"Five by Five" kid's sweat

The 362nd Fighter Group, equipped with P-47s, was deployed to England in November 1943. Arriving before most of the other fighter groups of the 9th Air Force, its pilots were initially tasked primarily with escorting heavy bombers on raids over occupied Europe.

The group's first mission took place on 8 February 1944: it was to protect B-24 Liberators tasked with striking V-weapon launch sites near Pas-de-Calais on the north coast of France.

During the June 1944 landings, the 362nd escorted C-47s carrying paratroopers who were to be dropped inland in France.

In July 1944, the group moved to its first continental base at Lignerolles in northern France. From this forward position, its pilots continued their attacks on strategic targets in order to support the advance of Allied forces across Western Europe.

The group received its first Distinguished Unit Citation (DUC) for its decisive contribution to the neutralisation of the defences of the port of Brest on 25 August 1944. A second DUC was subsequently awarded for its role over the Moselle-Rhine triangle, where its pilots carried out a particularly effective armed reconnaissance mission in support of ground infantry units, destroying numerous enemy targets.