Editing North American P-51 Mustang (section)

====Fighting the ''Luftwaffe''====
[[File:Pilots of the 332nd Fighter Group.jpg|thumb|left|Pilots of the all-Black American [[332d Fighter Group|332nd Fighter Group]] (the [[Tuskegee Airmen]]) at Ramitelli, Italy: From left, Lt. [[Dempsey W. Morgran]], Lt. [[Carroll S. Woods]], Lt. [[Robert H. Nelron, Jr.]], Capt. [[Andrew D. Turner]], and Lt. [[Clarence D. Lester]]]]

At the start of 1944, Major General [[Jimmy Doolittle|James Doolittle]], the new commander of the 8th Air Force, released most fighters from the requirement of flying in close formation with the bombers, allowing them free rein to attack the Luftwaffe wherever it could be found. The aim was to achieve [[air supremacy]]. Mustang groups were sent far ahead of the bombers in a "fighter sweep" to intercept German fighters. Bomber crews complained, but by June, supremacy was achieved.<ref>{{cite book |title=American Military Leaders: A-L |last=Fredriksen |first=John C. |date=1999 |page=227 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn=9781576070017 |volume=1}}</ref>

The ''Luftwaffe'' answered with the ''Gefechtsverband'' ("battle formation"). This consisted of a ''Sturmgruppe'' of heavily armed and armored Fw 190As escorted by two ''Begleitgruppen'' of Bf 109s, whose task was to keep the Mustangs away from the Fw 190s as they attacked the bombers. This strategy proved to be problematic, as the large German formation took a long time to assemble and was difficult to maneuver. It was often intercepted by the P-51 "fighter sweeps" before it could attack the bombers. However, German attacks against bombers could be effective when they did occur; the bomber-destroyer Fw 190As swept in from astern and often pressed their attacks to within {{convert|100|yd|m|abbr=on|sigfig=1|order=flip}}.<ref name= "Spick p. 111.">Spick 1983, p. 111.</ref>

[[File:P-51B 100FS 332FG Italy 1944.jpg|thumb|A USAAF armorer of the [[100th Fighter Squadron]], [[332nd Fighter Group]], 15th US Air Force checks ammunition belts of the .50 caliber (12.7 mm) Browning machine guns in the wings of a North American P-51B Mustang in Italy, ''circa'' September 1944]]
While not always able to avoid contact with the escorts, the threat of mass attacks and later the "company front" (eight abreast) assaults by armored ''Sturmgruppe'' Fw 190As brought an urgency to attacking the ''Luftwaffe'' wherever it could be found, either in the air or on the ground. Beginning [[Big Week|in late February 1944]], 8th Air Force fighter units began systematic strafing attacks on German airfields with increasing frequency and intensity, with the objective of gaining air supremacy over the [[Normandy]] battlefield. In general, these were conducted by units returning from escort missions, but beginning in March, many groups also were assigned airfield attacks instead of bomber support. The P-51, particularly with the advent of the K-14 [[gyro gunsight]] and the development of "Clobber Colleges"<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.b24.net/2ndADA-Newsletters/1974-Dec.pdf |title=Clobber College |last=Robertie |first=William G |publisher=Second Air Division Association |volume=12 |date=December 1974 |issue=4 |access-date=2 June 2021}}</ref> for the training of fighter pilots in late 1944, was a decisive element in Allied countermeasures against the ''Jagdverbände''.

The numerical superiority of the USAAF fighters, superb flying characteristics of the P-51, and pilot proficiency helped cripple the ''Luftwaffe''{{'}}s fighter force. As a result, the fighter threat to the US, and later British, bombers was greatly diminished by July 1944. The RAF, long proponents of night bombing for protection, were able to reopen daylight bombing in 1944 as a result of the crippling of the ''Luftwaffe'' fighter arm. [[Reichsmarschall]] [[Hermann Göring]], commander of the ''Luftwaffe'' during the war, was quoted as saying, "When I saw Mustangs over Berlin, I knew the jig was up."<ref>Bowen 1980{{page needed|date=May 2011}}</ref><ref>Sherman, Steven. [http://acepilots.com/usaaf_eto_aces.html "Aces of the Eighth Air Force in World War Two"] {{webarchive|url=http://archive.wikiwix.com/cache/20110813231458/http://acepilots.com/usaaf_eto_aces.html |date=13 August 2011 }} ''Ace pilots'', June 1999. Retrieved: 7 August 2011.</ref><ref name=Parker/>