History of the 113th Wing (formally the 352nd Fighter Group)
Nicknamed the "Blue Nosed Bastards of Bodney" for the brightly painted noses on their P-51 Mustangs, the 352nd Fighter Group was one of the most successful Groups of the 8th Air Force during World War II.
(Picture at left: 352nd Fighter Group plaque in Memorial Park at the National Museum of the United States Air Force.)
Maj George E. Preddy Jr. of the 352nd Fighter Group
Maj George E. Preddy Jr. of the 352nd Fighter Group, a top U.S. Army Air Forces ace credited with 26.83 air-to-air victories and five planes destroyed by strafing, shot down six of his victims in a single mission on Aug. 6, 1944. Read more
The Air National Guard as we know it today -- a separate reserve component of the United States Air Force -- was a product of the politics of postwar planning and interservice rivalry during World War II. The men who planned and maneuvered for an independent postwar Air Force during World War II didn't place much faith in the reserves, especially the state-dominated National Guard.
Maj George E. Preddy Jr. of the 352nd Fighter Group 
Maj George E. Preddy Jr. of the 352nd Fighter Group, a top U.S. Army Air Forces ace credited with 26.83 air-to-air victories and five planes destroyed by strafing, shot down six of his victims in a single mission on Aug. 6, 1944.
