20th Fighter Group - Aircraft Specials series (6176) [Illustrated] [Paperback]

Ron MacKay (Author), Don Greer (Colorist)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1996

The 20th Fighter Group joined the 8th Air Force Command in Dec of '43, flying the P-38 in long range bomber escort role. The group later converted to the P-51 in July of '44. The group destroyed a total of 449 enemy aircraft during its combat tour. Over 150 photos, 8 pages of color, 80 pages.

Product Details

• Paperback: 80 pages
• Publisher: Squadron/Signal Publications; 1st edition (August 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 089747368X
• ISBN-13: 978-0897473682
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.4 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,500,263 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Trials & Tribulations of a Pioneering 8th AF P-38 Outfit!, July 31, 2008

By 

Michael OConnor "Wordsmith" (Wausau, WI USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: 20th Fighter Group - Aircraft Specials series (6176) (Paperback)

The 20th Fighter Group was the first P-38 unit assigned to the 8th Air Force. Beginning ops in late December 1943, the Group endured a harsh introduction to European air combat, suffering many losses with few victories in return. In July 1944 the Group's fortunes took an upswing when it converted to P-51s. By war's end the King's Cliffe-based unit had flown 312 missions, claiming 211 1/2 air kills, 232 ground kills and 400 locomotives, hence its nickname: 'The Loco-Busters.' Ron MacKay recounts the hardscrabble history of the 20th in this 1995 Squadron/Signal volume.

In December 1943 the 20th and 55th Groups were the only Lightning units in the Mighty Eighth. The P-38's long range promised extended protection for 8th bomber formations, which were routinely being savaged by Luftwaffe units. Two months later the 20th had downed 52 German aircraft and suffered 54 losses including top-ranking Group and Squadron personnel and its ranking ace. Most of those losses were due to the P-38H's unsuitability to European ops. When the 20th converted to Mustangs, the change in the Group's fortunes was almost instantaneous. In its first month flying P-51s, the 20th downed 70 e/a, the same number the group had destroyed between 22 February and 24 July 1944 while equipped with the Lightning. Fifty-one P-38 pilots had been KIA or MIA to score 70 kills. By contrast 14 P-51 pilots were lost in return for 70 kills. The Group received a DUC for an 8 April 1944 strafing attack on German airfields that netted claims for 20 destroyed and 23 damaged. Top aces included Ernest Fiebelkorn, Harley Brown, Jack Price, Jack Ilfrey, Lindol Graham and Jim Morris, the last two being the top P-38 aces of the 8th AF.

Author MacKay does a workmanlike job of relating the Group's history, the emphasis being on combat ops. The book would have benefitted from some first-person reminiscences, combat accounts, etc. Likewise, giving the full names of all pilots mentioned - rather than just 'Capt. Smith' -would have been nice.

Don Greer contributes eight pages of color profiles of the Group's P-38s, -51s and support aircraft (B-17, A-20, etc.) to the book. Black and white pix number over 190 and there's four color photos to boot.

The 20th FG wasn't one of the top-scoring 8th AF units. Yet the courage displayed by its pilots as they struggled to protect 8th AF bombers while flying the temperamental P-38 was unquestioned. 20TH FIGHTER GROUP is a nice tribute to those gallant gentlemen. Recommended.