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Constituted as 80th Pursuit Group (Interceptor) on 13 Jan 1942. Activated on Feb 1942. Redesignated 80th Fighter Group in May 1942. Used P-47's to train for combat and to serve as part of the defense force for the northeastern US. Sailed for India, via Brazil, Cape of Good Hope, and Ceylon, in May 1943. Assigned to Tenth AF. Began operations in Sep 1943 with P-38 and P-40 aircraft; later used P-47's. Supported Allied ground forces during the battle for northern Burma and the push southward to Rangoon, bombing and strafing troop concentrations, supply dumps, lines of communication, artillery positions, and other objectives. Defended the Indian terminus of the Hump route by striking Japanese airfields and by patrolling Allied airfields to safeguard them from attack. Received a DUC for intercepting a formation of enemy planes and preventing its attack on a large oil refinery in Assam, India, on 27 Mar 1944. Returned to the US in Oct 1945. Inactivated on 3 Nov 1945.
Squadrons. 88th: 1942-1945. 89th: 1942-1945. 90th: 1942-1945. 459th: 1943-1944.
Stations. Selfridge Field, Mich, 9 Feb 1942; Farmingdale, NY, 5 Jul 1942; Mitchel Field, NY, 9 Mar-30 Apr 1943; Karachi, India, 28 Jun 1943; Nagaghuli, India, Oct 1943; Tingkawk Sakan, Burma, 29 Aug 1944; Myitkyina, Burma, 20 Jan 1945; Dudhkundi, India, 24 Maya Oct 1945; Camp Kilmer, NJ, 1-3 Nov 1945.
Commanders. Unkn, Feb-May 1942; Col John C Crosthwaite, c. 20 May 1942; Maj Albert L Evans Jr, 1 Jul 1942; Col Ivan W McElroy, 14 Jul 1943; Col Albert L Evans Jr, 13 Apr 1944; Col Sydney D Grubbs Jr, 1 Feb 1945; Col Hiette S Williams Jr, c. 29 Apr 1945-unkn.
Campaigns. American Theater; India-Burma; Central Burma.
Decorations. Distinguished Unit Citation: Assam, India, 27 Mar 1944.
Insigne. Shield: Per bend azure and sable a bend raguly or. Motto: Angels On Our Wings. (Approved 14 Oct 1942.)
Data from Air Force Combat Units of World War II By Maurer, Maurer, Published 1986
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Historical Artifacts: We are looking for photos, documents and other types of artifacts including uniforms, medals, insignia, gear, manuals, and training material. We accept electronic/scans or originals of pictures and paper records. A General Order could be an award document that contains information on many servicemen. Special Orders may contain transfers or other information. Flight records, accident reports, maintenance logs, after action reports, pilot encounter reports, diaries and biorgraphies; all of these types of documents help us support or mission: preserving your history! Contact us today for instructions on sending us this material. Contact Today
Are you an AAC, AAF or USAF Veteran, family member, historian or WW2 enthusiast? We Need YOU! Contact us today to see how you can help the Army Air Corps Library and Museum, a Texas Not-For-Profit Corporation. We need your help! We are looking for volunteers that can help us with the following tasks. Typing and Transcriptionists: One of our big projects is extracting data from the thousands of documents we have and putting this data into a database where we can display the information on a website such as this one. We also need assistance with retyping unit history documents.
