P-51 "Helen" 325th Fighter Group Ace Arthur Fiedler Print

Col. Arthur Fiedler flew the number 35 P-51D Mustang, which he named after his wife “Helen”, when he was assigned to the 317^th Fighter Squadron, 325^th Fighter Group, 15^th USAAF in Lesina, Italy. The 325^th Fighter Group was also known as the “Checkertail Clan”.

He flew 66 combat missions and he is credited with eight air-to-air victories and one probable, making him an Ace. On June 28, 1944, he claimed his first two victories, both Bf 109s, during a fighter sweep over the massive oil refineries in Polesti, Romania. His third victory came on July 9th, when he destroyed a Bf 109, again near Polesti. He became an ace on July 26, 1944, when he downed a Bf 109 and then a Fw 190. During the mission, he and his squadron jumped 64 Fw 190s that were attacking a formation of B-17s 20 miles southwest of Wiener Neustadt, Austria. His armourers then named his guns “Hell’s Bells”. On September 15, 1944, he shot down a Ju 52 during a mission to Greece, and on October 12th, he downed a He 111 near Budapest, Hungary. He scored his last victory on January 20, 1945, when his flight of four P-51s intercepted 40 German fighters that were attacking the B-17 group they were escorting to Regensburg, Germany.

After the war, he attended the University of Illinois, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in engineering. He was recalled to active duty during the Korean War, and flew over 1000 combat sorties in C-130s during the Viet-Nam war.

He was awarded the Silver Star, the Legion of Merit, the Distinguished Flying Cross with one Oak Leaf Cluster, the Air Medal with 21 Oak Leaf Clusters, the Yugoslavian Partisan Star, plus numerous awards and decorations. He retired from the United States Air Force in 1975.