The 15th Fighter Group wasted no time in getting into the thick of things after arriving on Iwo Jima. On March 8th, Major John Piper led two flights of 47th Fighter Squadron Mustangs to strafe Japanese positions in support of the Marines on the northern end of Iwo. Colonel James Beckwith and 45th Fighter Squadron got into the fight on the next day with three missions in support of the Marines. The photo below shows two 45th Mustangs loaded up with 500 pound bombs getting ready to take off on one of those missions. The 78th Fighter Squadron also flew 45 sorties in support of the Marines on March 10th.

It would not take long for the 15th Fighter Group’s attention to be diverted elsewhere. On March 11th, the 47th FS would fly its first strike mission against Chichi Jima. I really like the photo below. Taken over the wing of a 47th FS Mustang, the photo below shows two bomb laden 47th FS Mustangs taxing into position to take off for their strike against Chichi Jima. I like how this photo shows the elegant lines of the Mustang’s nose.

Chichi Jima was 147 miles north of Iwo Jima. A major communications center with radio and radar facilities, Chichi Jima had been occupied and fortified by the Japanese for decades. It had an airfield (Susaki Airfield), a deep water anchorage, and a seaplane base. Brig. General Moore and Colonel Beckwith in their Mustangs watched as seventeen 47th FS Mustangs bombed Chichi Jima.

The photo above shows a 47th FS Mustang landing on South Field upon its return from the March 11th strike mission against Chichi Jima as ground crew look on.

In the photo above, 1st Lt. Robert Scamara pulls his 47th FS Mustang 167 Pappy Yochum into parking position after his return from the March 11th strike mission against Chichi Jima. Ground crew and other pilots clamor around the parked Mustangs anxious to hear about the results of the mission. Note the single antenna on Scamara’s Mustang.

References:

John W. Lambert, The Long Campaign: The History of the 15th Fighter Group in World War II, Schiffer Publishing Ltd. (2006)

Carl Molesworth, Very Long Range P-51 Mustang Units of the Pacific War, Osprey Publishing (2006)