510th Fighter Squadron Group

[JDK]

Since today is Veterans Day, I thought I would share one of my favorite groupings.
I have some great stories to share about this very brave P-47 fighter pilot with the
510th Fighter Squadron 405th Fighter Group 9th AAF. I hope you enjoy the following,
and remember to never forget what our veterans had to go through to keep us free!



P-47 Pilot Lt. Robert Griffiths joined the 510th Fighter Squadron in August of 1944.
He flew his first missions helping pave the way for US troops to gain ground
in Europe. By the time he was flying, the Luftwaffe was virtually wiped out. He
longed for air to air combat, but it didn't look like he was going to see much.



That all changed on December 26th 1944 otherwise known as the Battle of
the Bulge. Griffiths was one of 11 P-47's from the 510th in the air when they
ran into a flight of 30 FW-190's. The 2 flights circled each other for nearly
5 minutes before Lt. Larry Gaughran became tired of the horsing around
and cut into the FW-190's flight path with his guns blazing. The fight was on.
In a matter of seconds it was all over. They had knocked down 6 German
planes, and had 3 probables. One 510th pilot was hit and forced to make
a Emergency landing. He was picked up by Allied troops.
Griffiths had 1 Aerial Kill that day as well as one probable. Griffiths was happy
to have his chance at a real dogfight and now assumed that his excitement
for the war was more than likely over.
He couldn't have been more wrong!





Fast forward to April 20th 1945. The 510th was sent to Brandenberg Airfield in Germany
to knock out ME-262's that were based there. The flack was extremely heavy. After
Griffiths had already knocked out 3 of the ME-262 jet fighters and was making another pass
over the field when a German gunner put a 40MM shell thru Griffiths wing making roughly
a 5 ft diameter hole. His P-47 started vibrating heavily. He managed to climb his plane to
4000 ft then trying to bail out. He quickly realized that his canopy was jammed and to make
things worse he realized that one of his 500 lb bombs would not release. He contacted his
squadron commander Capt. Ralph Jenkins with his Dilemma. Jenkins managed to find Griffiths
and get level with him. He then tried to pry Giffiths 500 lb bomb loose with the tip of his
P-47's wing. After the 2nd try Jenkins wingtip snapped off. Any chance for Griffiths to make a
crash landing was now gone. His plane was still vibrating fiercly. Jenkins called in for a
emergency landing area for Griffiths. After recieving a clear strip, Jenkins escorted Griffiths
there. Griffiths managed to get his plane down sliding off the end of the runway. The bomb
never let loose and Griffiths survived.
For destroying the 3 ME 262's and getting his plane down, Griffiths was awarded the DFC
Captain Jenkins was awarded the Silver Star for the attempt at prying the bomb from
Griffiths wingtip.

[JDK]

Griffiths Plane After Crash Landing



Ralph Jenkins who was awarded the Silver Star for his actions that day.

Griffiths DFC





His citation for the DFC

His Flight Suit

 

 

[FightenIrish35]

Im stunned,you have one GREAT grouping right here.Thanks for sharing this.

[316th FS 324th FG]

Man, JDK!

 

Very nice. I love those ground attack guys. Never seemed to get the same glory as the escorts did, but often took bigger risks and lost more men.

 

Thanks for sharing.

 

D

[Dirk]

Wonderful grouping with a great story! Thank you for sharing it.

[Croix de Guerre]

What an amazing grouping and what an amazing historical story! FANTASTIC! What ever became of Griffith? How did you come across his group? I don't mean to give you twenty questions but please tell the rest of the story!

[vicjoy1945]

Hey !!

 

Really nice grouping !!

 

I don't think all P-47 pilots were designated as more bomber than fighter pilots. Maybe this was more prevelent in the ETO !?! I do have a very complete grouping to a Pacific theatre P-47 pilot who was an ace...so...I would think he saw plenty of dogfights.

 

Probably a strategic vs tactical designation of the group/squadron !?!

 

Thanks for showing !!

 

Vic

[Bluehawk]

Griffiths Plane After Crash Landing

 

A wing and a prayer...

[316th FS 324th FG]

Vic

 

It is interesting, there were P-47 aces, most of them in the 8th AF, although, some in the 9th, 12th and 15th as well. I know though that the 324th only had two aces and both of them were in P-40's, before they got 47's.

 

Lots of groups like the 324th were used heavily in ground attack roles, in fact, the 324th earned one of its two DUCs at Cassino on 12-14 May 44. In the 83 missions my grandfather flew between Dec 44 and April 45, only one resulted in a dog fight - 12 P-47's, 12 109's - the luftwaffe lost 6 109's to the 324th's loss of one P-47.

 

JDK, sorry ti hijack, again, great grouping!

 

D

 

Hey !!

 

Really nice grouping !!

 

I don't think all P-47 pilots were designated as more bomber than fighter pilots. Maybe this was more prevelent in the ETO !?! I do have a very complete grouping to a Pacific theatre P-47 pilot who was an ace...so...I would think he saw plenty of dogfights.

 

Probably a strategic vs tactical designation of the group/squadron !?!

 

Thanks for showing !!

 

Vic

[JDK]

What an amazing grouping and what an amazing historical story! FANTASTIC! What ever became of Griffith? How did you come across his group? I don't mean to give you twenty questions but please tell the rest of the story!

 

No problem! I guess I kind of left it hanging.

After WWII he left the AAF, and never joined the AirForce like many

other WWII vets did. He started a insurance company. He passed

away in 1992. This grouping of his A-2 flight jacket and other items came directly

from his wife. They had no children to pass it on to. All the information

on his day in April of 1945 came from his wife. Robert (Bob) had written

it for the P-47 Pilots association magazine. It's nice to have the whole

story besides just the DFC citation stating the more basic events of the

day. The info on the dogfight came from the groups history book.......

Thunder Monsters Over Europe. I came across that one on my own.

I have about 15 original WWII negatives as well as a bunch of pilots

manuals from him as well.

 

Thanks for the kind responses. I'm glad you guys enjoyed it!

JD

[JDK]

Forgot to mention,

Griffiths finished the war with 1 Aerial Victory, 1 Probable Aerial Victory, and 4 Ground kills including the 3 ME 262's.

He was also present when Hans Ulrich Rudel surrendered by flying his plane to the base where the 510th was stationed.

The 510th Pilots took Rudel and 2 other pilots into custody. It must have been a pretty neat way to end the war.

Capturing one of Germanys most glorified pilots!

[John Cooper]

I never get tired of the killer groups posted here! One day it will be me

[KASTAUFFER]

Beautiful group!

Being able to See groups like this keeps me coming back!

I like the engraving on the DFC too. I have seen others engraved the same way. I believe it to be PQMD ( official ) engraving.

Kurt

[bobgee]

Wonderful group and story! Glad you got to preserve it. Thank you for sharing it with us and remembering an intrepid WWII Fighter Pilot on Veteran's Day. Rest in Peace, Lt. Griffiths!

[brandon_rss18]

Truely a great story, and what an amazing man! That is honestly, in my opinion, the best Army Air Corps grouping I have ever seen. Thank you so much for sharing.

[JDK]

Many thanks again for the comments. This group and a couple of others

will never leave my posession. I hope to hand them down to my 2 boys.

[BigJohn#3RD]

Thank You For Sharing The Pictures and Information. I am sure your boys will appreciate this grouping and anything else that is a time capsule of our nation's military history.
Regards
John

[Teamski]

I missed that one the first time around. A very nice group indeed!!! The jacket is priceless!!

 

-Ski

[JDK]

Thanks again guys!
J.D.

[Laurent M.]

Hello J.D., you have got a stunning collection. As well as stories that go with those unbeliveable A-2 jackets.

I really enjoyed going through this topic. Thanks a lot fot sharing all this with us.

Laurent M.

[jerseygary]

Wow! That was a great story, I was actually on the edge of my seat reading it!

[Cobrahistorian]

Man, I'm surprised I missed this one! Great grouping and great story! I may be contacting you about one of my future projects on 9th AF P-47 pilots!

 

Jon

[JDK]

Man, I'm surprised I missed this one! Great grouping and great story! I may be contacting you about one of my future projects on 9th AF P-47 pilots!

 

Jon

 

 

Thanks again guys!

 

 

 

Sure Jon. I've got a couple more of the same caliber, just let me know. I'm always happy to help.

 

JD

[jorgeaguilera]

Since today is Veterans Day, I thought I would share one of my favorite groupings.

I have some great stories to share about this very brave P-47 fighter pilot with the

510th Fighter Squadron 405th Fighter Group 9th AAF. I hope you enjoy the following,

and remember to never forget what our veterans had to go through to keep us free!

 

 

P-47 Pilot Lt. Robert Griffiths joined the 510th Fighter Squadron in August of 1944.

He flew his first missions helping pave the way for US troops to gain ground

in Europe. By the time he was flying, the Luftwaffe was virtually wiped out. He

longed for air to air combat, but it didn't look like he was going to see much.

 

 

That all changed on December 26th 1944 otherwise known as the Battle of

the Bulge. Griffiths was one of 11 P-47's from the 510th in the air when they

ran into a flight of 30 FW-190's. The 2 flights circled each other for nearly

5 minutes before Lt. Larry Gaughran became tired of the horsing around

and cut into the FW-190's flight path with his guns blazing. The fight was on.

In a matter of seconds it was all over. They had knocked down 6 German

planes, and had 3 probables. One 510th pilot was hit and forced to make

a Emergency landing. He was picked up by Allied troops.

Griffiths had 1 Aerial Kill that day as well as one probable. Griffiths was happy

to have his chance at a real dogfight and now assumed that his excitement

for the war was more than likely over.

He couldn't have been more wrong!

 

 

 

Fast forward to April 20th 1945. The 510th was sent to Brandenberg Airfield in Germany

to knock out ME-262's that were based there. The flack was extremely heavy. After

Griffiths had already knocked out 3 of the ME-262 jet fighters and was making another pass

over the field when a German gunner put a 40MM shell thru Griffiths wing making roughly

a 5 ft diameter hole. His P-47 started vibrating heavily. He managed to climb his plane to

4000 ft then trying to bail out. He quickly realized that his canopy was jammed and to make

things worse he realized that one of his 500 lb bombs would not release. He contacted his

squadron commander Capt. Ralph Jenkins with his Dilemma. Jenkins managed to find Griffiths

and get level with him. He then tried to pry Giffiths 500 lb bomb loose with the tip of his

P-47's wing. After the 2nd try Jenkins wingtip snapped off. Any chance for Griffiths to make a

crash landing was now gone. His plane was still vibrating fiercly. Jenkins called in for a

emergency landing area for Griffiths. After recieving a clear strip, Jenkins escorted Griffiths

there. Griffiths managed to get his plane down sliding off the end of the runway. The bomb

never let loose and Griffiths survived.

For destroying the 3 ME 262's and getting his plane down, Griffiths was awarded the DFC

Captain Jenkins was awarded the Silver Star for the attempt at prying the bomb from

Griffiths wingtip.

Beautiful jacket!!! I wish I had one like that!!!

[Croix de Guerre]

Absolutely stellar grouping and presentation! Thank you so much for sharing it with us! What a wonderful story, I can’t believe Capt. Jenkins was only awarded the Silver Star for that action. Wow!