"Mustang mayhem"

Flight Journal, Oct 1999 by Trudgian, Nicholas

One of the most remarkable feats of the 4th Fighter Group's many famous actions in WW II happened during its final major mission. On April 16, 1945, in two blistering airfield attacks, its pilots destroyed no fewer than 105 enemy aircraft.

While A Group attacked airfields in the region of Prague, B Group, consisting of the 334th Squadron led by Maj. "Red Dog" Norley, devastated the Luftwaffe base at Gablingen in 40 minutes of continuous strafing. That day, other 8th Air Force fighter groups attacked Luftwaffe airfields all over Germany and claimed a total of 752 aircraft destroyed. The Luftwaffe never recovered from this devastating blow.

As Norley's P-51D screams across the snow-covered Gablingen airfield in Bavaria, his squadron's pilots fan out behind him to wreak havoc on the ground-all while jinking through intense ground fire.

A couple of brave Fw 190 pilots make a gallant attempt to get airborne, while an assortment of Luftwaffe aircraft-Me 262s, Me 410s, Ju 88s, Stukas and Fw 190s-come under fire. Ground personnel take cover as well as they can while hangars, aircraft and a fuel dump explode in flames.

The Luftwaffe was definitely having a bad day. -Nicholas Trdgian