 308th Squadron. The remaining 40th cadre of 14 officers and 76 enlisted men along with 39th and 41st cadres shipped from San Francisco aboard the USAT ANCON on 31 Jan 1942 for Australia. They disembarked at Brisbane 25 Feb 1942. 1st Lt. Stephen M. Smith was the 40th Commander during this period.

The squadron settled at Mt. Gambier, SA by 16 March. Teddy W. Hanks was a member of the 40th Fighter Squadron and did not know the movements and/or locations of the other two squadrons during the early months after their arrival in Brisbane. While at Mt. Gambier, Teddy Hank's squadron received the first influx of personnel, namely 8 pilots and 16 enlisted men who had served in Java in the 17th Pursuit Squadron, Provisional, a P-40 organization.

In the early evening of 31 March 1942, they departed Mount Gambier via train and arrived at Camden in New South Wales, late on the 2 April 1942. Because of the difference in the width of rails, at Albury they were compelled to change trains. As Teddy recalls, they were sent to Camden to afford aerial protection for Sydney in case the Japanese should manage to send aircraft carriers close enough to launch an attack. They departed Camden on 14 April 1942 and, after changing trains at Brisbane, reached Townsville at mid-day on the 17th April 1942. They were transported to Antil Plains that same day.

The 40th Squadron moved in with the 36th Squadron of the 8th Fighter Group. Within a very few days, the 36th packed up and departed for Port Moresby. Within walking distance of their camp was an airfield (pasture?) being used by the 33rd Bomb Squadron, 22nd Bomb Group, a B-26 Martin Marauder unit. Teddy W. Hanks knew one of the gunners in the 33rd, and soon located him. His friend in the 33rd Bomb Squadron explained that it took three days for them to make a strike against the enemy.

Day One: Fly to Seven Mile (now Jackson International Airport) at Moresby and refuel the aircraft by hand pumping fuel out of 55 gallon barrels.

Day Two: Fly to Rabaul, make attack and return to Moresby where the aircraft was refueled.

Day Three: Return to Antil Plains. A strike consisted of six B-26s -- no fighter escorts because none were capable of flying the distance. My friend said they were losing an average of one plane per strike. The day Teddy visited him he had just returned from a mission on which the squadron commanding officer was lost. A few days later the 33rd moved to another location believed to be Woodstock.

Around the end of April 1942, and the first part of May 1942, the 40th Squadron was brought up to authorized strength when a large contingent of enlisted men joined the squadron. Almost all of them had enlisted after the Pearl Harbor attack. Very few were trained to do the various jobs required of a fighter squadron. It was up to the existing men in the squadron who knew a little, to train those who knew nothing. With few exceptions, they learned and performed well.

On 2 June 1942, the 39th and 40th squadrons were sent to the Port Moresby area to relieve the 35th and 36th Fighter Squadrons, of the 8th Fighter Group, that had been sent up in April 1942. After six weeks of training new people and securing P-400s and P-39s, the 40th was ordered to Port Moresby, Papua on 2 June 1942 as the 40th Fighter Squadron. Lt. Harvey J. Scandrett had scored the first victory for the 40th while on TDY with another unit on 17 May. Lt. B. J. Oliver scored the 2nd victory on an intercept over Salamaua on 16 June but Lts. William L. Hutcheson, Stanley F. Rice, and P. J. Magre were MIA. Lts. Robert S. Johnson and Stephen M. Smith were wounded. Capt Hubert I. Egenes, a Java veteran, took over the command.

On 11 July 1942 on an intercept over Port Moresby Lts. Robert W. Shick, Chester E. Trout, Garth B. Cottam, Clarence M. Wilmarth, and Philip K. Shriver scored victories. Lt. O. A. Kirtland was MIA and Lt. Ed J. Gignac was injured in a forced landing. Late in July the squadron rotated back to Antil Plains to re-coup and re-arm. On 21 Nov, the 40th moved to Port Moresby and based at Berry Field (12 mile). Capt. Malcolm A. Moore was the commander. The 40th received the Presidential Unit Citation for its role in aerial support for the Papuan Campaign.

On 7 Dec 1942 in an air battle over Buna, Capt. Moore and Lts. Wilmarth and Charles A. Klein each downed a Zeke. On 6 Feb 1943 while covering C-47s supplying troops at Wau, a flight of eight 40th P-39s ran into a large group of Japanese aircraft and shot down twelve with no losses to themselves. Victors were Lt. Gene De Boer (1), Lt. Bill McDonough (2), Lt. Lewis Raines (1), Lt. Bill Shick (2), Lt. Lee Taylor (1), Capt. Tom Winburn (2), and Lt. Ed Schneider (3). This feat earned the 40th a second Presidential Unit Citation.

On 12 April 1943 on an intercept over Port Moresby Lts. Klein, Lou Nagy, Hauser Wilson, and Gene Heinz scored one victory each, while Capt. Bill Davitt got two. For the next three months, the missions were routine patrol, air support for bombers, and escort for transports. Then came the move to Tsili-Tsili, a highly-secret, landlocked strip 200 miles north of Port Moresby. The first escort of C-47s began on 14 August. On the 15th, Lts. Dick Schamlz and Bob Yaeger tacked onto a 41st flight which got to the Tsili-Tsili area just as the first Japanese raid came in. Lt. Schmalz got one victory and Lt. Yaeger got two. The 40th moved to Tsili-Tsili on 25 Aug 1943 for some of the most rugged and severe flying and living conditions. Fuel, food and munitions supply could only come in by C-47. Mud and heat prevailed in the extremes, and cloud build-up over the surrounding mountains made every flight hazardous. The 40th covered the Lae landings of Allied troops and participated in the airborne assault of the Nadzab area. The 40th moved to Nadzab in October 1943 and were able to cover Allied landings at Finschhafen.

On 27 Oct planes led by Capt. John Clapper intercepted Japanese bombers over Finschhafen. He and Lts. Carl E. Nelson, Nathan Smith, Schneider, Phil Wolf, and Robert G. Allison each downed a bomber. the Japanese also raided Nadzab at random and on 7 Nov 1943 Lts. John E. Doordan, Ben J. Ewers, Nelson, Walter S. Thayer, and William H. Strand each scored. Again, on 9 Nov Capt. Clapper got 2 victories, Lts. Jack A. Grimm and John M. Davis got one each. In late November over Saidor Lts. Francis J. Vetort, Grimm, and Nelson got single victories, and Lt. Alvaro J. Hunter got two.

In late December 1943 with Capt. Joseph E. Lamphere as commander the 40th began transition into P-47 Thunderbolts, a big change from P-39s. In January 1944, the 40th flight line was bombed and strafed several times, but no big damage was done. Then in Feb 1944 the 40th moved up the Markham river to the Ramu river valley base called Gusap. It had cool air and cold water and put the squadron within the range of the Japanese bases around Wewak. Major Bill McDonough got two P-47 victories over Wewak on 15 Feb and another over Gusap on 4 March as Japanese Tony's followed our flights back from Wewak. On 11 Mar 1944 Capt. Robert Yaeger, Jr. got 3 scores over Wewak.

The 40th continued to fly support missions for the Hollandia battle during April and May. They moved back to Nadzab June 1st for training and recuperation. The ground echelon loaded twice for Biak. Delays prevailed. Finally, on 4 Aug the air echelon moved to Noemfoor Island. The squadron covered the Sansapor area during August and in September flew their longest dive bombing mission with 500 lb. bombs to Halmahera Island. Capt. John R. Young was commander during this period. On 10 Oct flying out of Morotai he led the 40th on the first Balikpapan mission - a 1600 mile round trip - the longest ever for 5th Ftr Cmnd at that time. Capt. Young led ten others flying P-47Ds (bubble canopied) aircraft. He scored two victories, Capt. Bill Strand got 3, Capts.Thomas F. Powell, Linsfield W. Poteet, and Charles D. Clark got 2 each, and Lt. Hilton S. Kessel got 1. On 14 Oct with Capt. Young leading eight P-47s he scored one more victory, Capts. Strand, Hunter, and Lt. Henry G. Wilkes got two each. Capt. D. J. Laird, Phil Thomas and Lt. Jack E. Simonini each got one victory. For this feat, the 40th Fighter Squadron was awarded its third Presidential Unit Citation.

On 8 Nov 1944 Capt. John Young transferred to 35th Group Operations and was replaced by Capt. Al Hunter. Capt. Daniel Cherry replaced Hunter on 8 Dec.

In November and December 1944 there were many escort missions requiring a lot of open water flying to targets over Negros Island. On 5 Nov Lt. Robert Powers got a victory over Bacolod and on 6 Nov Lt. Wilkes and Lt. Jack L. Marvin each got victories at the same place. On 21 Nov Capt. Strand got a victory there. Then on 24 Nov over Alicante the squadron came upon a Japanese bomber flight and shot down six. Victors were Warren Wycoff (2), Bob Steffy, Ellis Baker, Graydon Franklin, Alvaro Hunter and Jack Gautreaux each (1). Bill Colsh had a victory over Mindanao on 6 Dec. Then on 14 Dec the 40th had another big day, 14 Japanese bombers shot down. The victors were Harold Vaughn (1), Warren Wycoff, Ellis Baker, James Meeks, and Bill Colsh (2) each, Roger Howe and Robert Haigh (1) each, and Bob Steffy (3).

The 40th headed for the Lingayen Gulf and landed on Luzon 18 January 1945. On 30 Jan Ellis Baker destroyed a Zeke over Formosa. On 27 Feb 1945 Capt. Darrel Laird (now Lt Col, ret) leading a 4 plane fighter sweep over Formosa destroyed three enemy "Frank" fighters. It was a bad month for the squadron though, since five pilots were shot down by ground fire on bombing and strafing missions. On 21 March the 40th flew its last P-47 mission from Mangaldan strip. On 3 April 1945 Capt. Tony Faikus lead a four-plane P-51 flight over Formosa when they sighted two Zekes and one Nick. The victors were Capt. Faikus, Lt. William L. Colsh, and Lt. Irving C. Pine. On the 19th the 40th moved to Clark Field where they occupied a camp originally set up by the 475th Group. Living at Clark Field was great compared to all the other places in the past. Flying consisted mainly of close support for U S Army troops on Luzon with a few strafing missions to Formosa. In May Capt. Daniel Cherry returned to the USA and he was replaced by Capt. Carlos Dannacher who had a previous tour with the 40th in New Guinea.

On 1 July 1945, the 40th staged 27 P-51Ds through Laog and the next day flew into Yontan airstrip on Okinawa. Camp was set up on the beach near Machinato. On 3 July, the 40th took 16 airplanes on the first sweep over Kyushu, flying high cover for the 35th Group force of 48 airplanes. There was no enemy contact by the 40th.

On 5 July on another sweep, with Capt. Henry P. Rettinger leading, four Japanese George type fighters were sighted just south of Sasebo. Capt. Rettinger got two victories and Lt. Ellis Baker got the other two. This ended the air-to-air combat in WW II. In all the 40th destroyed 113 Japanese planes. Of these 51 were shot down by P-39s, 55 by P-47s, and 7 by P-51s. Five aces led the way - Capt. Bill Strand with 7, Lt. Ellis Baker with 6, and Major Bill McDonough with 5, and Capts. Al Hunter and Robert Yaeger, Jr. with 5 each.

In all, the 40th destroyed 113 Japanese planes; 51 shot down by P-39s, 55 by P-47s, and seven by P-51s. Five aces led the way: Captain Bill Strand with seven, Lt. Ellis Baker with six, and Major Bill McDonough and Captains Al Hunter and Robert Yaeger, Jr. with five each.

In October 1945, the 40th flew their P-51s from Machinato AB to Irumagawa, a small base on Honshu near Tokyo. This became Johnson AB during the post-war years. At Yokota AB in April 1950 the 40th Fighter Squadron converted to jets, the P-80 Shooting Star. Their mission was to provide for the air defense of the Kanto Plains. The Squadron had 25 new airplanes manned by twenty-five officers and one hundred airmen.