8th Air Force
Eighth Air Force Bomber Command became the Eighth Air Force on February 1944, it oversaw bombardment of strategic targets in Europe until 1945.
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41-24560
B-17 Flying Fortress
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Little Audrey, 41-24560
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41-24560, Little Audrey
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LT L. McKintyre (listed in post-mission reports as McIntire) and crew of Little Audrey, B-17F 41-24560 , 29 Aug 1943. Front row: unknown, unknown, unknown, unknown Back row: Neil Brennan, unknown, unknown, unknown, unknown, unknown
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Mission 90 Report, a/c 41-24560
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Mission 88 Report, a/c 41-24560
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Mission 87 Report, a/c 41-24560
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Mission 86 Report, a/c 41-24560
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Mission 84 report, a/c 41-24560
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Mission 83 report, a/c 41-24560
Assigned 368BS/306BG [BO-D] New Castle 4/10/42; Thurleigh 26/10/42; transferred 369BS [WW- ]; transferred 544BS/384BG [SU-A] Grafton Underwood 5/9/43; 1 Base Air Depot, Burtonwood 15/3/44; Returned to the USA Homestead 14/5/44; Reconstruction Finance Corporation (sold for scrap metal in USA) Arledge Fd 23/11/44. LITTLE AUDREY.
Service
Units
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306th Bomb Group The Reich Wreckers
Group
Constituted as 306th Bombardment Group (Heavy) on 28 Jan 1942. Activated on 1 Mar 1942. Trained for combat with B-17's. Moved to England, Aug-Sep 1942, and assigned to Eighth AF Eighth Air Force in September 1942 Station 111 Thurleigh. During combat,... -
384th Bomb Group
Group
The 384th Bomb Group flew B-17s from Grafton Underwood, Northamptonshire, between May 1943 and June 1945. They were engaged in daylight bombing missions over Germany as part of the Allies' efforts to destroy the effectiveness of the Luftwaffe by... -
368th Bomb Squadron
Squadron
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369th Bomb Squadron
Squadron
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544th Bomb Squadron
Squadron
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Base Air Depot 1
Headquarters
People
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Neil Brennan
Military | Staff Sergeant | Air Gunner, Togglier/Bombardier | 306th Bomb Group The Reich Wreckers
Shot down 26 November 1943 in B-17 #4230832. Prisoner of War (POW). He was a Prisoner of War (POW) from 26 Nov. 1943 to 04 May 1945. He was at Stalag 17B, Krems, Austria. Prisoner of War (POW) no. 100388. POW -
William Colantoni
Military | First Lieutenant | Bombardier | 306th Bomb Group The Reich Wreckers
After graduation in 1935 from Centerville High School, he served in the U.S. Army Air Corps from 1935 to 1938, called back to active duty in 1941. He flew on Edward J. Hennessy crew. Reported to the ETO on 30 Dec 1942. He earned two probables enemy... -
Robert DeMille
Military | Second Lieutenant | Co-Pilot | 384th Bomb Group
Robert E. DeMille was my Father. He flew 32 missions in B-17's from Grafton-Underwood (384th BG/ 544th BS) and Chelveston in England. He never wanted to speak very much of his wartime experiences. He wanted to come home after his obligatory 25...
Missions
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VIII Bomber Command 84
17 August 1943
The mission flown on 17-Aug-43, the 1st anniversary of the 1st mission flown by the 8th Air Force, is probably the most written about mission of the war. This is the famous Schweinfurt/Regensburg mission on which 60 B-17s are lost. It has been dubbed ... -
VIII Bomber Command 86
24 August 1943
The 8th Air Force is intent on dishing out some "pay back" to the Luftwaffe for the toll it took on bombers of the 17-Aug-43 mission to Schweinfurt/Regensburg. So, This mission has three attack elements and a diversion element. The attack elements are... -
VIII Bomber Command 87
27 August 1943
This mission is the first attack by the USAAF on suspected V-Weapon sites. The German development of pilotless winged aircraft was first divulged to the British just shortly after the beginning of World War II in two letters sent to the British embassy... -
VIII Bomber Command 88
31 August 1943
This mission is composed of two elements. The first element is composed of 170 B-17s from: 91BG (16); 92BG (19); 303BG (20); 305BG (18); 306BG (18); 351BG (21); 379BG (21); 381BG (19); and 384BG (18). The primary target for this element is German... -
VIII Bomber Command 90
3 September 1943
German airfields in France and the Caudron-Renault works at Paris are the targets for this mission. The mission is composed of three elements. The first element is a combined force of 168 B-17s from: 91BG (14); 351BG (19); 381BG (22); 92BG (19); 305BG ...
Places
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Grafton Underwood
Military site : airfield
Grafton Underwood was built in 1941 by George Wimpey and Co. Ltd. It was the first airfield in England to receive an Eighth Air Force flying unit, when in May 1942 personnel of the 15th Bomb Squadron took up residence. As a satellite airfield for... -
Thurleigh
Military site : airfield
Built for RAF use in 1941-42, Thurleigh was initially used by RAF Bomber Command before being handed over to the Eighth Air Force. Its runways and hardstandings were improved, and the B-17s of the 306th Bomb Group began using the base. It was their...
Events
| Event | Location | Date |
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| Manufactured | Seattle, WA, USA | 1942 |
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Built at Boeing. |
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| Delivered | Washington, USA | 1942 |
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Delivered to USAAF. |
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| Assigned | New Castle, DE 19720, USA | 4 October 1942 |
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Assigned to 368BS, 306BG, 8AF USAAF. |
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| Assigned | Thurleigh, Bedford MK44, UK | 26 October 1942 |
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Transferred to 369BS, 306BG, 8AF USAAF. |
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| Assigned | Grafton Underwood NN14, UK | 5 September 1943 |
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Transferred to 544BS, 384BG, 8AF USAAF. |
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| Assigned | Burtonwood, UK | 15 March 1944 |
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Transferred to 1 Base Air Depot. |
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| Returned ZI | 360 Coral Sea Blvd, Homestead Afb, FL 33039, USA | 14 May 1944 |
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Returned to the USA Homestead AAF. |
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| Scrapped | Arledge Field, Avoca, TX 79503, USA | 23 November 1944 |
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Scrapped Arledge Field |
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Revisions
| Date | Contributor | Update |
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| 24 April 2017 16:27:34 | Al_Skiff | Changes to production block number, manufacturer, nicknames, markings, events, unit associations and place associations |
| Sources | ||
https://www.fold3.com/image/55703393/?terms=41-24560 |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 24 April 2017 15:20:21 | ThomBear | Changes to media associations |
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Family photo |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 24 April 2017 15:16:32 | ThomBear | Changes to media associations |
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306th BG Historical Records |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 24 April 2017 15:04:24 | ThomBear | Changes to nicknames |
| Sources | ||
306 BG Historical Association |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 27 September 2014 18:40:03 | AAM | AAM ingest |
| Sources | ||
Dave Osborne, B-17 Fortress Master Log |
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