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History

The 55th Fighter Group started life as the 55th Pursuit Group but was renamed as the 55th Fighter Group in May 1942, as the USAAF began to update the names of its units.

By August 1943 ,the personnel had finished with their stateside training and began the preparations for the trans-Atlantic deployment to England. Three operational squadrons made the move to England: the 38th, 338th, and the 343rd. On 4 September, the group embarked on the HMS Orion. The Group arrived in England and were posted to Nuthampstead.

The 55th was assigned to the Eighth Air Force's 66th Fighter Wing and received its first P-38 fighters on 21 September 1943. Although it wasn't the first P-38 group to arrive in England, the 55th was the first to go fully operational when, on 15 October, the 55th flew a fighter sweep over Holland.

In early 1944, the Allies had established long-range fighter escort capability. The 55th Group provided protection for the heavy bombers during the famous maximum effort, known as "Big Week" 20-25 February 1944.

Soon thereafter, on 3 March 1944; the Eighth Air Force planners scheduled a large-scale daylight raid on Berlin. Unfortunately, the weather was very poor and most of the planes were recalled. The 55th Fighter Group did not receive a recall order and arrived over Berlin to rendezvous with the bombers which did not materialize. Lieutenant Colonel Jack S. Jenkins was leading the 55th that day and the Group made history by becoming the first American fighter unit to penetrate the Berlin skies during the war.

The 55th introduced a new form of P-38 on 10 April 1944. A specially modified Lightning, with a plexi-glass nose and room for a bombardier in lieu of the fighter's normal nose armament, became known as the "droop snoot". The target for this first mission was to be the airfield 'at St. Dizier, France; but, as the planes approached, it became obvious that the airfield was obscured by a ground haze, Again leading the Group on a historic mission, Colonel Jenkins opted for a secondary target at Coulomiers. After the bombs were released, Colonel Jenkins led the fighters "down on the deck" to strafe the field. On his second pass, Jenkins' P-38 was hit several times by enemy gunners forcing him to crash land and be taken prisoner.

Six days later (16 April 1944), the remainder of the Group moved to Wormingford, near Colchester, in Essex, England.

On 5-11 June, the 55th Fighter Group patrolled over the English Channel and bombed bridges during the D-Day Invasion. The patrols over shipping lanes between England and France were flown from dawn to dusk and led to the first night patrols for the Group. Pilots flew three missions daily, a total of 10.5 hours per day. Three P-38s were forced to land on the emergency strip at the Normandy beachhead on 11 June. On 21 July 1944, the 55th flew its last mission in the P-38 Lightning and began transition into the newer P-51 Mustang fighter.

On 6 July, the 343rd Squadron took part in a shuttle mission to Russia while escorting bombers which attacked Gdynia, Poland. The mission was 1,492 miles and constituted the squadron's longest escort mission o£ the war.

During eight missions from 3-13 September 1944, the 55th Fighter Group compiled "one of the most outstanding records of enemy aircraft destroyed and damaged" in the history of war combat over Europe. In addition to protecting bomber formations over enemy territory, the group destroyed 106 and damaged 51 enemy airplanes in the air and on the ground. For that activity, the Group was awarded the Distinguished Unit Citation.

From 17-23 September, the Group provided fighter patrols and area. support in, the Arnhem sector for troop carrier aircraft dropping troops and supplies during the airborne invasion of Holland. In November, a "Clobber College" was established by the 55th Group and supported b y the squadrons to provide combat training to many.-new pilots fresh out of U, S. flying schools.

During the German counter-offensive in the Ardennes, the Group seized every opportunity to fully support ground forces on the front.  February 1945 was a highly successful month for the squadrons of the 55th. In air and ground attacks, bombing and strafing, the group destroyed and damaged a large number of trains locomotives, rail cars, road targets, vehicles, buildings and aircraft. The Group was awarded its second Distinguished Unit Citation for its activities on 19 February 1945.

In March, the Group strafed trucks, locomotives and oil depots near Wesel when the Allies were crossing the Rhine. The 55th flew its last combat mission of the war on 21 April 1945. On 21 July, the unit moved to Kaufbeuren, Germany, and was, reassigned from the Eighth Air Force to the Ninth Air Force.

The 55th Fighter Group completed its combat tour of duty with a distinguished record in seven campaigns. The Group flew over 600 combat missions, claiming more that 400 enemy aircraft destroyed and over 100 damaged. The 55th had 16 aces credited with 90 victories. The two highest scorers were COL (then Capt) William H Lewis and BG (then Capt) Darrell S Cramer, each credited with victories. COL (then Capt) Donald M Cummings made 6.5 "kills" - two of which were the first jets to see combat - the ME-262.

Relevant websites

www.55th.org
www.station131.co.uk
www.cieldegloire.com

Casualties of the 55th Fighter Group that are buried in the Netherlands or were killed here and are now buried elsewhere.