52nd Fighter Group

Constituted as 52nd Pursuit Group (Interceptor) on 20 Nov 1940. Activated on 15 Jan 1941. Redesignated 52nd Fighter Group in May 1942. Trained with P-39 and P-40 aircraft, and participated in maneuvers. Moved to the British Isles, the air echelon arriving in Jul 1942 and the ground echelon in Aug. Received Spitfire aircraft and, as part of Eighth AF, flew missions from England to France during Aug and Sep. The pilots of the group flew Spitfires from Gibraltar to Algeria during the invasion of North Africa on 8 Nov 1942; the remainder of the group, moving by ship from England, arrived after the campaign for Algeria-French Morocco had ended.

Assigned first to Twelfth AF and later (after May 1944) to Fifteenth, the group served in combat in the Mediterranean theater until the end of the war. Flew escort, patrol, strafing, and reconnaissance missions to help defeat Axis forces in Tunisia. Took part in the conquest of Sicily. Attacked railroads, highways, bridges, coastal shipping, and other targets to support Allied operations in Italy. Converted to P51 aircraft during Apr-May 1944 and afterwards engaged primarily in escorting bombers that attacked objectives in Italy, France, Germany, Czechoslovakia, Austria, Hungary, Rumania, and Yugoslavia. Received a DUC for a mission of 9 Jun 1944 when the group protected bombers that struck aircraft factories, communications centers, and supply lines in Germany. In addition to escorting bombers of Fifteenth AF, the group made strafing attacks on important targets in Italy, France, central Europe, and the Balkans. Received second DUC for a strafing raid in which the group destroyed a great number of fighter and transport planes on a landing ground in Rumania on 31 Aug 1944. Returned to the US in Aug 1945. Inactivated on 7 Nov 1945.

Squadrons

2d: 1941-1945
4th: 1941-1945
5th: 1941-1945

Stations

Selfridge Field, Mich, 15 Jan 1941
Norfolk, Va, 18 Dec 1941
Selfridge Field, Mich, Jan 1942
Florence, SC, 18 Feb 1942
Wilmington, NC, 27 Apr 1942
Grenier Field, NH, 14-24 Jun 1942
Northern Ireland, c. 13 Jul 1942
Goxhill, England, c. 26 Aug-Oct 1942
Tafaraoui, Algeria, 9 Nov 1942
La Senia, Algeria, 14 Nov 1942
Orleansville, Algeria, c. Jan 1943
Telergma, Algeria, c. 17 Jan 1943
Youks-les-Bains, Algeria, c. 9 Mar 1943
Le Sers, Tunisia, 14 Apr 1943
La Sebala, Tunisia, 21 May 1943
Boccadifalco, Sicily, 30 Jul 1943
Corsica, 1 Dec 1943
Madna Airfield, Italy, 14 May 1944
Piagiolino Airfield, Italy, 21 Apr 1945
Lesina, Italy, 8 Jul-Aug 1945
Drew Field, Fla, 25 Aug-7 Nov 1945

Commanders

Maj Earl W Barnes, 16 Jan 1941
Lt Col Robert L Schoenlein, 15 May 1941
Col Dixon M Allison, 27 Feb 1942
Lt Col Graham W West, 1 Mar 1943
Lt Col James S Coward, 24 Jun 1943
Lt Col Richard A Ames, 1 Sep 1943
Col Marvin L McNickle, 6 Sep 1943
Lt Col Robert Levine, 25 Feb 1944
Col Marion Malcolm, 27 Aug 1944-1945

Campaigns

Air Combat, EAME Theater
Air Offensive, Europe
Algeria-French Morocco
Tunisia
Sicily
Naples-Foggia
Rome-Arno
Normandy
Northern France
Southern France
North Apennines
Rhineland
Central Europe
Po Valley

Decorations

Distinguished Unit Citations:
Germany, 9 Jun 1944
Rumania, 31 Aug 1944

Insigne. Shield: Quarterly per fess nebuly, first and fourth argent, each charged with a dagger in pale point downward gules, hilt and pommel of the same, grip or; second quarter azure; third quarter, sable. Motto: Seek, Attack, Destroy. (Approved 11 Jan 1951.)

Missing Air Crew Reports

Missing Air Crew Reports also known as MACRs are reports of US aircraft that went down, via enemy action or mechanical issues, behind enemy lines. These reports detailed the aircraft and crew along with their disposition; there were statements and eyewitness reports if available describing what they saw. The majority of these reports were completed in the years following the conclusion of World War II. This was so that the survivors who had become prisoners of war could provide statements of the events of that day. These reports differ from accident reports in that those documented aircraft that crashed on take off or landing; these events happened on allied lines.

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