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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42-37760
B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Denver 19/8/43; Assigned 532BS/381BG [VE-F] Ridgewell 20/9/43; after 6 missions transferred AFSC, 487BG Lavenham; APH & Azon duties at Knettishall /44. AVENGER.
Service
Units
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VIII Air Force Service Command
Command
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381st Bomb Group
Group
The 381st Bomb Group flew B-17 Flying Fortresses from Ridgewell, Essex between June 1943 and April 1945. The Group was awarded two Distinguished Unit Citations, the first for bombing shipyards at Bremen, whilst under heavy attack, on 8 October 1943 and... -
388th Bomb Group
Group
The 388th Bomb Group flew strategic bombing mission from Knettishall, Suffolk from June 1943 to the end of the war. During this time, though, detachments were sent to Fersfield, Norfolk to conduct Aphrodite missions. In these Aphrodite missions veteran... -
487th Bomb Group
Group
The 487th Bomb Group began operations as preparations for D-Day were reaching their crescendo and played their part by bombing airfields in northern France. Like the 486th Bomb Group, the 487th switched to B-17 Flying Fortress for missions from 1... -
532nd Bomb Squadron
Squadron
Places
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Fersfield
Military site : airfield
Originally named Winfarthing when the site was allocated to the Eighth Air Force in 1942, it was renamed Fersfield when built for the Eighth Air Force 1943-44. USAAF and US Navy projects 'Aphrodite' 'Batty' and 'Anvil' (attempts to develop and use... -
Knettishall
Military site : airfield
Knettishall was built to Class A standard for an American Bomb Group that would be bringing up to forty heavy bombers with them in three or four Squadrons. The 388th Bomb Group, which stayed at Knettishall for their entire service in the ETO, flew B-17... -
Lavenham
Military site : airfield
Lavenham was built as a standard USAAF bomber airfield, with fifty hardstandings, T2 hangars and 2,000 and 1,400 feet runways. John Laing and Son Ltd. carried out the work in 1943, and the airfield opened in April 1944. The 487th Bomb Group occupied... -
Ridgewell
Military site : airfield
Built during 1941-42 as an RAF bomber station, Ridgewell operated as a satellite to RAF Stradishall until May 1943. It had three concrete runways, initially 36 pan hardstandings, and two dispersed T2 hangars. Taken over by the Eighth Air Force in June...
Events
| Event | Location | Date |
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| Manufactured | Long Beach, CA, USA | August 1943 |
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Built at Douglas, Long Beach. |
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| Delivered | Buckley AFB, Aurora, CO, USA | 19 August 1943 |
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Delivered USAAF, Denver Field 19/8/43. |
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| Assigned | Ridgewell, Halstead, Essex CO9, UK | 20 September 1943 |
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Assigned 532nd BS, 381st BG, 8AF 20/9/43. |
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| Transferred | 1944 | |
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Transferred VIII Air Force Support Command. |
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| Transferred | Knettishall, Diss, Suffolk IP22, UK | 1944 |
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Transferred to 388BG Aphrodite & Azon duties at Knettishall. |
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| Transferred | Lavenham, Sudbury, Suffolk CO10, UK | 4 June 1944 |
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Transferred to 487th BG Lavenham. 4/6/44. |
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Revisions
| Date | Contributor | Update |
|---|---|---|
| 13 January 2016 09:41:35 | Al_Skiff | Changes to events |
| Sources | ||
AAM DB Entry. |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 12 January 2016 23:08:31 | Al_Skiff | Changes to production block number, manufacturer, nicknames, markings, events, unit associations and place associations |
| Sources | ||
AAM DB Entry. |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 27 September 2014 18:40:44 | AAM | AAM ingest |
| Sources | ||
Dave Osborne, B-17 Fortress Master Log |
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