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| Aviation Art Collecton - 352nd Fighter Group |
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| Aircraft for : 352nd Fighter Group | ||
| A list of all aircraft known to have been flown by 352nd Fighter Group. A profile page including a list of all art prints for the aircraft is available by clicking the aircraft name. | ||
| Squadron | Info | |
Mustang 
Manufacturer : North American | Mustang The ubiquitous North American P-51 Mustang, which many consider to be the best all-around fighter of WW II, owes its origins to the British Air Ministry. Following Britains entry into WW II in 1939, the RAF was interested in purchasing additional fighter aircraft from American sources, particularly the Curtiss P-40. Curtiss, which was busy, was unable to guarantee timely delivery so the British approached North American Aviation as a possible second source for the P-40. North American chose to propose its own fighter design which would use the same Allison engine as the P-40. Utilizing new laminar flow wings, the North American fighter was expected to have performance better than the P-40. Developed in record time the new aircraft was designated as a Mustang I by the Brits, whereas the USAAF ordered two for evaluation which were designated XP-51 Apaches. Intrigued with the possibility of using this aircraft also as a dive bomber, North American proposed this to the USAAF which decided to order 500 of the P-51 aircraft to be modified for dive bombing use. Designated as the A-36 Invader, this version of the Mustang utilized dive flaps, and bomb racks under each wing. Some reinforcing of the structural members was also required because of the G-forces to be encountered in dive bombing. A-36s entered combat service with the USAAF prior to any P-51s. In early 1943 the 86th and 27th Fighter Bomber Groups of the 12th Air Force began flying A-36s out of Northern Africa. Despite some early problems with instability caused by the dive flaps, the A-36 was effective in light bombing and strafing roles. It was not, however, capable of dog fighting with German fighters, especially at higher altitudes. Despite these drawbacks one USAAF pilot, Captain Michael T. Russo, who served with the 16th Bomb Squadron of the 27th Fighter Bomber Group, was credited with five confirmed aerial victories in the A-36, thereby becoming the first mustang ace. | |
Thunderbolt 
Production Began : 1943 Number Built : 15683 | Thunderbolt Alexander Kartveli was a engineer with Seversky Aircraft who designed the P-35, which first flew in 1937. With Republic Aviation Kartveli supervised the development of the P-43 Lancer. Neither of these aircraft were produced in large numbers, and neither was quite successful. However, the Republic Aviation P-47 Thunderbolt, also nicknamed the Jug, was quite a different story. The Jug was the jewel in Kartvelis design crown, and went on to become one of the most produced fighter aircraft of all time with 15,683 being manufactured. The P-47 was the largest and heaviest single seat fighter of WW II. The P-47 immediately demonstrated its excellent combat qualities, including speed, rate of climb, maneuverability, heavy fire power, and the ability to take a lot of punishment. With a wingspan of more than 40 feet and a weight of 19,400 pounds, this large aircraft was designed around the powerful 2000 HP Pratt and Whitney R-2800 Double Wasp radial engine. The first P-47 prototype flew in May of 1941, and the primary variant the P-47D went into service in 1943 with units of the U.S. Armys Eighth Air Force. The Jug had a maximum speed in excess of 400 MPH, a service ceiling in excess of 42,000 feet, and was heavily armed with either six or eight heavy caliber machine guns. With its ability to carry up to a 2,500 pound bomb load, the Jug saw lots of use in ground attack roles. Until the introduction of the N model, the P-47 lacked the long range required for fighter escort missions which were most often relegated to P-51 Mustangs or P-38 Lightnings. In his outstanding painting entitled Bridge Busting Jugs, noted aviation artist Stan Stokes depicts Eighth Air Force Jugs in a ground attack mission in the Alps in June of 1944. The top P-47 ace was Francis Gabreski who had flown with the 56th Fighter Group, the first unit to be equipped with the P-47. In August of 1943 Gabreski attained his first aerial combat victory (over an Fw-190) and by years end he had reached ace status with 8 confirmed victories. As Commander of the 61st Squadron, Gabreski continued to chalk up victory after victory, and on seven different occasions he achieved two victories during the same mission. However, in July of 1944 Gabreski damaged the prop on his Jug during a low level attack on an airfield near Coblenz. Forced to make a crash landing, he was captured and remained a prisoner of war until Wars end in 1945. Following the War Gabreski returned to military service with the Air Forces 4th Fighter-Interceptor Wing in Korea. Flying the F-86 Sabre Jet, Gabreski attained 6.5 more aerial victories in 1951 and 1952 becoming an ace in two different wars | |
| Signatures for : 352nd Fighter Group | ||
| A list of all signatures from our database who are associated with this squadron. A profile page is available by clicking their name. | ||
| Name | Info | |
 Lt Col Donald S Bryan Click the name or photo above to see prints signed by Lt Col Donald S Bryan | Lt Col Donald S Bryan Originally a P-40 instructor with the 79th Fighter Squadron, 20th Fighter Group, Don Bryan then transferred to the 328th Fighter Squadron, 352nd Fighter Group as a flight leader flying P-47s. Moving to Bodney, England, in June, he flew with the group on its first combat mission in September, flying his P-47 Little One, named after his girlfriend Frances Norman. In April 1944, he transferred to P-51s, Little One II and Little One III, and completed his first combat tour in May 1944. He returned to the 328th Fighter Squadron in August, became an Ace two months later, and gained Ace in a Day status on 2nd November when he downed five Fw190s in a single mission. Don flew 140 combat missions, never lost a wingman, and was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, second only to the Medal of Honor. | |
 First Lieutenant Walter Jack Diamond Click the name or photo above to see prints signed by First Lieutenant Walter Jack Diamond | First Lieutenant Walter Jack Diamond Jack Diamond joined the 487th Fighter Squadron, 352nd Fighter Group in October 1944 and flew P-51 Mustang 'Twyla Sue' with them until the end of the war. He was one of the few pilots who not only managed to get airborne during the Luftwaffes 1945 New Years Day onslaught of Operation Bodenplatte, but scored an aerial victory and damaged another as well. | |
  Lieutenant Colonel Edwin Heller Click the name or photo above to see prints signed by or with the mounted signature of Lieutenant Colonel Edwin Heller | Lieutenant Colonel Edwin Heller Ed Heller joined the Service in 1942 and during World War II flew both the P-51 and P-47 in the European Theater with the 352nd Fighter Group, becoming an Ace with 5 1/2 victories. Flying F-86s with the 51st Fighter-Interceptor Wing in Korea he scored a further 3 1/2 victories before being shot down, resulting in two and a half years as a prisoner of war of the Chinese. | |
 Captain Donald Mac McKibben Click the name or photo above to see prints signed by Captain Donald Mac McKibben | Captain Donald Mac McKibben Don McKibben was one of the original cadre of pilots with the 352nd Fighter Group. He flew 80 combat missions with the 486th Fighter Squadron in P-47s and P-51s until September 1944. He flew the famous P-51 Miss Lace and with the others of the 486th took part in the first shuttle mission to Russia led by Don Blakeslee of the 4th Fighter Group. McKibben is credited with 2 aerial victories and 1 probable. | |
Master Sergeant Ralph McLain Click the name above to see prints signed by Master Sergeant Ralph McLain | Master Sergeant Ralph McLain Ralph McLain was attached to the 352nd Fighter Group as a Radar Operator from their arrival in England until the end of the war. After the war he flew as aircrew on P-36s and B-52s as a Radar and Electronic Countermeasure specialist. | |
 Captain George Middleton Click the name or photo above to see prints signed by Captain George Middleton | Captain George Middleton Joining the 352nd Fighter Group in March 1944, George flew 85 combat sorties with them until the end of hostilities in May 1945. He flew P-51 'Worra Bird', and acted as wingman to both George Preddy and Don Bryan on many occasions. George is credited with 2 aerial victories. | |
 Lt Col Raymond R Mitchell Click the name or photo above to see prints signed by Lt Col Raymond R Mitchell | Lt Col Raymond R Mitchell Ray Mitchell flew 69 combat missions with the 328th Fighter Squadron, 352nd Fighter Group from August 1944 until late April 1945, his P-51 was Carol. He flew as George Preddys wingman many times and was in his flight on 25th December 1944 when Preddy was killed by friendly ground fire chasing after an enemy aircraft. ray is credited with 1 aerial victory. | |
 Major General Cuthbert Bill Pattillo Click the name or photo above to see prints signed by Major General Cuthbert Bill Pattillo | Major General Cuthbert Bill Pattillo Bill Pattillo was assigned to the 487th Fighter Squadron, 352nd Fighter Group and flew 135 combat missions in P-51 Mustangs from November 1944 until he was shot down over Germany in April 1945 and taken as a PoW until liberated on 2nd May 1945. Bill was credited with destroying 1 Me262 jet in aerial combat plus another 6 enemy aircraft on the ground. After the war he flew with the first USAF Thunderbird team. Following a highly distinguished post-war career he retired from the Air Froce as a General. | |
Corporal Howard Polin Click the name above to see prints signed by Corporal Howard Polin | Corporal Howard Polin Howard deployed to England in April 1944, and was posted to Bodney as part of the 18th Weather Squadron, attached to the 352nd Fighter Group, where he served until the end of the war. | |
 Captain Robert Punchy Powell Click the name or photo above to see prints signed by Captain Robert Punchy Powell | Captain Robert Punchy Powell Punchy Powell joined the 328th Fighter Squadron of the 352nd Fighter Group in August 1943 and flew 83 combat missions with them in P-47s and P-51s until the end of his tour in December 1944. His P-51 was The West by gawd Virginian. He was credited with sharing in the destruction of 2 enemy aircraft in aerial combat plus 3 damaged, and destroying 3.5 enemy aircraft on the ground, plus 2 probables while strafing enemy airfields. | |
 Major Alden P Rigby Click the name or photo above to see prints signed by Major Alden P Rigby | Major Alden P Rigby Major Al Rigby was born in Fairview, Utah, on 4th January 1923 and attended Brigham Young University. He joined the Army Air Forces in January 1943 and graduated from Cadets at Spence Field, Georgia, that December. He graduated from P-51 transition training at Bartow, Florida, in April 1944, then served as an instructor pilot for two months. Alden Rigby deployed to England in 1944 and was assigned to the 487th Fighter Squadron, 352nd Fighter Group from July 1944 until March 1945. During this time, he took part in 76 combat missions in P-51s, for a total of 272 combat hours, destroying 5 enemy aircraft in aerial combat. Four of those kills came in just 25 minutes on one day, 1st January 1945, over his forward airstrip near Asch, Belgium, during the Battle of the Bulge, during the German attack of Operation Bodenplatte. He is also credited with destroying many enemy trains and barges, as well as at least one aircraft on the ground during strafing missions, including several on 1st January 1945. Major Rigby received the Silver Star, the Air Medal with 7 oak leaf clusters, and the Distinguished Unit Citation. During the Peiod of the Korean War, Rigby served three years active duty in the US with the 33rd Air Division of Air Defense Command. He served 25 years in the Utah Air National Guard, retiring in 1979 with the rank of Major. He also worked for 25 years as an air traffic control supervisor at the Federal Aviation Administrations Salt Lake Center. | |
Colonel Duerr J Schuh Click the name above to see prints signed by Colonel Duerr J Schuh | Colonel Duerr J Schuh Duerr Schuh flew his first combat mission in July 1944. Flying 61 missions in the P-51 with the 352nd Fighter Group, he took part in the Battle of the Bulge. The day following Christmas, 1944, while covering a bombing run, he jumped a group of Me109s, shooting down three in a single action. He ended the war an Ace. | |
Staff Sergeant Art Snyder Click the name above to see prints signed by Staff Sergeant Art Snyder | Staff Sergeant Art Snyder Serving with the 352nd Fighter Group from 1942 to 1945, Art Snyder was George Preddys greatly respected crew chief who kept his P-51 'Cripes A Mighty' flying to perfection, invaluable to Preddy as the highest scoring P-51 Ace in the Eighth Air Force. Art also doubled as the units barber, often decorating Preddys Mustang with a small barbers pole to the right hand engine nacelle. | |
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