50th Fighter Group (10th, 81st, 313th FS)

[Frank Olynyk]

The 50th Fighter Group has always been trouble for me, because it was transferred into 1st Tactical Air Force (Provisional), and the documentation becomes thin at that point. I have a small number of claims for the group for which I do not know the pilots involved. I thought I would list them, and see if anyone has further information.

July 30, 1944, 1515-1530 hours, FW-190 dam, La Haye Pesnel, T-2530, 81st FS; source: OpFlash: (USAF HRA microfilm) A0759/ (frame) 1793. 2nd Lt Charles R Marks is credited with a FW-190 dest in this combat; the damaged claim does not appear in the 9th TAC VCB report.

April 8, 1945, 1640 hours, Me-262 dest, Crailsheim; source: 64FW OpSum (NARA II).

April 8, 1945, 1710 hours, Me-262 dam, Crailsheim; source: 64FW OpSum (NARA II)

April 9, 1945, 1900 hours, 3 FW-190 dest + 2 FW-190 dam, Crailsheim area, 81st FS; source: SqnHis: A0760/0159; 64FW OpSum. LtCol Robert D Johnston is credited with two additional FW-190s in this same combat.

April 14, 1945, 1520 hours, 1 Me-109 dest, near W-8585, 313th FS; source: MR (mission report): MMFB (now at NARA II).

April 17, 1945, 1030 hours, 1 Me-109 dest, S-7828, 313th FS; source: MR: MMFB; 64FW OpSum. Stated to be by White Leader, but I do not know who was leading White Flight.

April 27, 1945, 1715 hours, 1 FW-190 dest + 1 FW-190 dam, Y-3535, 313th FS; source: MR: MMFB.

Does anyone have any further information on these claims? Or know of group or squadron associations, or historians.

Frank Olynyk.

[John Beaman]

Frank, I presume you know about this link. might be some contacts there.

http://community-2.webtv.net/XY-MyOt...f/50thFlyBoys/

[Stig Jarlevik]

Frank

I presume you have the book First TACAF by Victor Tannehill?

Your request is timely since I have always wondered after buying it, where this First TACAF belonged. It seems not to have belonged to any of the major "Air Forces", ie 8th, 9th, 12th or 15th or have I misunderstood the whole layout here? Were they autonomous or how did this TACAF operate?

Is it possible to give me a short synopsis from page 147 of the book referred to and advice how this organisation worked in the higher Command chains?

Because if they were autonomous, am I then correct in my assumption you have not yet written any "Victory List" book about them?

Cheers
Stig

[Frank Olynyk]

Stig,
First Provisional Air Force was established from groups in 12th Fighter Command, Ninth Air Force, and the Free French squadrons based in the Med, on, or soon after, the invasion of Southern France on Aug 15, 1944. Documentation is poor; in particular they did not have a victory credit board, as the USAF discovered when they were preparing their WW2 Aerial Credits list. They (and I) have had to go to the squadron and group histories (USAFHRA at Maxwell AFB, and NARA II) to document claims and losses. As you can see from my request this has not been successful with regard to the 50th FG, and one or two other groups in 1st Provisional AF.

With regard to my victory lists, the claims of 1st Provisional AF are included in my List #5, on USAAF credits in the ETO, although they are not indicated as such. The French claims from 1st Provisional AF went into my French claims database; I do not know how complete they are at this point.

Frank.

[Stig Jarlevik]

Thanks Frank

Yes I see them now. Strangely enough I started checking out the 27th FG and their 522-524 Sq in said volume and there was nothing there, so I assumed the others would be missing as well. After all it is the logic volume for them to be in.
Checking the other squadrons now, and they are all there of course...

Any idea when you will continue this fascinating series? The lastest opus I have is # 10

Since you don't do this out of money ( I bet it has cost you far more than any gain from sales ever will bring), my guess it is out of love and lots of will power. I have received lots of useful details from them and must again say to everone that if they still are available, get them!!

Cheers
Stig

[Nick Beale]

In the MATAF daily int/ops summaries when they talk about other formations' operations they refer to it as "1st TAF (Provisional)."

I don't recall that it ever shook off the "(Provisional)" bit.

[Alex Smart]

Hello Frank,

Did you check the USAF Historical Study number 85 on AFHRA?
see : http://www.afhra.af.mil/shared/media...090601-121.pdf

10th FS credits 11.
81st FS credits 26.
313rd FS credits 14.
For the dates you ask of,
30-7-44
81st FS 1Lt. Milton R. Berman;2Lt.Charles R. Marks; Capt. Ellis I. DeGroff, one claim each.
8-4-45
10th FS - 1Lt Robert J. Broadley one claim.
9-4-45
81st FS - L/Col. Robert D. Johnston 2 Credits.
14th and 17th -4-45 NIL.
27-4-45 - 313rd FS NIL
but 10th FS had a claim by Capt. Robert W. Clark for the 26th.

All the best
Alex

My Dad was a pilot with the 50th fighter group. He was a replacement pilot and flew his first mission 11 oct.44. I know that because I have his service record. Dad died in 09 and he never talked much about the war, I think he was traumatized from his experience. The last couple of years he told me some things. One is that he spent a month in the field with a tank platoon calling in air strikes. He had a squad of enlisted men and a weapons carrier for the radio gear. Apparently the pilots rotated through this duty. This needs to be documented. I would loke any information I can get.

[Bertrand H]

Hi,

On 12 or 13 january 1945 an air crash of the P47D-27-RE of 50FG/313FS occured on the airfield of Nancy.

Does anybody know if there is a kind of Operation Record Book for these dates and why not the cicumstances of this accident ?

Thanks in advance,

Bertrand

[KM1957]

Frank,

On April 27, 1945, Lt. J.M. Wiley of the 313th was credited with the FW 190 destroyed according to the book written by Gilbert C. Burns. Quote, "After strafing we were at 8,000 feet looking for targets of opportunity when two FW 190s were sighted below. Capt. Hudson's flight dived on them but because of their high speed they overshot. It was finally Lt. Wiley of Johnson's flight who finally got on the tail of an FW 190 and shot him down."

Kent