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Page 214 of the 401st Bomb Group unit history.
Many of the 8th Air Force Groups produced an unofficial unit history in the months after the war ended in Europe but before they were redeployed out of the ETO (European Theater of Operations).
Resembling a college yearbook, unit histories were an unofficial – and often tongue-in-cheek – record of the unit’s time based in the UK. They include photo montages showing different aspects of base life. Often the servicemen in the photos are unnamed. The American Air Museum hopes that by adding unit histories to the website as individual pages, the men in the photos will be identified and associated to their person entries. Many included lists of personnel and a mailing address, providing a means for servicemen to keep in contact with each other after the war. These lists are now incredibly useful records of where US airmen in England in 1945 called their home.
Group
The 401st Bomb Group flew B-17 Flying Fortresses from Deenethorpe, Northamptonshire, from November 1943 to June 1945. Starting their missions at that time meant the focus was very much on the coming invasion attempt of France planned for the following...
Military | First Lieutenant | Navigator
Had the pleasure of personally delivering his bomb to Germany. He is a navigator but when the "Oshkosh Bomb" was dropped he operated the toggle. He was later KIA.
Military | First Lieutenant | Navigator
Assigned to 615BS, 401BG, 8AF USAAF. 31 x missions. Ended Tour Duty (ETD).
Awards: WWII Victory, EAME.
Military | Master Sergeant | Crew Chief
Military site : airfield
Deenethorpe was a base purpose-built for American heavy bombers, with the Class A regulation 2,000 and 1,400-yard runways. All the buildings on site,such as the accommodation and administrative blocks, were temporary. In December 1943, several local...
| Date | Contributor | Update |
|---|---|---|
| 12 July 2017 10:43:23 | general ira snapsorter | Created entry with collection, caption and unit associations |
| Sources | ||
An original copy of the 401st Bomb Group unit history in IWM’s Roger Freeman Collection, printed in 1946. |
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