Charles F. Gumm Jr. was a pilot with 355th Fighter Squadron. He became the first pilot to shoot down an enemy plane in the P-51 Mustang and was the first flying ace of the 354th Fighter Group.

In a mission to Bremen on December 16, 1943, Gumm shot down a Messerschmitt Bf 109. The aerial victory made Gumm, the first pilot to shot down an enemy plane while flying the P-51 Mustang. In the same mission, he damaged a Junkers Ju 88. Gumm continued to score additional aerial victories within two months. He scored his fifth aerial victory, when he shot down a Bf 110 over Brunswick, Germany. This made him the first flying ace of the 354th FG.

During his time with 354th FG, Gumm scored 6 aerial victories, 2 probables and 8 damaged.

Death

On March 1, 1944, Gumm was taking a P-51 on a check flight, when its engine quit. He could have bailed out safely, but realized his aircraft might hit the village of Nayland and might claim innocent lives. He therefore decided to remain in his P-51, in order to steer it away from the village and to attempt a forced landing. But his aircraft hit a tree and flipped, and he was thrown out and killed.

For his heroic actions, Gumm posthumously received the Soldier's Medal. His heroism was recounted at the time in the newspaper Stars and Stripes.

Assigned to the 27th's 552nd Fighter-Bomber Squadron, 1st Lt. Michael T. Russo, from Cleveland, Ohio, scored his first victory in the dive bomber version of the Mustang on 13 September 1943