Aces of the 325th Fighter Group

Description

The 325th FG was activated under General Order number 50 on 30 July 1942 and set up training operations at Theodore F Greene Field in Providence, Rhode Island. By mid-December 1942 the group was considered ready for combat and the alert for overseas duty arrived on 2 January 1943. The pilots and their P-40s departed on the carrier USS Ranger on 8 January and flew their aircraft off the vessel into Cazes airfield, near Casablanca, on 19 January 1943. After the remainder of the personnel arrived in late February, the group prepared for combat, and finally flew its first mission on 17 April 1943 as part of the Twelfth Air Force. During the next four months it participated in the North African campaign, and operations against enemy-held islands in the Mediterranean Sea. By the end of the Sicilian campaign on 17 August the 325th FG had scored 128 aerial victories, been the first P-40 unit to deliver 1,000-lb bombs against enemy targets and had escorted 1,100 bombers without losing a single one of them to enemy action.

Thomas G Ivie is a veteran of six years service in the US Army and a retired buyer of developmental parts for a major US jet engine manufacturer. He has had a life long interest in World War II aviation and has written eight books and numerous magazine articles on the subject. One of his books was Osprey Aviation Elite Units 8 - 352nd Fighter Group. His articles have appeared in the Museum of the United States Air Force's Friends Bulletin and in Air Classics magazine.

"The book is well researched and includes information from official reports as well as interviews with the pilots. This makes its read very well balanced between facts and first person narratives describing the details--and sometimes confusion--of aerial combat. There are many unknown images in the book, most of them coming from the collection of the official archivist of the 325th Fighter Group making this book of high historical value. The B&W pictures of the airplanes and the color profiles are inspiring, to say the least, for the modeler. Highly recommended to historians and modelers alike." --IPMS/USA "In line with other books in this series, there are a ton of well done period photographs as well as the usual large center section of full color profiles of the planes that were flown by the unit during the war. There are many names which enthusiasts will recognize and their planes were some of the more colorful of the war, especially in the last months. The war stories told by the pilots is a staple of these books and this one is no exception. An excellent read and a great reference book. Pick it up when you see it." --Scott Van Aken, www.modelingmadness.com "Details the rise of the 325th and its service in the North African and Sicilian campaigns. By the end of the Sicilian campaign, the 325th had scored 128 aerial victories and escorted 1,100 bombers without losing a single one to enemy action." --Model Retailer