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Burma Banshees...
 Citat:The 80th fighter group, organized at Farmingdale and Mitchel Field in New York in 1942 , and trained in P-47s for assignment to the European Theatre. A change in priorities resulted in the 80th fighter group, consisting of the 88th, 89th, and 90th fighter squadrons being diverted to Karachi, India, where they were equipped with P-40Ns, and in mid 1943, deployed to the Assam Valley, where their mission was air defense of the 10th Air Force bases in the valley, engaged in the “Hump Airlift Operation”. ATC, Combat Cargo and others staged out of these bases, flying supplies across the High Himalayas to the 14th Air Forces bases in China. Concurrently, a continuous combat patrol of 4 P-40s was initiated to protect the most vulnerable part of the route where the transports crossed the Himalayas on a northern route, where the Japanese fighters liked to sneak up the Irrawaddy and Salween river valleys to pick off unarmed transports as they struggled to cross the high mountain ranges.
By October 1943, a fourth squadron was formed from the group, the 459th fighter squadron. It was equipped with P-38Hs and assigned to the Chittagong area in the southern area near Calcutta where they were involved in frequent clashes with the Japanese Air Force in southern Burma.
October 1943 also saw the beginning of interdiction missions into Northern Burma by the 80th group, targeting airfields, supply depots, troop concentrations, and bridges, particularly railroad bridges on the Burma Railway.
By early 1944, this part of the mission was greatly accelerated. One squadron was moved to Shingbwiyang in north Burma, beginning the leapfrog moves aimed at pushing the Japanese forces out of north Burma, and the construction of the Ledo Road, and capture of Myitkyna. From February 1944 through May 1944, a Herculean effort was made by the 80th group, to support Merrill's Marauders, Pick's Engineers and Stilwell's composite forces, during their drive down the Hukawng valley to Myitkyna. Countless dive bombing, strafing and Napalm attacks were made, many as close as 50 yards from our own troops. Top cover missions for air drops were flown to protect the troop carrier planes dropping supplies. Many of these missions were combined top cover, followed by attack missions before returning to base.
The 80th group P-40s had a deaths head skull painted on each side of the engine cowling, which was intended to send a message of terror to the Japanese ground forces. A belly mounted air siren was sometimes used, which created what we called the ‘Banshee Wail’. The 80th Fighter Group picked up the nickname of ‘The Burma Banshees’... [Link mogu videti samo ulogovani korisnici]
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