[Mark R.]

Nick,

Just to provide some additional detail. Both fighter groups (14th and 33d) that were pulled out of combat during the NA campaign were short one squadron. As the understrength groups lost planes they flew progressively smaller and smaller formations, which put them at a tactical disadvantage by late February. The incident you mentioned above - which might not have been treated as completely as it should have been in Shores' book - took place following the 28 February mission in which six P-38s were lost. One was shot down by flak and five by fighters. The surviving pilots were very upset at their squadron commander (an older pre-war risk adverse Regular apparently) who would not allow them to break formation to meet German fighter attacks after he ordered them to fly straight home in formation at low level and top speed. One of the shot down pilots did break formation and was set upon by three Bf-109s and downed. That pilot escaped and evaded back to allied lines to find the squadron commander was relieved by Brig Gen Elwood P. Qaesada (12th Fighter Command). With one squadron in shambles and one still in Iceland, the group was pulled back to reconstitute after giving up their P-38s to the 1st Fighter Group as replacement aircraft. The pilots that were sent home had already met their tour of duty mission requirements while the pilots who remained were joined by experienced transferees from the 1st Fighter Group. The group reentered combat after its third squadron deployed from Iceland to Algeria. There is a book called "From Model T to Lightning" about the life and death of one of the 48th Squadron pilots named Schottelkorb which will provide more details than the group history by Lambert.