Lt. Col. William J. “Diamond Jim” Daley, Jr. of Amarillo, Texas, Deputy Commander of the 371st Fighter Group (the 142nd Wing today) climbs out of the cockpit of his P-47D Thunderbolt fighter after a combat mission in 1944.
Crew Chief Sgt. Glen W. Bloodworth from Enfield, Illinois stands atop the wing, ready to assist. Daley flew Spitfires in the Royal Air Force’s No. 121 (Eagle) Squadron earlier in the war and achieved several aerial victories, as indicated on the aircraft’s fuselage. (American Air Museum in Britain)
Seventy-nine years ago, on D-Day, June 6, 1944, Allied troops landed on the fields and beaches in Normandy, France to liberate Europe from fascism.
Allied air and naval forces enabled 156,000 soldiers to establish a foothold by air and sea on the continent at a cost of some 4,000 on that day. And In the skies overhead were P-47 Thunderbolt fighters of the 371st Fighter Group flown by “Diamond Jim” Daley and others, flying interdiction missions to help prevent the enemy from sending troops to the landing beaches.
On that day the group flew 112 sorties from its base at Bisterne Advanced Landing Ground, England. It dropped over 68 tons of 500-lb bombs on the enemy and fired nearly 50,000 rounds of .50-caliber machine gun ammunition. One of the group’s aircraft was shot down by anti-aircraft fire, and 2nd Lt. Joseph E. LaRochelle became the group’s first combat loss and prisoner of war.
This day commenced the Normandy Campaign, which lasted from June 6 to July 24, 1944, one of six campaigns which the 371st Fighter Group participated in during World War II, streamers for which are proudly carried on the 142nd Wing’s flag.
For more details on the unit’s D-Day missions, see “D-Day, June 6, 1944, The Longest Day,” at the link in the comments section below. (Carried over from the 142nd Wing Facebook page)
https://www.142wg.ang.af.mil/News/Features/Display/Article/864382/d-day-june-6-1944-the-longest-day/
Web log note: The 371st Fighter Group had three former Eagle Squadron pilots on the roster, including the group’s Deputy Commander, Lt Col Daley, Maj Edwin D. Taylor, the 406th Fighter Squadron Commander from July, 1943 to September, 1944, and Capt Eric E. Doorly also of the 406th Fighter Squadron.
371st Fighter Group 