81st Fighter Group
| 81st Fighter-Bomber Group | |
|---|---|
Emblem of the 81st Fighter-Bomber Group
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| Active | 1942–1945, 1946–1955 |
| Country |
 United States
|
| Branch |
 United States Air Force
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| Type | Air Defense, Tactical Fighter-Bombing |
| Part of | United States Air Forces in Europe |
| Motto(s) | Le Nom, Les Armes, La Loyauté - The Name, The Arms, and Loyalty |
| Engagements |
 
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The 81st Fighter-Bomber Group (81 FBG) is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the 81st Fighter-Bomber Wing at RAF Bentwaters, England. It was inactivated on 8 February 1955.
The unit was constituted as the 81st Pursuit Group (Intercepter) on 13 January 1942, and activated on 9 February 1942, with the 91st, 92d, and 93d Pursuit Squadrons assigned. It was redesignated 81st Fighter Group in May 1942 and trained with Bell P-39 Airacobras.
The group moved overseas between October 1942 and February 1943, the ground echelon arriving in French Morocco with the force that invaded North Africa on 8 November, and the air echelon, which had trained for a time in England, arriving in North Africa between late December 1942 and early February 1943.
Te group began combat with Twelfth Air Force in January 1943. It supported ground operations during the Allied drive against Axis forces in Tunisia. The group patrolled the coast of North Africa and protected Allied shipping in the Mediterranean Sea in April through July 1943 and provided cover for the convoys that landed troops on Pantelleria on 11 June and on Sicily on 10 July 1943. The group supported the landings at Anzio on 22 January 1944 and flew patrols in that area for a short time.
Group aircraft from its time in England through its action Italy consisted of P-39s and the British export version, the P-400. P-400s still had RAF camouflage and five digit alphanumeric serial number, RAF pilot's harness, and a 20 mm cannon versus the US 37 mm. These P-39s and P-400s were available due to a Murmansk Convoy so devastated, it turned back. The fighters were uncrated, assembled and test flown by the pilots that would take them to North Africa, Sicily and Italy. The 81st also flew P-38 Lightnings on patrol in the Mediterranean. These aircraft were loaned from the 1st Fighter Group.
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