Nine days after the first anniversary of Pearl Harbour, Fourth Airforce HQ issued General order #147, titled "Constitution and activation of certain Army Air Force units". The new unit was to be the 357^th Fighter Group with three Sqns, 362^nd, 363^rd and the 364^th. The orders further stated that personnel for this unit would be secured from the 328^th Fighter Group Hamilton field in California, and if possible the new units were to be at full strength by the 1^st March 1943.
As 1942 came to a close, many people started to arrive at Hamilton Field. Their accommodation was to say the least basic, tar paper huts on a mud flat, and at this time there was a shortage of supplies and equipment, but the new Fighter Group soon began to take shape. The first Commander of the group was Lt Colonel Loring Stetson Jr, four other officers were, Major Donald Graham( operations officer) he later commanded the group, Major Robert Romine ( group Adjutant), Capt Alfred Craven ( intelligence officer) and Capt Irwin Dregne ( operations and training officer) who also became a Commanding officer of the group. The three Sqn commanders were Capt Hubert Egnes, Capt Varian White and Capt Stuart Lauler.
On the 4^th March 1943 the 357^th started their first move, Hamilton Field was to be left behind, the new location was in the desert country of Nevada, Tonopah.. The training base at Tonopah was spread over a very large area, and the primary mission of the base was for Bombing and Gunnery. When the 357^th arrived it had only been in use for about 3 months, and it was here at Tonopah that the 357^th got there first aircraft, the Bell P-39 Aircobra nicknamed the "tumbler", It was powered by an Allison engine that was behind the pilot, and had a tricycle undercarriage. Again at Tonopah were the tar paper huts and a lot of concrete, there were no hangers then for maintenance, so all the ground crews work was done outside in all weathers. The three Sqns were doing a lot of flying, day and night to get experience as quickly as possible, as the move to Europe could come at any time, so the ground crews were working flat out just to keep the P-39’s serviceable.
In the three months of heavy training at Tonopah there had been only 3 fatalities due to aircraft accidents, but this would rise during the months to come.
The 3^rd June 1943 the 357^th were to move again and they would be split up too. The 362^nd Sqn were moved to Haywood, California, HQ and the 363^rd/364^th Sqn’s went to Santa Rosa, one month later they to were split. The 363^rd went to Oroville, and the 364^th moved to Marysville in the middle of that August.
During the summer months young new pilots were arriving, and the training was still very intense, with this came more fatalities, a loss of another 8 men due to flying accidents and many non Fatal throughout the base.There were several Command changes during July, Col Stetson went to North Africa and was replaced by Col Edward Chickering, Capt Lauler, Commander of the 363^rd Sqn was taken ill and Capt Clay Davies took his place for a short time, unfortunately he was killed in a plane crash on the 7^th July, so Major Donald Graham took the post  for about a month. Then on the 28^th Sept the 363^rd were given orders to move again with HQ, 357^th Fighter Group, this time to Casper AA fld in Wyoming. Also the 362^nd were moved to Pocatello, Idaho, and the 364^th went to Ainsworth, Nebraska, These were to be the final moves before leaving for England. In late October the final inspection of the group took place, the report dated 24^th October read, "Combat fitness and training of personnel and equipment is considered very satisfactory, and this unit is recommended for overseas movement on readiness date". So early in November 1943 the 357^th Fighter Group headed out by rail to Camp Shanks, New York, were on the 23^rd November they would board the RMS Queen Elizabeth for the 6 day trip to the Firth of Clyde in Scotland.
When the 357^th first arrived in England there new station was Raydon( also called Raydon Wood) Station 157, it was a small village about 6 miles from the town of Ipswich, and the 357^th were all moved in by the 7^th December. The field was a sea of mud and any vehicle that strayed off the concrete areas would certainly be stuck. It was wet, cold and dismal, not a bit like home, although it would only be short stay here as they would again be moved. The result of the German bombing in 1940 was still very visible to the new arrivals, when on leave to the nearby towns they would notice the lack of clothing and food available, fuel and luxuries were as everything else, very scarce. But the people did their best to make the most of what they had, and in most cases made the Americans welcome.
Very soon orders were issued by the U.S. Army Air Force, United Kingdom, assigning the 357^th Fighter Group to the Ninth Air Force, then undergoing a build up after moving from the Mediterranean. The Ninth were to be the primary air support force for American forces during and after the invasion of France. A few days later they were assigned to the IX Fighter Command. It was on the 19^th of December that the group received their first Fighter, a single North American P-51B.It arrived in an Olive drab and grey paint scheme, and was not even new. It had been very well used by the RAF, and the roundels were still visible under the new paintwork. This was the first of many of the type the 357^th would take into combat, and by the end of December they had fifteen. (Link)? The small number of P-51s that were available during the two months at Raydon restricted the much needed transition training; the three Sqns had only seventeen between them and the bulk of them only arrived shortly before the first combat missions.

On their arrival at Leiston, German Propaganda Radio’s Lord Haw Haw (William Joyce) welcomed the new 357^th Fighter Group to their new location, and Nicknamed them:

"YOXFORD BOYS"

History II

Return to Index