The 357th Fighter Group was composed of three units, the 362nd, 363rd and 364th Fighter Squadron. Throughout its combat career the group flew P-51 Mustangs, starting off with the P-51B model and progressing to the faster and better designed P-51K's by the end of the war.

Dubbed the ‘Cadillac of the Skies” the P-51 was one of the few aircraft with enough range (1000-mile radius with two drop tanks equipped) to escort 8th Air Force Bombers from bases in England to targets in the Third Reich. These aircraft carried six Browning 12.7mm heavy machineguns and 1880 rounds of ammunition making them one of the most lethal of Allied air-to-air fighters although they were still under gunned by some Nazi fighters. However, the Mustang had enough speed (438mph) to make up for any armament shortcoming.