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335th Fighter Squadron

Name : 335th Fighter Squadron Founded : 22nd August 1942 Disbanded : 10th November 1945 Re - founded : 9th September 1946 Country : US Fate : 10 November 1950 as the 335th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron of the Fifth Air Force.

The 335th was constituted on 22 August 1942 as an incorporation of the No. 121 (Eagle) Squadron of the Royal Air Force, formed on 14 May 1941 as the second of three Eagle Squadrons of the Royal Air Force. These squadrons were composed of American volunteers, recruited by the RAF as a result of the heavy loss of pilots during the Battle of Britain in 1940; the volunteers were ineligible to join the USAAF. In this capacity, the squadron operated Supermarine Spitfires and Hawker Hurricanes. They remained with the Group until they were returned to the United States and inactivated at Camp Kilmer, New Jersey on 10 November 1945. After less than a year, the 335th was reactivated on 9 September 1946 at Selfridge Field, Michigan, and has remained on active duty since. In 1947, the squadron was redesignated as the 335th Fighter Squadron, Jet Propelled, as it received the new P-80 Shooting Stars. They flew out of Andrews AFB, Maryland, until 1949, when they moved to Langley AFB, Virginia, and received the F-86 Sabre, which they took to Korea on 10 November 1950 as the 335th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron of the Fifth Air Force. By the end of the Korean War, the 335th led all squadrons with 218.5 kills (for around forty losses) and had become a part of the "MiG Killer" legend with 12 aces.

Known Service Details :
Pilot or Aircrew	Rank	Start of Service	End of Service	Known Dates	Aircraft	Airframes	Notes
John Fitch		unknown	unknown	1944	Mustang

Parent Squadrons for : 335th Fighter Squadron
Squadron	Info
4th Fighter Group Country : US The Eagles. Stationed at Debden. Click the name above to see prints featuring aircraft of 4th Fighter Group	4th Fighter Group The Eagles. Stationed at Debden.

Pilots and Aircrew for : 335th Fighter Squadron
A list of all aircrew from our database who are associated with this squadron. A profile page is available by clicking their name.
Name	Info
Fitch, John Click the name above to see a profile of Fitch, John    Died : 31 / 10 / 2012	Fitch, John Joining the Army Air Corps in 1941 he began his service flying the A-20 Havoc in North Africa. Volunteering for a second tour in 1944 he joined the 335th Fighter Squadron, 4th Fighter Group initially flying P-47s and on 18th November 1944 he shot down an Me262 over Germany. Transferring to P-51s he was shot down in March 1945 whilst strafing a train, and was taken prisoner. After the war he became a successful Grand Prix racing driver and an icon of the racing industry.

Aircraft for : 335th Fighter Squadron
A list of all aircraft associated with 335th Fighter Squadron. A profile page including a list of all art prints for the aircraft is available by clicking the aircraft name.
Aircraft	Info
Mustang Click the name above to see prints featuring Mustang aircraft. Manufacturer : North American	Mustang The ubiquitous North American P-51 Mustang, which many consider to be the best all-around fighter of WW II, owes its origins to the British Air Ministry. Following Britains entry into WW II in 1939, the RAF was interested in purchasing additional fighter aircraft from American sources, particularly the Curtiss P-40. Curtiss, which was busy, was unable to guarantee timely delivery so the British approached North American Aviation as a possible second source for the P-40. North American chose to propose its own fighter design which would use the same Allison engine as the P-40. Utilizing new laminar flow wings, the North American fighter was expected to have performance better than the P-40. Developed in record time the new aircraft was designated as a Mustang I by the Brits, whereas the USAAF ordered two for evaluation which were designated XP-51 Apaches. Intrigued with the possibility of using this aircraft also as a dive bomber, North American proposed this to the USAAF which decided to order 500 of the P-51 aircraft to be modified for dive bombing use. Designated as the A-36 Invader, this version of the Mustang utilized dive flaps, and bomb racks under each wing. Some reinforcing of the structural members was also required because of the G-forces to be encountered in dive bombing. A-36s entered combat service with the USAAF prior to any P-51s. In early 1943 the 86th and 27th Fighter Bomber Groups of the 12th Air Force began flying A-36s out of Northern Africa. Despite some early problems with instability caused by the dive flaps, the A-36 was effective in light bombing and strafing roles. It was not, however, capable of dog fighting with German fighters, especially at higher altitudes. Despite these drawbacks one USAAF pilot, Captain Michael T. Russo, who served with the 16th Bomb Squadron of the 27th Fighter Bomber Group, was credited with five confirmed aerial victories in the A-36, thereby becoming the first mustang ace.
Sabre Click the name above to see prints featuring Sabre aircraft. Manufacturer : North American Number Built : 11787	Sabre The North American Aviation F-86 Sabre was a transonic jet Fighter. The F-86 Sabre is best known for its role during the Korean War role where it was pitted against the Soviet MIG 15. With speeds often nudging the sound barrier, and performing combat manoeuvres at 600 m.p.h. imposing crushing G-forces, the F-86 pilots ran up a spectacular kill ratio of 8:1 against the MiGs. Although developed in the late 1940s and outdated by the end of the 1950s, the Sabre proved adaptable and continued as a front line fighter in air forces until the last active front line examples were retired by the Bolivian Air Force in 1994. More than 7,800 Sabres aircraft were built between 1949 and 1956, in the United States, Japan and Italy. It was by far the most-produced Western jet fighter, with total production of all variants at 9,860 units.

Last edited : 23:48, June 24, 2016
Last editor : HMS
First created : 17:30, November 2, 2012
Created by : kc

335th Fighter Squadron Artwork

P-51D Mustang 41-3926 by G Henderson.

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