MARVELOUS MUSTANGS

Pilots of the 78th FG trade in their P-47s for P-51s-and love them!

-  JAMES P. BUSHA

IN EARLY DECEMBER OF 1944, most of the pilots in the 78th Fighter Group, especially those with over 25 combat missions under their belts, felt "fat and sassy" flying the reliable and hard-hitting P-47 Thunderbolt. Seasoned pilots realized early on that the "Jug" was like a flying tank: one that could deliver deadly punishment to the enemy and absorb most anything thrown at it.

Whether flying a bomber escort, divebombing a bridge or strafing an airfield, the P-47s of the 78th FG cut a destructive swath through occupied Europe. A great affection and bond between pilot and plane soon established itself as the Eagles of Duxford tore apart the Axis. Many times, the black-andwhite checker-nosed P-47s brought their pilots back from a mission with extra weight in the form of German flak and cannon shells embedded in the Jug's fuselage.

Bad news comes in threes 

Fighter pilots were creatures of habit and most everyone in the 78th FG agreed they wouldn't change or give up flying the P-47 for anything in the world. In mid-December 1944, the world fell apart as the winds of change blew cold and harsh across Europe and onto the fighter base at Duxford. Bad news seemed to come in threes.

First, the Germans had smashed through the thin Allied lines in Belgium and were now on the offensive. Second, some of the worst winter weather to hit England and the continent grounded the desperately needed Allied fighters and bombers. And finally, the worst news yet for the 78th FG and one of its pilots, First Lt. Frank Oiler, by order of Gen.

Jimmy Doolittle. It simply read Turn in your Jugs, boys and transition into Mustangs!” For Lt. Oiler, he felt as though he just lost his best friend. He soon realized after much kicking and screaming” that change was not really all that bad, especially at the controls of a P-51 Mustang: