Operation COBRA

During this period, on the second mission of the 18th of June, the 353rd Fighter Group reached another milestone and flew its 200th mission. While Allied armies had cleared the western and northern shores of Normandy and advanced to the southern shores in the west, the stubborn German hedgerow defenses continued to keep the beachhead bottled up through most of July. Then Operation COBRA was launched.

All available Allied aircraft concentrated their bombs and guns on a small portion of the German front in the St. Lo area during the 25th of July. With German defenses broken the U.S. Armies moved south and then east, swinging out armored columns which were soon racing around the main enemy defenses and across France.

Colonel Glenn Duncan

During July, the 353rd flew 29 missions on 23 days, 2 of which were area missions in support of Operation COBRA on the 24th and 25th of the month. Only four P-47s were lost during July. One went down to flak on the 4th, its pilot bellied in and walked away.  A second went down to enemy aircraft on the 5th, and a third crash landed on the beachhead on the 6th, its pilot returning later. The fourth loss came on the 7th and stunned the Group, taking Col. Duncan from them, just two days after he recorded his 19.5th air kill on a Me 109.

The first of two missions on the fateful 7th of July saw Col. Duncan lead 45 planes (flying his LH-X VII, “Dove of Peace”) in giving penetration support to B-17s as far as Dummer Lake, Germany.

There Duncan spotted a number of enemy aircraft on Wesendorf Airfield and he led the 351st Squadron down in a strafing attack. He got an He 111, but intense light flak came up from the north side of the field, severing his oil line. He pulled up with his engine overheating and beginning to smoke. He started heading west to get as far out of Germany as possible. He finally had to belly-in northeast of Nienburg 15 minutes later. The planes accompanying him made a search for a possible spot to land and pick him up, but none was found.

Duncan then called on the radio. “I am okay, will see you in three weeks.” With that he tossed an incendiary bomb into his plane, setting it afire, and walked away on foot. Knowing he was alive helped, but the Group was still profoundly shaken by the loss of their leader. Their feelings were well summed up in the wire that arrived from General Kepner:

“I desire to express my very great regret at the temporary loss of Colonel Glenn Duncan. His splendid help on every mission will be missed; however, he has left a splendid organization in the 353rd Group that I am confident,  will carry on, as they knew he would have. The gallantry of Colonel Duncan was well shown in his final brave message, ‘I will be back in three or four weeks.’ ‘Never quitting’ could well be the motto for the entire VIII Fighter Command and indeed all fighters of the Army Air Forces everywhere. Colonel Duncan’s record typifies a fighter pilot’s creed. He was outstanding as a two fisted fighter leader and a Group Commanding Officer.”

Although the hope remained, Col. Duncan was not to return to his Group until April 1945. In the interim he spent the war with the Dutch underground after making his way out of Germany on foot without being captured. His final claims of enemy aircraft stood at 19.5 - l - 4 in the air and 6.83- 1.5 - 8 on the ground.

Organizational Moves

Replacing Glenn Duncan as CO of the Group was Lt. Col. Ben Rimerman who was a welcome choice to the men, a good air leader and an able administrator. He was to hold this position until 22 April 1945 when he was succeeded by none other than--Col. Glenn E. Duncan.

Lt. Col. Bill Bailey moved from command of the 352nd to the position of Group Executive Officer, which Ben Rimerman had held. This placed Capt. James N. Poindexter as Acting CO of the 352nd Squadron until Capt. Wilbert H. Junttila returned from leave in August to take active command of the Squadron until the end of the war. Both were original Group pilots. “Weep”, as Junttila was nicknamed, was a second generation Finn, short and heavy set, who was easy going and always had a happy smile.

Also in August, Capt. Frederick H. LeFebre took over command of the 351st Squadron. Fred was an original flight commander and was beginning his second tour. Of Dutch ancestry, he was 25, handsome, debonair and a neat dresser. In the air he tempered aggressiveness with caution and was an able and well liked leader.

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