3rd Bomb Division
Division
The 3rd Bomb Division was Constituted in August 1943. In December 1944, the Division was redesginated the 3rd Air Division.
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42-29780
B-17 Flying Fortress
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B-17F 4229780 'Silver Queen' 334th BS, 95th BG, 8th AF USAAF.
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A C-47 Skytrain (serial number 43-8386) of the 27th Transport Group and a B-17 Flying Fortress (serial number 42-29780) nicknamed "Silver Queen" used as a hack by General Curtiss Le May. Double yellow bar on the tail of the C-47 marked the aircraft as a member of air service command, while the insignia on the nose is that of 27th Transport Group. Image via Mark Brown, AFA. Written on slide casing: 'C47 43-8386. Heston- 38D Silver Queen.'
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Delivered Denver 17/2/43; Gore Fd 8/3/43; Gulfport 31/3/43; Assigned 334BS/95BG [BG-P] Alconbury 5/4/43; 335BS [OE-P]; 6m, transferred 92BG Alconbury 12/6/43 but switched to 3BD HQ as hack for Curtis Le May; Returned to the USA Grenier 26/12/44; Patterson 28/4/45; Reconstruction Finance Corporation (sold for scrap metal in USA) Walnut Ridge 5/1/46. (first NMF aircraft in 8AF).
Service
Units
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92nd Bomb Group Fame's Favoured Few
Group
The 92nd Group sometime after arrivial in the UK converted to the role of in-theater combat crew indocrination and training. For this role, the Group traded its B-17F complement and obtained the B-17E, mostly from the 97th BG which was departing for... -
95th Bomb Group
Group
The 95th Bomb Group was the only Eighth Air Force Group to be awarded three Distinguished Unit Citations. The first, shared by all four Bomb Wing Groups, was for the bombing of an aircraft factory under intense enemy fire at Regensburg on 17 August... -
334th Bomb Squadron
Squadron
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335th Bomb Squadron
Squadron
People
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Curtis LeMay
Military | General | Commanding General | 305th Bomb Group Can Do
306th Temporary Deputy Commander at Wendover, then transferred as Group Commander of 305th BG 4-Jun-42 to 15-May-43. ... -
Elmer Richardson
Military | Major | Pilot | 493rd Bomb Group
Places
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Honington
Military site : airfield
Honington was in use by Eighth Air Force units for a longer period than any other air base in England. The air base, built in the mid 1930s as part of the RAF's expansion programme had seen plenty of action as an RAF base before it was handed over to...
Events
| Event | Location | Date |
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| Crashed | Bury St Edmunds, Bury Saint Edmunds, Suffolk, UK | 8 February 1944 |
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Take Off Accident, Bury St Edmunds/Sta 468, Cat 3 damage Lt Elmer M Richardson, 8-2-44. |
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| Returned Stateside | Grenier Field Rd, Londonderry, NH 03053, USA | 26 December 1944 |
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Returned to the USA Grenier 26/12/44. |
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Revisions
| Date | Contributor | Update |
|---|---|---|
| 29 November 2019 10:06:46 | Emily | Changes to nicknames, markings, description, unit associations and place associations |
| Sources | ||
Freeman, Mighty Eighth War Manual p.160 |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 14 December 2015 14:44:12 | Al_Skiff | Changes to unit associations |
| Sources | ||
AAM DB Entry Correction. |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 02 December 2015 21:14:39 | Al_Skiff | Changes to production block number, nicknames, markings, events, unit associations, person associations and place associations |
| Sources | ||
AAM DB Entry. |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 27 September 2014 18:40:23 | AAM | AAM ingest |
| Sources | ||
Dave Osborne, B-17 Fortress Master Log |
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