Osprey Aviation Elite 8 : 352th Fighter Group

Nicknamed the 'Bluenosed Bastards of Bodney' due to the garish all-blue noses of their P-51s and their wartime base in Norfolk, the 352nd was one of the most successful fighter groups in the Eighth Air Force. Credited with 791.5 enemy aircraft destroyed between October 1943 and May 1945, the 352nd finished fourth in the ranking of all groups within VIII Fighter Command. Initially equipped with P-47s, the group transitioned to P-51s just prior to D-Day, and it was with the Mustang that its pilots enjoyed the greatest success. Indeed, the ranking P-51 ace in the ETO was a 352nd FG pilot, Maj George Preddy claiming 26.83 kills with the fighter prior to his death on Boxing Day 1944. Not far behind him in terms of kills was 24-victory ace John Meyer, and the exploits of the remaining 28 aces are also detailed. This book also discusses the various markings worn by the group's three squadrons, the 328th, 486th and 487th FSs. Text by Tom Ivie with illustrations by Tom Tullis.

Contents

• Activation and Training
• Overseas to Bodney
• A New Era in Fighter Escort
• Mustang Operations Begin
• Prelude to D-Day
• D-Day to Market Garden
• The Lull and then the Storm
• Bodenplatte to VE-Day
• Appendices
  Colour Plates Commentary
  Unit Heraldry
• Index