Nicknamed the 'Bluenosed Bastards of Bodney' due to the garish all-blue noses of their P-51s, the 352nd FG was one of the most successful fighter groups in the Eighth Air Force.
Credited with destroying almost 800 enemy aircraft between 1943 and 1945, the 352nd finished fourth in the ranking of all groups within VIII Fighter Command. Initially equipped with P-47s, the group transitioned to P-51s in the spring of 1944, and it was with the Mustang that its pilots enjoyed their greatest success.
Numerous first-hand accounts, 55 newly commissioned artworks and 140+ photos complete this concise history of the 'Bluenosers'.
Thomas G Ivie is a veteran of six years service in the US Army and a retired buyer of developmental parts for a major US jet engine manufacturer. He has had a life long interest in World War II aviation and has written eight books and numerous magazine articles on the subject. One of his books was Osprey Aviation Elite Units 8 - 352nd Fighter Group. His articles have appeared in the Museum of the United States Air Force's Friends Bulletin and in Air Classics magazine.
CHAPTER ONE
ACTIVATION AND TRAINING
CHAPTER TWO
OVERSEAS TO BODNEY
CHAPTER THREE
A NEW ERA IN FIGHTER ESCORT
CHAPTER FOUR
MUSTANG OPERATIONS BEGIN
CHAPTER FIVE
PRELUDE TO D-DAY
CHAPTER SIX
D-DAY TO MARKET-GARDEN
CHAPTER SEVEN
THE LULL AND THEN THE STORM
CHAPTER EIGHT
BODENPLATTE TO VE-DAY 106
Appendices
Colour plates commentary
Unit heraldry
Index