348th Fighter Group / 341st Fighter Squadron

May be of help. I have a copy of the unit history and a group photo of the Blackjack Squadron. It will take me some time to dig up the info as most have been packed away.

 

The 340th and 341st followed the 342nd from Eagle Farms to their new bases East of Port Moresby. The 342nd left on July 12, 1943 with the final flights departing July 22. The 341st. was stationed at Durand Drome which was known as"Seventeen Mile" due to being situated 17 miles East of Port Moresby. 2 Lt. Wilburn S. Henderson, 2 Lt. Leonard (G?) Leighton were the first 341st pilots accredited with kills on August 16, 1943. Lt. Leighton was shot down on this mission. Other 341st names I'm finding are; Captain Moore who flew on Col. Kearbys wing, Captain Ralph M Cantafio, 1st Lt. Tratt, 1st Lt. Robert D. Baxter. I'll keep looking.

 

According to Stanaway's "Kearby's Thunderbolts" the first commander for the 341st was Major David A. Campbell : 15 Nov. 1942 I have a call in to someone who was there in October of 42 and I'll see if I can jog his memory.

 

I've found a few more names;

Capt. Max R. Wiecks 340th Sqdn / 348th FG : 1 fighter
1st lt. Wilburn S. Henderson 341st Sqdn / 348th FG : 1
2nd Lt. Leonard G. Leighton 341st Sqdn 348th FG : 1 fighter MIA/ DOW 1st Lt. David W. Allen 431st Sqdn : 2
Below are names of 431st;
1st Lt. Warren R. Lewis 431st Sqdn : 1
1st Lt. Lowell C. Lutton 431st Sqdn : 1
1st lt. Jack C. Mankin 431st Sqdn : 2
1st lt. Arthur E. Wenige 431st Sqdn : 2
2nd Lt. Paul Smith 431st Sqdn : 1
Capt. Harry W. Brown 431st Sqdn : 3
The #'s after names are credited kills for mission on August 16, 1943 near Tsili Tsili.

 

The 348th Fighter Group

Last assignment was with V Fighter Command, stationed at Itami Air Base, Japan. It was inactivated on 10 May 1946.
During World War II, the group operated primarily in the Southwest Pacific Theater. It was the most successful P-47 Thunderbolt unit in the Pacific War. The Group's commander, Colonel Neel Kearby ran up 20+ kills including a 6 kills-in-1-mission for which he was awarded the Medal of Honor. The Group scored 326 kills, over half of all the kills credited to Fifth Air Force P-47s, and won two United States Distinguished Unit Citations. The Group had 20 P-47 aces including Bob Rowland, Bill Banks, Bill Dunham, Walt Benz, Sam Blair and George Davis, who would later be awarded the Medal of Honor flying F-86s during the Korean War.


348th Fighter Group - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

Welcome back Destro, how's the research going?
As far as the "nice guy" thing?; there are a few who would think otherwise. But thanks anyway Skipper.

 

Welcome to the forum cliff's daughter and it's good to hear from another 341st family member. As mentioned above Stanaway's "Kearby's Thunderbolts" is a great book about the Unit with many pictures. My Uncle was with the Group from it's beginning. I'll ask him if he remembers any of the supply Sergeants. He will be 90 years young in July and doesn't talk about the time in the Pacific too much but tells a few "tales" now and then. destro23 has a good website with letters and pictures: One Pilot's War
It would be great if you could post any pictures and relate some of the stories your Dad wrote down.

 

Welcome to the forum, Cliff's daughter. Why don't you start by giving us a bit more background on your father? Maybe a story or two that you remember. You might also want to stop in the New Member area and tell us a bit about yourself.