The atomic bomb was a very powerful and dangerous weapon. The true story of the 345th bomb group and its low. The book follows the 345th bomb group, the famous air apaches, on its journey fighting with lowlevel b25 strafers across the southwest pacific from new guinea to the home islands of japan. After the north african landings came the battle of kasserine pass, a german counter offensive, the failure of.
The illustrated history of the 345th bombardment group during wwii. This book came to our attention because of a posting by kens soninlaw, dave foulk. It is hoped, as you browse through this book in future years, it will serve to remind you of your many friends and. Stone was a member of the 7 th air force, 11 th bombardment group h, 431 st bomb squadron and he flew 40 combat missions as a bombardier on a b24 liberator. Nineonine was a boeing b17g30bo flying fortress heavy bomber, of the 323rd bomb squadron, 91st bomb group, that completed 140 combat missions during world war ii, believed to be the eighth air force record for most missions, without loss to the crews that flew it. Historic wendover airfield is dedicated to preserving world war ii army air force history, educating present and future generations about this period and having visitors experience the feelings and understand the circumstances of the ww ii era participants. Books by ray bowden covering usaaf ww2 history are available to buy.
The 489th bomb group collection is dedicated to these brave people. Entering combat in june of 1944, the 444th bg was truly an elite unit. He is the author, among other books, of hells angels. After the north african landings came the battle of kasserine pass, a german counter offensive, the failure of which became the turning point of the war. Additional detailed information on nineonine can be found on wikipedia. Memoir of wwii b25 pilot jay moore, member of the 345th bomb group, 501st squadron. United states air force, world war 19391945, regimental histories, 444th bombardment group, 676th bomb squadron, 677th bomb squadron, 678th bomb squadron. Ground echelon arrived at camp patrick henry, virginia, late in the evening.
This book has been prepared and published in the belief that every member of the 497th bomb group will want to have its glorious combat history preserved and that every member will desire to have a copy. The pictorial history of the 444th bombardment group, very heavy special 444th bombardment group on. Following the attack on pearl harbor, the squadron performed antisubmarine patrols. Thought id check to see if anybody might know which mission this is from. History books aircraft time line commanders main bases component units assigned to history. Information for this section is taken from the book a history of the 489th bomb group, by kind permission of charles h freudenthal, veteran of the 489th bomb group, and remains with him. The format for these histories have gone through many changes since they were originally started by major richard f. Richard lynch 44th bgva treasurer 109 jason road box 518 conrad, ia. The 444th bombardment group was a b29 group that operated against japan, first using bases in india and staging posts in china and then from tinian. A crashed b24 liberator of the 44th bomb group, november 1943. The birth pangs were suffered solely by the 3rd bomb group, who furnished the personnel.
Feb 22, 20 this group honors the men who served in the 494th bombardment group h of the 7th air force during wwii. Facebook is showing information to help you better understand the purpose of a page. A new history of the 385th bomb group h hardcover january 1, 1995 by w. Unable to see the primary target today colonel gent led the group over the small port of savona, italy. Dewey christopher, now a retired master sergeant and veteran of world war ii and the 100th bombardment group and 351st bomb squadron. This website is dedicated to preserving the history of the 445th bombardment group heavy that was part of the 8th air force during world war ii. Liberators over germany in world war ii schiffer military history book jeffrey e brett on. There is an entry for each credited mission which that individual flew.
The pictorial history of the 444th bombardment group, very. We would appreciate it if you would share your affiliation with or reason for joining the 305th bomb group page. They located a place called bikini island which is in the western pacific ocean. I have a small group from a pilot with the 94th bomb group which included this mission brief. His history of the group was published by the 449th bomb group association in 1985 as book i in the associations history series. Bikini had great terrain, weather, and was the perfect size.
Grottaglie, and home book iii a history of the 449th bomb group volume 3 by members of the 449th bomb group association. Nov 04, 20 i have found your photos of the 94th bomb group. The 456th bomb group flew 249 bombing missions from italy while assigned to the. The groups final mission was on 10th november 1944 when the 489th were redeployed to the united states for training for the pacific, although many of the aircraft and personnel were reassigned to other bomb groups in the 8th air force. A new history of the 385th bomb group h varnedoe, w. At the time he was assigned to the 855th bomb sqn, the 2641st special operations group p did not exist yet. The book chronicles the first 24 years of his life 192145 from growing up on a farm in biggsville, il, through the 1930s depression, to. A heavy bombardment group, the 456th operated b24 liberator aircraft and was known unofficially as steeds flying colts, after its commander. A pilot of the 391st bomb squadron, 34th bomb group looks out the cockpit of his b17 flying fortress serial number 448327 nicknamed goombah image via malcolm corum handwritten caption on reverse. Books by ray bowden covering usaaf ww2 history and in particular the 91bg and 100bg, are available to buy. Check out the new look and enjoy easier access to your favorite features.
A compiled list of all b17s assigned to the 2nd bomb group, 97th bg, 99th bg, 301st bg, 463rd bg, and the 483rd bg. Welcome, pat smith, to the 305th bomb group fb group. Just a few rules about posting material on this page. B176 bn 85bo r, sn 4338327 391st sq 34th bg, mendlesham, sta 156, lt. The 489th bomb group was made up of four squadrons. Unfortunately, i dont see a date or target location on it. An airman of the 34th bomb group, stands with a b17 flying fortress at mendelsham. Historic wendover airfield foundation wendover, utah. The 27th group the 27th bomb group l came into being in february, 1940, at barksdale field.
Organization of the 456th bomb group h the 456th bomb group heavy was created constituted on 14 may 1943, by special order of the second air force as a bomber unit planned for future deployment to the eighth air force in the united kingdom group commanders of the 456th bomb group. He comes to us with seventeen months experience and should be a very valuable addition to the s2 section. Many of these missions were flown at 50 to 100 feet above the targets and produced, from a rearward mounted camera below the rear fuselage, some of the. During the 17 months this unit was deployed to england, they flew 280 combat missions between dec 43 and 25 apr 45. T ough luck, hard luck, bad luck, illfated and jinxed are among the many phrases used to describe this groups fate during its 89 days of combat service in world war ii. May 29, 2017 the 489th bomb group collection is dedicated to these brave people. Captain myers has been a squadron s2 with the 376th bomb group h. Historical database containing names,missions,aircraft and personal biographies of the men and women that served in the 44th bomb group durring world war ii. Gotham colony road west lafayette in 479061209 usa email. In order to do experiments they had to find a test location. This book has been prepared and published in the belief that every member of the 497th bomb group will want to have its glorious combat history preserved. The 44th bombardment group was one of those eighth air force units that flew the b24 for the entire war, spending an unusually large amount of its time on tactical missions, as well as contributing detachments to the fighting in italy. His groups tasking was insertion and support of clandestine night operations, such as delivering personnel and supplies.
Varnedoe author see all formats and editions hide other formats and editions. Searchable data base containing details are gathered from veterans, diary notes, official archive records, photographs and more. Many years after the war the 492nd association adopted the name the happy warriors, the. Usaaf nose art research project research study into named planes of usaaf during world war two wwii. The 456th bomb group heavy was an air combat unit of the united states army air forces during the second world war. The 489th bomb group were stationed at halesworth between april and november 1944. History of the 68th bomb squadron, 44th bomb group. After a year piecing together the fragments of wallys war that he took to the grave, i stumbled upon a profound illustration of his great sacrifice thanks to the story the data told. I would like to use one or two to illustrate a chapter in a book i am writing. Although its a piece of fiction, the backdrop of the story. The group was activated as the 444th bombardment group heavy in march 1943 and trained with a mix of b17s, b25s and b26s. Gleason 442nd, 444th bomb squadron, 320th bomb group in the fall of 1943 as far as i can recall, we were back, once again, at barksdale field in shreveport, louisiana.
The 484 th bombardment group association was established to. Official homepage of the 385th bomb group association. It is 292 pages contains more than 600 photographs, and will fit on your bookshelf with the same profile as the earlier book. Army air force, aaf505 handwritten caption on reverse. The copilots demons is a novel about a copilot in the 2 nd bomb group. The group was known as the flying eightballs and each b24 liberator it flew was decorated with a winged bomb cartoon of an 8ball pool ball over which.
Three of the groups veterans navigator henry sienkiewicz, ball turret gunner len estrin, and tail gunner henry kolinek attended along with wives, children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews, and friends of the group. All in all, the 44th bomb group in world war ii is a wellresearched, nicely illustrated, comprehensive tribute to all the men who made up this most distinguished unit. The 484 th bombardment group h was part of the 49 th bombardment wing, fifteenth air force during world war ii. The group is commemorated in halesworth by a granite memorial stone situated on the edge of holton airfield and also by a memorial plaque in st peters church, holton. The 489th bomb group h was activated on 1st october 1943. Colonel clarence l tinker, lost in action in midway battle, was the first commanding officer, succeeded shortly thereafter by lt. Three of the groups veterans navigator henry sienkiewicz, ball turret gunner len estrin, and tail gunner henry kolinek attended along with wives, children, grandchildren, nieces. I ant to illustrate a story of a 94th group member who survived being shotdown and who returned on the freighter s.
This website honors and preserves the record of the 497th. Bomb wing reads in the order of the mediterranean campaigns. At the time, there was no official nickname for the 492nd bomb group. According to research, the 885th bs did not belong to a bomb group, but reported directly to 15th air force hq. To see how the 484 th fit into the structure of the fifteenth air force, take a look at the fifteenth air force website our mission.
It was last assigned to the 34th bombardment group at sioux falls army air field, south dakota, where it was inactivated on 28 august 1945. Personal mission history requests are available for the air crew members only of the 445th bomb group. Welcome, melissa smith, to the 305th bomb group fb group. After the us dropped the bomb on hiroshima scientist wanted to experiment with the bomb. The 494th flew b24 liberator and b25 mitchell bombers and served throughout the pacific theater from late 1944 until late 1945, paving the way for progress toward the japanese mainland by bombing targets in the carolines, palaus, marianas, volcano, philippines, ryukyus, china, and. The true story of the 303rd bomb group in world war ii, fighter group. The book chronicles the first 24 years of his life 192145 from growing up on a farm in biggsville, il, through the 1930s depression, to combat duty in the south pacific. General doolittle and his staff dubbed them the hard luck group. The data were taken from the loading lists of these missions as preserved in the u. I am connected to the 44th bomb group because of my grandfather, who was a gunner on the esteemed burns crew. From the map it looks like schweinfurts location and i thought it migh. A group of thirtynine folks recently traveled to england for the 384th bomb groups junket xi. This extremely detailed and gripping history of the 448th bomb group heavy which covers the turbulent 1.
It was last assigned to the 34th bombardment group at sioux falls army air field, south dakota, where it was inactivated on 28 august 1945 the squadron was activated in january 1941 at langley field, virginia. A bombardment group or bomb group was a group of bomber aircraft the united states army. Appears to be the name of the aircraft or airman depicted. Most of the missions were flown on the flying jenny. The 448th bombardment group was a b24 liberator unit of the eighth air force that operated from seething from december 1943 until the end of the war in europe. Find great deals on ebay for bomb group and bombardment group. The 390th bomb group flew b17 flying fortresses from framlingham, suffolk, between july 1943 and the end of the war in europe. Wwii 94th bomb group mission brief which mission is it. The 4th bombardment squadron is an inactive united states air force unit.
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