Home | History of the 354th Pioneer Mustang Fighter Group during World War II - Valor in Combat
William W. Louie Collection
Images of the 354th Fighter Group
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are a total of fourteen images in this gallery. More images to
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Sgt. William W. Louie - 1 of 14 images
Sgt. William W. Louie, 356th FS, P-39N Aircobra at Santa Rosa Air Base, California, 1943. In June the 356th FS was to move to Salem, Oregon, there they were to spent four months honing their flying skills before overseas deployment. -
P-39N Airacobra - 2 of 14 images
A P-39N Aircobra of the 356th FS while based at Santa Rosa Air Base, California, 1943. The P-39 Airacobra first flew on April 6, 1939 then went into full production in August 1939. The nose-mounted 37mm T-9 gun built by the American Armament Corporation. -
P-51 Warm-Up - 3 of 14 images
Pre-flight at Dawn, 356th FS P-51B Mustang prior to long range mission, note the external 75 gallon drop tanks. Boxted, England. -
356th Engineering - 4 of 14 images
This picture was inadvertently omitted in "History In The Sky": Back Row, Lt. to Rt.: M/Sgt. Henry C. Guckenberger, M/Sgt. Cecil D. Tate, S/Sgt. Garhart Becker, S/Sgt. James "Tex" Sholar, T/Sgt. Roy Stephens, T/Sgt. Von D. Doughman. Middle Row, Lt. to Rt.: Cpl. Arvid Pesola, T/Sgt. William Campbell, S/Sgt. Richard N. Weiss, S/Sgt. Bill Franklin, Sgt. Terrence E. Goodwin. Front Row, Lt. to Rt.: Sgt. George Handley, T/Sgt. James D. Rosser, S/Sgt. Anthony S. Klonowski, Sgt. Charles W. Elling, Sgt. William W. Louie. -
Awards Ceremony - 5 of 14 images
Boxted, Colchester, 22, January 1944, by Gen. Bererton and Gen. Quesada. (All from 356th FS): Back Row, Lt. to Rt.: Lt. Frank Q. O'Conner, Lt. Robert D. Welden, Capt. Earl Depner, Lt. Floyd Brandt, Capt. Richard E. Turner, Lt. Robert E. Goodnight, Lt. Mack Tyner, (Unidentified), Lt. Howard Smith. Front Row, Lt. to Rt.: Lt. Robert J. Klopotek, Lt. George Hall, Maj. James H. Howard, Lt. Harry Fisk, Capt. Robert J. Brooks, Lt. Robert L. Shoup and Lt. George Lamb. -
Furious Anti-Aircraft - 6 of 14 images
Anti-Aircraft fire lights the English night skies over Lashenden in an effort to shoot down a Buzz Bomb (V-1) on June 12, 1944. -
"DING HAO" - 7 of 14 images
Sgt. Louie adds three swastikas to P51B Mustang "DING HAO" following a sucessful combat mission over Germany. 356th FS CO. Maj. James Howard standing in the cockpit, Boxted, England. -
"DING HAO" Pre-flight - 8 of 14 images
Head-on view of Howard's "DING HAO" being warmed up. Mustangs of the 354th FG flew their first combat mission on December 1, 1943 on a fighter sweep over Saint-Omer, France. Led by veteran Don Blakeslee of the 4th Fighter Group. -
French Visitors - 9 of 14 images
Gael, France, August 1944, "Sunday Open House" to French civilians. AJ-T, "Short-Fuse Sallee". M/Sgt. Henry Guckenburger (back facing camera) speaking with a Frenchman. -
"SHORT-FUSE SALLEE" - 10 of 14 images
P-51D Mustang assigned to Maj. Richard Turner at A-31, Gael, France. Note Crew Chief taking a snooze in the shade of the wing. Maj. Turner was given command of the 356th when newly promoted Lt.Col. James Howard assumed command of the Group following the lost of Col. Martin over Franfurt, German. Col. Martin was involved in a mid-air collision with a German fighter, both miraculously survived the collision. -
P-47D Thunderbolt - 11 of 14 images
A rare sight this P-47 Thunderbolt has been fitted with a Malcolm hood. This photo was taken at the about the time the 354th FG were given back their P-51 Mustangs following a few months with the Thunderbolt. A-98, Rosieres-En-Hay, near Nancy, France. February 1945. -
DING HAO! - 12 of 14 images
Crew Chief /Sgt. Melvin C. Hotvet seen warming up James Howard's P-51B Mustang now sporting a Malcolm hood. Note the six "rising suns" and six swastikas, beneath the cockpit. -
German wreckage - 13 of 14 images
Sgt. Louie examines the remains of a FW-190 fuselage. As the 354th Fighter Group moved closer to Germany they moved into vacated German Airdromes often littered with aircraft wreckage. -
FW-190 Wing Section - 14 of 14 images
In this photo Sgt. Louie examines the wing section of the same FW-190.
Credits
Photo gallery script provided by stu nicholls dot com.