BOXTED AIRFIELD HISTORICAL GROUP
The 354th was one of a number of fighter groups formed to reinforce the US Army air force in the early days of WW2.
The group was formed at Hamilton field California, on 15th November 1942. Its first
commander was Major Kenneth Martin,On the 18th January they moved to Tonopah Nevada,
Group training began on the Bell P39 Airacobra On the 21st October 1943 the 354th
departed for England., they headed for Green ham common in Berkshire. On arrival
the men speculated about which aircraft they would get, most said the P47 Thunderbolt.
The commanders of the 8th and 9th Tactical air force had other ideas, a new fighter
had just come on line, the P51 Mustang, here was a fighter that could fly at 440
mph at 30,000 ft. The shortcomings of the P51a Mustang having given way to the P51b,
with its Rolls Royce Merlin engine. So it was decided the 354th would be equipped
with the Mustang. When the pilots were told they were very excited. They were given
until 1st December to be combat ready. On November 11th five of the new aircraft
were received. Shortly after the group moved to Boxted, the pilots and ground crews
started to get accustomed to the Mustangs, more of these aircraft started to arrive,
a few each day. By the last day of November 24 aircraft and crews were combat ready.
They flew their first mission the very next day. Colonel Don Blakeslee had been seconded
to the 354th to lead them on their early missions because of his combat experience.On
1st December, 23 P51s led by Don Blakeslee with Col Martin as his wingman, they carried
out a fighter sweep over St Omer, in the Knocke area of Belgium. They watched the
flak come up and all returned safely. On the 13th December they encountered the enemy
for the first time, one P51 was lost and one enemy aircraft hit. Blakeslee’s uncompromising
pep talks made the pilots wonder who they feared most. During the Winter the pilots
found themselves flying on instruments through thick fog. On the 16th December the
first enemy aircraft fell to the 354ths guns.On the 5th January 1944 while supporting
heavy bombers over Kiel, they were attacked by a gaggle of German fighters, 16 enemy
aircraft were destroyed. On the 11th of February Ken Martin was involved in a mid
air collision and was taken prisoner. Ken Howard was promoted from Squadron to Group
Commander a veteran of extensive combat against the Japanese over China and Burma,
his appointment gave the group a tremendous boost, he was quite a task master. Howard’s
flying skills were legendary, he installed a flying training programme similar to
the one he had used in China, this produced an aggressive, finely tuned squadron,
ready fo For the next three months the group was on all the eighths major operations,
deeper and deeper into Germany. Escorting b17s on missions to Berlin, Leipzig Strasbourg,
Schweinfurt and so on. The 354th pioneered the fighter tactics that were needed to
escort large formations over Germany. On 18th april they had flown their last escort
mission for the eighth. In four months they had flown 55 missions with 169 enemy
aircraft destroyed, and 47 P51s lost. By the end of the war the 353rd squadron would
account for nearly 300 aircraft-
11th January 1944
Jim Howard awarded Congressional medal
The 354th were escorting the 401st B.G. When Jim Howard found him self alone, somehow he had got separated from the rest of his squadron. He saw 30 to 40 German fighters heading for the bombers. The enemy started to break off, Jim went after them until he ran out of ammunition and was able to get away in the confusion. Sometime later by tracing Howard’s aircraft code the 401st were able to thank him for his actions and recommend him for the medal of honour. The bomber pilots confirmed Howard had destroyed at least six aircraft and damaged others.
