There were several American fighter groups who fought exclusively in the Mediterranean theater of operations. One of these was the Checkertail Clan of the 325th FG. The Mediterranean was not a hot bed of action as was northwestern Europe, but when the group initially arrived with its P-40s in late 1942, the battles in North Africa were still going strong, albeit nearing an end. By the time the unit got into action, there was little in the way of Luftwaffe or Italian fighter defense.

Things improved as the group began escorting bombers to targets in Corsica and surrounding areas. Taken out of action in September to convert to the P-47, it returned in December 1943, again flying bomber escort missions from bases in Italy. It was during these missions that many of the victories were scored by the group.

In May of 1944, the group started converting to the P-51 Mustang. It was also involved in flying some of the first shuttle missions between bases in Italy and those in the Soviet Union. This allowed the group to participate in attacks in Austria and Hungary that might otherwise be out of range. The group was the first American fighter group to score victories when flying from Soviet bases as they claimed planes shot down on the return missions.

As the war progressed to the end, the opportunities for victories continued to dwindle to nearly nothing as the Luftwaffe concentrated on Reich defense and pulled units out of Italy. It was only during missions over the Alps to Germany that the group ran into any opposition. With the end of the war the unit was disbanded after making 537 claims over enemy aircraft.

In line with other books in this series, there are a ton of well done period photographs as well as the usual large center section of full color profiles of the planes that were flown by the unit during the war. There are many names which enthusiasts will recognize and their planes were some of the more colorful of the war, especially in the last months. The war stories told by the pilots is a staple of these books and this one is no exception. An excellent read and a great reference book. Pick it up when you see it.

March 2014

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