366TH FIGHTER GROUP

Chapter 10

Now that we reviewed my grandfather’s assigned air unit, the 67th Tactical Recon Group, let’s explore the importance and history of the 366th Fighter Group. Larry’s dad, Doc Payne, was assigned to this unit as were the other half of the 2487th Quartermaster Truck Company (Aviation). Like I said before, the research on these two different air units helped to confirm my grandfather’s and Larry’s dad’s locations, destinations, experienced events, and put into perspective what life must have been like for them throughout Normandy and beyond.

The 366th Fighter Group moved in England over the New Year of 1944, setting up home first in Membury and then at Thruxton. The pilots’ first mission was a fighter sweep of the French coast in March of 1944 and from then until D-Day that June, they supported the Allied ground preparations for the invasion of France.

The 366th Fighter Group was awarded a Distinguished Unit Citation (DUC) for quite a singular action: when supporting infantry in the St. Lo area on July 11, 1944, the pilots discovered a column of enemy tanks as yet unknown to the infantry. Despite coming under intense fire, the Group, as well as striking nearby pillboxes, the intended target of the mission, attached this column. This put many of the German tanks out of action before they engaged the infantry.

The 366th Fighter Group also carried out armed reconnaissance missions during the Battle of the Bulge (December 1944 - January 1945) and escorted bombers during the assault across the Rhine river. The Group’s last mission saw them attacking harbors at Kiel and Flensburg on May 3, 1945. The 366th Fighter Group remained in Germany after the war and, as part of United States Air Forces in Europe (USAFE), were part of the occupation force.

Larry was able to provide some photos of the 366th Fighter Group and I was able to find some other photos online. Larry’s photos show the assembly of the mats carried by the 2487th Quartermaster Truck Company (Aviation) to build an air field after landing at Normandy, aerial photos and maps of missions that the 366th Fighter Group took part in, and a photo of the Group’s planes on the air field. The photos I found online were of some of the pilots and their nose art on their fighter planes. While online,

I also came across a photo of the 366th Fighter Group’s unit patch which was half orange and half blue, separated by a bolt of lightning. Interesting how it has the same characteristics as the 67th

Tactical Recon Group’s patch. Perhaps some more irony there.

Larry was also able to provide me with a list of their station locations which helps to follow the path of his father’s half of the 2487th Quartermaster Truck Company (Aviation) from England and until the end of the war. They were in stationed in Membury, Thruxton, Saint-Pierre-du-Mont, Dreux, Laon/Couvron,

Asch, and Handorf. Larry also provided a chart of the 366th Fighter Group’s mission statistics from March 12 - September 12, 1944. The chart is attached and shows just a sample of the amount of missions flown, fuel and ammo used, and other key data. Keep in mind, this is just a sample reflecting only six months while in the field. The amount of materials consumed is unreal and you can only imagine the work needed