The Arrival of the 78th Fighter Group at Duxford

The 78th Fighter Group was activated in January 1942 amidst the rapid expansion of the US military that occurred in the wake of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and the United States’ entrance into the Second World War just over a month before. In May 1942, the unit was expanded and trained in California, composed of the 82nd, 83rd and 84th Fighter Squadrons and equipped with twin-engined Lockheed P-38 Lightnings.

The following November, the Group was shipped overseas to England and by December had settled at former RAF station Goxhill in Lincolnshire. From late January, the 78th began to be equipped with Republic P-47 Thunderbolts, single-engined fighter-bombers that became one of the main American fighters in the European Theatre of Operations.

During this same period, it was decided that the 78th would be temporarily moved to RAF Duxford in Cambridgeshire in a wider effort by the US 8th Air Force to move its fighter groups closer to the bomber groups, or ‘big friends’, that they would be charged with escorting. In late March, men from the 78th began to arrive and by early April the whole group had completed its move.

From the outset, the luxuries of Duxford quickly became apparent to the Americans, especially when compared with their basic and barely habitable accommodations at Goxhill. At Goxhill, the site was spread out such that the cold and dingy barracks were two miles away from the aircraft hangars, and worse, a mile away from the toilets and any running water.

Now the Americans were quartered in heated brick buildings with hot water, bathing facilities and nearby entertainment facilities such as a theatre, sports fields and an Officer’s Club complete with a bar and slot machines.

‘It was like the Grand Hotel!’, remembered Clark Clemons, an 84th Fighter Squadron pilot who arrived later in the war. The living quarters were grouped close together with the hangars situated just across the road, while the LNER train line at Whittlesford could take those with 48-hour leave passes to the historic sites and pubs of Cambridge or to the bright lights and dance clubs of London.

The array of pubs in the local area became popular destinations during the evening, most of which could be reached by bicycle, although it took time for the Americans to adjust to British pub culture.

The 78th flew its first two missions from Duxford on 13 April 1943, both led by its Commanding Officer Lieutenant Colonel Arman ‘Pete’ Peterson, to seek out enemy aircraft over the French coast, known as a ‘fighter sweep’, but it was not until 14 May that the Duxford pilots got their first taste of real aerial combat. Led again by Peterson, all three squadrons were ordered to act as escorts for a bombing mission over Antwerp, Belgium.

‘You’d fly up and down a bomber stream, till you saw the squadron marking that you were looking for: those were your boys’, remembered pilot Frank Oiler, who joined the 84th Fighter Squadron later in 1944.

The 78th’s first major loss occurred on 1 July 1943 when Peterson, now a Colonel, was killed in action during an engagement with German fighters over Holland. Peterson was extremely popular with his men and his loss sent shockwaves through Duxford.

The base, known for its cheerful and friendly atmosphere, quickly became a place of quiet mourning while some pilots went on search missions in the vain hope of finding their leader alive.

Two days later, the base was visited by American entertainers Bob Hope and Francis Langford. Hope, one of whose many talents was comedy, admitted that even he struggled to get the men of the 78th to laugh during that sombre time.

For the next two years, the 78th Fighter Group continued to play a crucial role in the air war over Europe, serving as escorts in the increasingly ramped up strategic bombing campaign, while also being heavily involved in D-Day operations in the summer of 1944 and Operation Market Garden the following September.

The Group suffered one of its darkest days on 10 June 1944, when ten pilots engaged in a bombing run were killed after being ‘bounced’ by twenty German fighters. Just over a month later, eleven more men from Duxford were killed when a B-17 ‘joyride’ they were on crashed and struck one of the enlisted barracks.