Harrison Thyng

Brigadier General Harrison Reed Thyng (April 12, 1918 – September 24, 1983) was a fighter pilot and a general in the United States Air Force (USAF).

He is notable as one of only six USAF fighter pilots to be recognized as an ace in two wars.

On retiring from the military, Thyng became a New Hampshire candidate to the United States Senate.

Born in Laconia, New Hampshire, the second of two sons of Herbert and Elizabeth Thyng, "Harry" Thyng was raised in Barnstead.

He was educated in a rural school system, attending a "one-room" school through the 8th Grade, then attending Pittsfield High School.

24 Spitfires of the 308th and 309th FS, including Major Thyng, took off from Gibraltar at 15:40.

They arrived in Algeria at 17:00 and observed four aircraft circling overhead, mistakenly identified as RAF Hawker Hurricanes.

On July 26, the group headquarters and its three-squadron commanders, including Major Thyng, flew a combat mission with No. 412 Squadron (RCAF) based at RAF Biggin Hill, a fighter sweep near Saint-Omer, France, that resulted in the loss of one 31st FG Spitfire.

Thyng's 309th FS was relocated twice, first to RAF Warmwell, Dorset, in late July, and then to RAF Westhampnett, Sussex, on August 4, where it became operational, flying its first operational mission the next day.

Its scheduled missions were "Rodeos", feints to decoy German fighter opposition, and convoy escorts, but on August 9 Major Thyng and a wingman flew a defensive patrol over the English Channel in which Thyng claimed a Junkers Ju 88 damaged, the first claim by a U.S. fighter during the war.

His personal aircraft was a Spitfire V he nicknamed Mary & James after his wife and son, bearing the squadron identification codes WZ—A.

A 309th Spitfire was shot down and its pilot killed.

One of these new groups was the 31st Pursuit Group, the first to be equipped with the Bell P-39 Airacobra.

The U.S. Army Air Forces then created three new squadrons to become the flying units of the 31st fighting Group

Its RAF instructors declared the 31st FG ready for operations in late July, the first U.S. combat group to be so rated.

The 31st flew several days of escort missions for U.S. Douglas A-20 light bombers at the beginning of September, and then stood down from operations except for defensive reactions until a final escort mission on October 2, its last before transferring to the Twelfth Air Force.

The advanced command post of the Twelfth Air Force ordered two squadrons of the 31st Fighter Group to fly into Tafaraoui Airfield near Oran, newly captured by the U.S. 1st Infantry Division.

The 31st deployed to a forward base at Thelepte, Tunisia, which it temporarily evacuated during the German breakthrough at the Battle of the Kasserine Pass.

Thyng won a second Silver Star attacking German armored forces during the battle and was shot down twice, once by British anti-aircraft fire.

He was an avid athlete, participating in football, baseball and track, in all of which he lettered, and graduated in 1935.

Thyng obtained a Bachelor of Arts pre-law degree from the University of New Hampshire in 1939.

An ROTC graduate, he was given a reserve commission as a second lieutenant, Infantry, at graduation but enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Corps as a flying cadet.

He trained at Parks Air College near East St. Louis, Illinois, for primary, Randolph Field for basic, and Kelly Field for advanced, where he obtained his wings and commission in the Air Corps on March 23, 1940.

On October 10 he was transferred to the 41st Pursuit Squadron of the newly activated 31st Pursuit Group, then promoted to 1st lieutenant on November 1, 1941.

After the United States entered the war, several squadrons of the 35th Pursuit Group in the Philippines became total losses in combat and the newly trained squadrons of the 31st PG, including the 41st PS, were detached on January 15, 1942, to form the core of a new 35th Group and moved to the West Coast for immediate deployment to the Pacific.

On January 30, 1942, 1st Lt. Thyng became the first commanding officer of the newly created 309th Fighter Squadron, 31st Fighter Group.

Initially equipped with Curtiss P-40B Warhawk fighters, the 309th FS relocated to New Orleans to transition to the P-39, and trained during the spring of 1942 for deployment overseas to England.

Thyng was promoted to captain on April 4.

In May, it staged to Grenier Field, New Hampshire, to train for long-distance over-water flights using drop tanks, for which the P-39 was found to be unsuitable.

The headquarters and ground echelon of the 309th FS shipped out to England on June 4, 1942, aboard HMS Queen Elizabeth (1913) as part of Operation Bolero.

Arriving at its new base at High Ercall without aircraft on June 11, the squadron began flight training on Spitfire V fighters provided by the RAF beginning June 26.

On August 19, 1942, the 31st Fighter Group flew eleven missions and 123 sorties in support of Operation Jubilee, the Allied raid on Dieppe, France.

There it encountered its first opposition from Luftwaffe fighters and recorded its first kills.

On October 26, 1942, the 31st shipped its Spitfires by sea to Gibraltar, to provide air support for Operation Torch as part of the Twelfth Air Force.

Major Thyng and two other 31st FG pilots counter-attacked and shot down three of the four D.520's. (USAF Historical Study No. 105, Air Phase of the North African Invasion, November 1942, Thomas J. Mayock)

His first assignment was as a pursuit pilot with the 94th Pursuit Squadron, 1st Pursuit Group, at Selfridge Field, Michigan.

The personnel of the 1st Pursuit Group provided cadre and instructors for new pursuit groups being mobilized by the U.S. Army Air Forces in preparation for World War II.

The 12 Spitfires of the 308th FS landed without incident but as the 309th began landing, it was attacked by the four aircraft, now seen to be Vichy French Dewoitine D.520 fighters.

Thyng was granted a "probable" kill of an Fw 190 and was awarded the Silver Star for flying top cover for a rescue mission of a downed 31st FG pilot.

On August 20 the 309th FS conducted the first American escort mission for U.S. B-17 Flying Fortress bombers, and on August 29 the 31st FG flew its first group mission.