A DESCENDANT of the old-time 31st Pursuit Group, the 35th arrived in Australia on February 25, 1942, and in June relieved the 8th Group of its defense responsibilities at Port Moresby. Since then it has been in the thick of the SWPA air war, flying P-39's, P-40's, P-38's, P-47's and finally, in 1945, P-51's.

The 35th established its reputation quickly in the air defense of Papua, which included participation in the Battle of the Bismarck Sea. It also had a share in the great strikes against Rabaul and in the destruction of enemy air power at Wewak. In the summer of 1944 it became an effective fighter-bomber outfit and joined in the neutralization of the Moluccas. Its P-47's escorted B-24's to Balikpapan, Borneo, in October on the longest fighter mission ever flown in the theater. Finally, converting to new P-51's, the group continued its fighter-bomber work in the Philippines. Its combat score stands at 397 victories. It was the first VFC unit to hit the Japanese homeland.