Egerton

Egerton (Headcorn)

127 Wing moved into Headcorn from Lashenden (a giddy 2 miles!) on the 20^th August 1944. Wing Commander Johnson left the wing for a well deserved rest (he had been operations non-stop since late 1940!) in mid September and was succeeded by Hugh Godefroy, another noteworthy Spitfire pilot and leader. With the winter fast approaching and repair and modification work needed to the runways the Wing left the airfield for the more comfortable surroundings of Kenley in October.

The airfield was handed over to the US 9^th Air Force and as at Lashenden the engineers set about a much needed strengthening of the runways, for the 362^nd FG (377^th, 378^th & 379^th Fighter Squadrons) were due to move in with their 87 P-47D Thunderbolts! These tremendous fighters, each weighing anything up 17,500Lb fully loaded, and powered by a 2535 hp Pratt & Whitney R-2800 18 cylinder radial engine, were to operate as flying artillery for the forthcoming invasion. The unit moved in on the 12^th April 1944.

The very nature of their work meant they suffered heavy losses, not only to ground fire and enemy fighters; carrying a full load of fuel and bombs in such a heavy fighter from the less than perfect conditions of the airfield left little margin for error, and many accidents occurred. Thanks to the Thunderbolts rugged construction, however, some pilots did manage to walk away unscathed from crashes that would have been fatal in any other type. Still, the arduous, dangerous and costly work of the 362^nd FG - and of the close air support Thunderbolt units in general - is often overshadowed by the glamour of the other fighter types like the Mustang and the Spitfire, yet without their efforts the invasion could have had a very different outcome.

As with Lashenden, as soon as an airfield on the continent became available, the 362^nd quickly moved out so as to offer more effective support for the American Army advancing through France, and the steel matting was lifted away for ALGs across the channel. From July 19th 1944 no further aircraft would be based at Headcorn (Egerton).