The U.S. 86th Fighter Group in WWII

Description

Here is the complete story of the training and operations of the 86^th Fighter Bomber Group, Third Air Force and later with the Twelfth Air Force. The men as well as the machines they flew are carefully presented in a comprehensive, fully photographically documented format. Included are numerous, never-before-told personal accounts of combat and life in the 86^th, woven in with the historical text researched and written by Steve Luce, a son of one of the group’s pilots Lt. Warren Luce. Profiles of select colorful aircraft, their A-36s and P-47 Thunderbolts, are vividly illustrated by Terry Higgins.

Training was in Meridian, Mississippi in 1942 with A-36s. They were first deployed in 1943 to North Africa and later to Italy and Corsica flying the P-47 in the MTO. Early 1945 found the active and effective 86^th in France and Germany until war’s end. The unit’s complete known victory list is published herein. Explore their entire story through this photo-rich historical presentation of one of WWII’s successful Fighter Bomber Groups. Written by Steve Luce, the son of one of the pilots of the 86^th, their story is presented by over 225 photographs from the veterans, most never before published and with personal stories about their war experiences.