King George V1 and Queen Elizabeth, Duxford 1943

In April 1943 the airfield was fully handed over to the United States 8th Air Force, which had begun to arrive in Britain the previous May. The 8th was the largest of the United States Army Air Forces at this time, in the order of 200,000 men at its peak strength. Duxford now became Base 357 and the headquarters of the 78th Fighter Group who were officially welcomed when King George VI and Queen Elizabeth visited the airfield on 26 May 1943.

The 78th FG flew P-47 Thunderbolts and from December 1944, P-51

P-47 in 78 Group Markings, WW2

Mustangs and acted as fighter escort on the large US daylight bomber raids in occupied Europe and Germany itself. They also undertook sweeps over hostile territory and became adept at strafing, flying in at very low level to destroy ground installations and small targets. Captain Charles London of the 83rd Fighter Squadron at Duxford became the first official 8th Air Force Ace, when he destroyed five enemy aircraft.

D-Day Landings, 6 June 1944

On D-Day, 6 June 1944, the long awaited beginning of the Allied invasion of occupied Europe, every available 78th Fighter Group Thunderbolt was giving air cover to the Allied invasion fleet as it crossed the Channel. Later the group took part in raids on railway targets ahead of the ground forces. During the airborne landings at Arnhem in the Netherlands the 78th were awarded a Distinguished Unit Citation for the number of sorties carried out.

The 78th also distinguished themselves by shooting down the first Me262 jet aircraft claimed by the 8th Air Force, and by the end of the war were credited with the destruction of 697 enemy aircraft either in the air or on the ground. Duxford was officially handed back to the Royal Air Force on 1 December 1945.