362nd Destroys Multiple German Planes and Trains in One Day
The effective destruction that the 362nd could impose on the Germans
This article describes the destructiveness of the 362nd by describing the amount of German planes and trains that they destroyed in one Saturday.
Omaha World-Herald
National Museum of the United States Air Force - Research Division
United States Air Force
October 30, 1944
A Destroyed German Train and Tracks
Trains and bridges were common ground targets for P-47s
Railroad lines were a common target of air interdiction missions flown by the 362nd Fighter Group. Trains, their military cargo, and bridges were common targets of opportunity. The train and railway bridge were destroyed by fighter-bombers in the Ninth Air Force
National Museum of the United States Air Force
United States Air Force
A Press Release about Colonel Joseph Laughlin's Combat Record
Before his return to Nebraska on leave in the winter of 1944, the Public Relations Office of the Ninth Air Force sent this press release to the parents of Colonel Joseph Laughlin for distribution to local papers
This press release covers the combat record that Colonel Laughlin had accrued up until December of 1944. In it, it discusses his recent promotion, his awards, his most notorious credits of destruction, and an account of all destroyed German equipment. It also describes some of his group's credits as well as their overall mission in Europe.
Ninth Air Force Public Relations Office, Army Air Corps
National Museum of the United States Air Force - Research Division
United States Air Force
December 4, 1944
Press Release Concerning Colonel Joseph Laughlin and the Bombing of Bremen Airport
A press release that touts the accomplishments of Colonel Laughlin and the 362nd Fighter Group
This press release, also found in a partial article from a Nebraska newspaper also in this collection, describes the recent successes of Colonel Laughlin in France. It includes the details behind a Ninth Air Force record-setting flight that was Colonel Laughlin's idea as payback to the Nazis for all that they had done so far. It goes into detail about Colonel Laughlin's life before the war, his friendship with the current 362nd Group Commander, Colonel Morton Magoffin, and how he is viewed by the men in the group. It is also the only time his first wife, Kathleen, is mentioned in any format.
Ninth Air Force Public Relations Office, Army Air Corps
National Museum of the United States Air Force - Research Division
United States Air Force
1944
Insignias of Destruction on Colonel Joseph Laughlin's P-47, Five by Five
The official destruction insignia located on Colonel Laughlin's P-47
Accounts were kept of what pilots destroyed in combat. To tout those successes, pilots would have the record painted on their planes, with tallies next to each symbol for tanks, trucks, and locomotives. The Nazi flags represented downed enemy aircraft; 5 flags meant the pilot was an ace. Colonel Laughlin was the only known pilot in World War II to be solely credited for sinking an enemy ship. The battleship insignia represented the German Light Cruiser he sunk in Brest Harbor.
Republic Aviation Corporation
US Army Air Corps
National Museum of the United States Air Force
United States Air Force
1940s