357th Fighter Group - Aerial Victories

Aerial Victories

The first aerial victory by a 357th pilot occurred 20 February 1944, with the downing of an Me-109 by 1st Lt. Calvert L. Williams, 362d Fighter Squadron, flying P-51B 43-6448 (G4-U Wee Willie). The final victory was an Me-262 shot down on 19 April 1945, by 2d Lt James P. McMullen, 364th Fighter Squadron.

The 357th Fighter Group had 609½ claims credited by the Eighth Air Force for German aircraft destroyed in air-to-air combat. U.S. Air Force Historical Study No. 85 recognizes 595.49 aerial victories for the 357th. This total is the third highest among USAAF fighter groups in the ETO (behind the 354th and 56th Fighter Groups), the second highest among Eighth Air Force groups, and the highest among the 14 P-51 groups of VIII Fighter Command. Eighth Air Force also credited the 357th Fighter Group with 106½ German aircraft destroyed on the ground, making an overall total of 701.99, which is sixth among all Eighth Air Force fighter groups. Of the air-to-air totals, 18½ were Me-262 jets, the most destroyed in aerial combat by any USAAF group.

Among the various units of the 357th, the 364th Fighter Squadron had the most victories with 70 pilots credited with 212 kills. The 362d Fighter Squadron was credited with 198 kills by 63 pilots, the 363d Fighter Squadron with 154.99 kills by 50 pilots, and group headquarters with 30.5 kills by nine pilots.

Counting only air-to-air victories registered while with the group (therefore discounting air-to-ground claims), the 357th had 42 pilots become aces, the most of any ETO fighter group (the 354th Fighter Group of the Ninth Air Force also had 42, the 56th Fighter Group had 39 and the 4th Fighter Group 32 by the same criteria).