78th Fighter Group
78th Fighter Group
Goxhill . . .
Mud . . Training . . . More Mud . . !!
The 78th Fighter Group arrived in England and settled into it's first British Station, Goxhill, known officially as 8th Air Force Station No. F-345 on December 1, 1942. Unofficially, the American units that resided at Station No. F-345 referred to it as "GoatHill".
Goxhill Air Field is situated on the south bank of the Humber River Estuary opposite the City of Kingston-Upon-Hull, Lincolnshire. This original RAF station had been used by American units for theatre indocrination training since August, 1942. The facilities at the base had a lot to be desired. Three wooden barracks were supplemented by a number of metal fabricated buildings(tin cans) for living quarters. Typical of the RAF bases of that period, living quarters and mess facilities were 1-2 miles from the hangars and flight operations area.
An aerial photograph of Goxhill Airdrome taken in 1946. ( Picture Source: " Airfields of the Eighth ..Then and Now ", Roger A. Freeman, After the Battle Magazine, Battle of Britain Prints, Ltd., 1978 )
A recent picture of the hangars and Technical Area at Goxhill Airdrome. ( Picture Source: unknown )
With the climate, mud was the order of the day. No one ventured out without wearing galoshes.
" The sun hardly ever shines and the days are short and dreary, it rains a lot and lately it's cold and windy. Quite a bit of fog too. The ground is very muddy since we arrived here. Some good old dust would be welcome! "
(Quotation Source: Earl Payne, "Eagles of Duxford", Garry L. Fry, Phalanx Publishing Co., Ltd., 1991, ISBN: 0-92625860-2-1 )
The latrines were located in tents at "GoatHill". Helmets were worn due to the ever present threat of German air attacks.( Picture Source: "Duxford Diary", East Anglian Aviation Society, 1975, Reprint )
The enlisted men had no recreational facility on the base and spent most of their "off duty" time in the nearby towns. Pubs and dance halls in Grimsby, Cleethorpes, Barton-On-Humber and Goxhill soon took most of the American money out of circulation.
The Village of Goxhill. ( Picture Source: "Duxford Diary", East Anglian Aviation Society, 1975, Reprint )
Before Christmas, the men of the 78th gave up two weeks rations in advance, pooled it, and invited children from neighboring towns to come to Goxhill for a party. For most of the 500 children that came, it was their first enjoyable Christmas in quite some time. On Christmas Day, 1942, the enlisted men were served dinner by the officers. It was the first...and last Christmas in Goxhill for the 78th Fighter Group.
Flight operations began in earnest after December 15, 1942, when the first P-38Gs arrived. On January 12, 1943, Col. Arman Peterson, C. O., announced that the Group would be up to full strength by mid January and fully operational by February for bomber escort duties. This was never to happen. On January 24th, the 78th received orders sending all available P-38 aircraft and pilots to North Africa in support of " Operation Torch " as soon as they could be prepared.
78th Fighter Group P-38Gs on the Goxhill flightline in January, 1943. Note on the center aircraft(barely visable), the yellow bordered US insignia. ( Picture Source: "Duxford Diary", East Anglian Aviation Society, 1975, Reprint )
P-38G, s/n 42-12926, "Mackie", the personal aircraft of Major Harry Dayhuff, 82nd Squadron C.O. parked in dispersal at Goxhill. The aircraft was named after Major Dayhuff's wife Maxine. Markings include a white spinners, a/c "in-squadron" No. 10, the yellow bordered US insignia and two white squadron CO bands. P-38 pilots frequently had nicknames for both engines painted on the cowls. In the case of Major Dayhuff's aircraft, the engine names are "Pat" and "Mike". (Picture Source: "Eagles of Duxford", Garry L. Fry, Phalanx Publishing Co., Ltd., 1991, ISBN: 0-92625860-2-1, via Harry Dayhuff )
North African desert operations required that some of the P-38s be equipped with dust filters. Several flights of P-38s were sent to the Lockheed Lightning Modification Depot at Langsford Lodge, Ireland for installation of dust filters. During the flight to Langsford Lodge, the 78th Fighter Group experienced their first casualties since arriving in England. Lieutenants Henry Perry(83rd FS) and Stephan White(82nd FS) collided in heavy cloud cover and crashed to their deaths. On this same day, Lieutenant Donald Beals(83rd FS) was reported missing on a ferry flight to North Africa with a P-38.
165 gallon Auxiliary fuel tanks are mounted on 78th Fighter Group P-38Gs for their ferry flight to North Africa. ( Picture Source: "Duxford Diary", East Anglian Aviation Society, 1975, Reprint )
After departure of the last P-38s to North Africa, the 78th began the arduous task of rebuilding and training with the P-47 Thunderbolt.
The 8th Air Force had requested of the RAF that the U.S. Fighter Groups be moved closer to the areas occupied by the Bomb Groups. It was decided that the 78th FG would be temporarily moved to the RAF Station at Duxford, Cambridgeshire for thier operational debut with a latter move planned to Halesworth when that base was ready for occupancy. On March 24, 1943 an advanced motor convoy of officers and enlisted men drove to Duxford to prepare for the arrival of the entire Group over the period of April 1-6, 1943. The " die was cast" and the rest ... history!
This page was last revised on 3 / 11 / 01
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