The 56th Fighter Group was led by some of America’s greatest
fighter leaders of World War II and was home to many of its leading
fighter Aces: Under successive commanders Hub Zemke, Robert Landry,
and David Schilling, the 56th destroyed more enemy aircraft in
combat than any other fighter group in the 8th Air Force.
On 26 November, 1943, the P-47s of the 56th Fighter Group were
tasked to escort B-24 Liberators of the 392nd Bomb Group on a
dangerous mission to attack the heavily defended industrial and
dockyard facilities in the German port of Bremen.
Shown here are the 56th Fighter Group’s P-47 Thunderbolts
as they climb through majestic cloud formations stretching as
far as the eye can see. With ‘Bud’ Mahurin in the lead
aircraft and ‘Bunny’ Comstock off his tail, they are
already high above the east coast of England, in moments they
will link up with the B-24’s to begin the perilous journey
deep into Germany. In the running dogfights high over Bremen,
the “Wolfpack” claimed their most successful action
of the war with 23 confirmed kills, 3 probables, and 9 damaged,
creating an all-time record in the European Theatre. The 392nd’s
B-24 Liberators could not have been in safer hands on that eventful
day. |