 KING'S CLIFFE The 20th. Fighter Group's Official History And other sources of information on the 20th. |
 The 1999 reprint of King's Cliffe (left) with an original copy printed in 1946 I have received a few e-mails regarding "King's Cliffe", the outstanding history of the 20th.FG put together in 1946 by Maj. Edward Steiner and Capt. H.W. Howard, so I have created this page to help you out. The price for a copy is $81.00, but I have found used copies of the 1983 reprint going for over $250! None the less, this is a valuable resource to anyone interested in the History of the "Loco Busters" and is worth twice the price! Contents of the book include photographs and short biographies of all of the pilots, commanding officers and ground officers, photographs of many of the enlisted men, photographs of Station 367, mission reports from all 312 missions the 20th. flew, overviews of the 97th. Service Group and all associated sections, an overview of the 446th. Air Service Group, as well as writeups about the various facets of the base and it's personnel. Noted aviaiton author Roger Freeman has called this the greatest Group History of any World War 2 outfit and quite frankly he is understating the facts here. I have found this to be one of the most valuable reference books in my collection, bar none. The book is hard bound in a leatherette cover with the title and group's insignias embossed in gold on the cover. It features the complete text of the original 1946 issue as well as the information added in the 1983 second printing. These are the last few that will probably ever be printed, so act now while you still have the chance! Copies can be obtained through Gale Turner, the Vice-President of the 20th. Fighter Group Assoc. at 603 Alice Rd., Port Clinton, OH 43452. Make your checks or money orders out to the "20th. Fighter Group Association." For foreign orders, please contact Mr. Turner before you order for the shipping information and cost, and please mention that you saw this on the net! For those of you who'd like a 1983 vintage copy, try Aardvark Books, at last look they had five copies and each was priced at £70.00 / $120.00. The 1999 version is identical in every way to the 1983 copy, however and the money goes back to the 20th. Ftr. Grp. Assoc. All of the mission reports of the 20th.FG are available on microfilm! For further information contact: AFHRA / RSQ 600 Chennault Circle Maxwell AFB, AL 36112-6424 The micro-film rolls are: Roll #B0086 "20th FG" (Nov 29-Jun '44) Roll #B0087 "20th FG" (Jun '44-Apr '45) Roll #A0744 "55th Sqdn" (Nov '30 - Jun '50) Roll #A0757 "77th Sqdn" (Feb '18 - Jun '50)
This information comes courtesy of Mark Van Sickle, nephew of Capts. Dick & Frank Van Sickle of the 77th.FS, 20th.FG. He has all of the above micro-films and told me that he believes there is also a roll containing the 79th.FS, 20th.FG but he did not order that one.
Incidentally, I have heard reports that the AFHRA are very backlogged, so be patient if you order these! To obtain a copy of Jack Ilfrey's autobiography, Happy Jack's Go Buggy, please click here it is available through Amazon.Com and every copy purchased via this site Amazon donates a percentage of the price back to the site.If you wish to obtain a copy of the book autographed by Maj. Jack Ilfrey, please e-mail me and I will make the arrangements for you. Autographed copies may also be found in the Gift Shop of the Mighty Eighth Air Force Museum, but only in limited quantities. Other books about the 20th., the 1st. Fighter Group, P-38 Lightnings, P-51 Mustangs and World War Two can be found on the sites' Bibliography. |
Unless otherwise noted, all content © copyright The Art of Syd Edwards 1999. All rights reserved and reproduction is prohibited.
