Deployment and Combat Summary
From the the outbreak of the WWII in December 1941 until May of 1942, the 1st Fighter Group flew patrol missions in the Los Angeles, CA area. In May, the Group began its move to the east coast of the US in preparation for Operation Bolero, the flights over the north Atlantic to deploy the planes and pilots to bases in the UK. From mid July 1942 until November the Group flew a few limited missions to adjust to the European combat environment. The air and ground echelons of the Group moved to Africa in November 1942 and progressed across North Africa at various bases until November, 1943 when, during the invasions of Southern France and Italy the Group operated from Sardinia and Sicily. In December 1943, the base at Salsola, Italy in the Foggia valley became the home of the Group until the spring of 1945, when they made the final WWII move to Lake Lessina, a few miles north.
To further introduce the more detailed analysis of the 1st Fighter Group combat missions, this section gives a brief narrative history, maps of the bases of operations and tables of sorties and losses vs the calendar where the intensity of combat activity is evident.