page_title: RAF East Wretham
section_title: 359th Fighter Group
hierarchical_section_title: RAF East Wretham / History / United States Army Air Forces use / 359th Fighter Group
caption_attribution_description: English: P-47D "Thunderbolts" of the 359th Fighter Group at East Wretham Airfield, England. Foreground is Serial 42-8596 "Marryin' Sam" of the 368th Fighter Squadron.
context_page_description: Royal Air Force East Wretham or more simply RAF East Wretham is a former Royal Air Force station located 6 miles northeast of Thetford, Norfolk, England.
context_section_description: The first American tenants at East Wretham were the 359th Fighter Group, being reassigned from Westover AAF Massachusetts. The group was under the command of the 67th Fighter Wing of the VIII Fighter Command.   Aircraft of the 359th were identified by green around their cowlings and tails.
  The group consisted of the following squadrons:
  368th Fighter Squadron (CV)
  369th Fighter Squadron (IV)
  370th Fighter Squadron (CS)
  The 359th FG entered combat in mid-December 1943 after some of the pilots had already flown combat missions with another fighter group. It began operations with Republic P-47 Thunderbolts, later converting to North American P-51 Mustangs in April 1944. In combat the group flew escort, patrol, strafing, dive-bombing, and weather-reconnaissance missions. At first, it was engaged primarily in escort activities to cover Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress and Consolidated B-24 Liberator bombers that attacked airfields in France, and later expanded their area of operations to provide escort for bombers that struck rail centers in Germany and oil targets in Poland.
  The group supported the invasion of Normandy during June 1944 by patrolling the English Channel, escorting bombardment formations to the French coast, and dive-bombing and strafing bridges, locomotives, and rail lines near the battle area.
  During the period July 1944 - February 1945, the group was engaged chiefly in escorting bombers to oil refineries, marshalling yards, and other targets in such cities as Ludwigshafen, Stuttgart, Frankfurt, Berlin, Merseburg, and Brux. The 359th FG received a Distinguished Unit Citation for operations over Germany on 11 September 1944 when the group protected a formation of heavy bombers against large numbers of enemy fighters.
  In addition to its escort duties, the 359th supported campaigns in France during July and August 1944, bombed enemy positions to support the airborne invasion of the Netherlands in September, and participated in the Battle of the Bulge (December 1944-January 1945). The group flew missions to support the assault across the Rhine in March 1945, and escorted medium bombers that attacked various communications targets, February–April 1945.
  The 359th Fighter Group returned to Camp Kilmer, New Jersey and was inactivated on 10 November 1945.
caption: Republic P-47D-5-RE Thunderbolts of the 359th Fighter Group. Foreground is Serial 42-8596 "Marryin' Sam" of the 368th Fighter Squadron.
exif: {}