The U.S. 86th Fighter Group in WWII

Here is the complete story of the training and operations of the 86th Fighter Bomber Group, Third Air Force and later with the Twelfth Air Force. The men as well as the machines they flew are carefully presented in a comprehensive, fully photographically documented format. Included are numerous, never-before-told personal accounts of combat and life in the 86th, woven in with the historical text researched and written by Steve Luce, a son of one of the group’s pilots Lt. Warren Luce. Profiles of select colorful aircraft, their A-36s and P-47 Thunderbolts, are vividly illustrated by Terry Higgins.

Training was in Meridian, Mississippi in 1942 with A-36s. They were first deployed in 1943 to North Africa and later to Italy and Corsica flying the P-47 in the MTO. Early 1945 found the active and effective 86th in France and Germany until war’s end. The unit’s complete known victory list is published herein. Explore their entire story through this photo-rich historical presentation of one of WWII’s successful Fighter Bomber Groups. Written by Steve Luce, the son of one of the pilots of the 86th, their story is presented by over 225 photographs from the veterans, most never before published and with personal stories about their war experiences.