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Military site : airfield
Aerial photograph of Great Dunmow airfield looking south, Easton Lodge is bottom left, 8 May 1948. Photograph taken by No. 58 Squadron, sortie number RAF/58/11. English Heritage (RAF Photography).
Colonel Glenn E. Duncan, Commanding Officer of the 353rd Fighter Group from 25 November 1943 until 7 July 1944, when he was reported MIA. He evaded and resumed his command on 22 April 1945. Colonel Ben Rimerman, the officer on the right, was the 353rd Fighter Group's Commanding Officer in Col. Duncan's absence. May - August 1945. Colonel Rimerman was killed when the P-51 Mustang he was a passenger in crashed near Great Dunmow, Essex, on 11 August 1945. The pilot Captain William J. Maguire, who had flown with the 351st Fighter Squadron of the 353rd Fighter Group throughout the war, was also killed. They are both buried at the Cambridge American Cemetery.
'Rat Poison' (AN-S), the lead ship in a box of Marauders from the 386th
USAAF 43-34210 B-26G Marauder AN-V 'La Polma' assigned to the 553rd Bombardment Squadron of the 386th Bomb Group
USAAF 43-43210 'AN-V' B-26G Marauder assigned to the 553rd Bombardment Squadron of the 386th Bomb Group
USAAF 41-31275 'AN-T' B-26 Marauder assigned to the 553rd Bombardment Squadron of the 386th Bomb Group
"Blazing Heat", 553rd Squadron, 386th Bomb Group, AN-J, 131585.Crash landed at Great Dunmow, June 23, 1944
Martin Marauder B-26B 41-31755 554th BS, 386th BG, 9th AF. Written off after crash-landing in France on October 7,1944. NARA Ref 342-FH-3A46393-A69806AC.
Martin Marauder B-26B 41-31755 'Ye Olde Crocke' of the 554th BS 386th BG, 9AF .
"Crew of the Martin B-26 Marauder 'Lady Luck' of the 554th Bomb Squadron, 386th Bomb Group pose by their plane at their base In Boxted Field, Essex, England On 4 January 1944." - B-26C serial 41-34947 'Lady Luck' (coded RU-K) of the 554th Bomb Sq, 386th BG. Standing, from left: James Baxter, (CP); Emmett Curran, (P); Roy Stroud, (N/B). Kneeling, from left: Robert Mixter, (E); John Lennon, (R); Robert Dall, (G). Pilot is James A Baxter Sr. (top left) here is another picture of the crew on a different day: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1695617196825&l=2d03baae27 Ground crew names on nosewheel door are Sgt Bob 'Shadow' Baron and Sgt Harry 'Wolf' Moore. NARA Ref 342-FH-3A11149-69801AC.
The airfield, two miles north-west of Great Dunmow, was built in 1942-1943 by the US Army's 818th Engineer Battalion (Aviation), alongside British contractors. B-26 Marauders of the 386th Bomb Group moved in in September 1943, and in October the Group transferred from the Eighth to the Ninth Air Force.
General Dwight D Eisenhower, the Supreme Allied Commander, made an official visit to the airfield in April 1944. Three months later, the resident 386th Bomb Group began trials of the new A-26 Invader bomber from Gt Dunmow.
In October 1944, the airfield was handed over to the RAF, serving as a base for Short Stirling transporters under 38 Group. The Stirlings were replaced with Handley Page Halifaxes in 1945.
After the war, Great Dunmow was used as a vehicle store, before the airfield was abandoned in 1948. Also in 1948, the Anglo-American Goodwill Association erected a memorial on the southern edge of the site to the crews that once flew from the airfield.
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Group
The 386th Bomb Group flew B-26 Marauders for the Eighth and Ninth Air Forces. Whilst with the Eighth, the Group developed the formation release procedure for the B-26 on missions that targeted aerodromes, marshalling yards and V-weapon sites along the...
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Military | First Lieutenant | Co-Pilot | 386th Bomb Group
Hubert Altvater was a Co-Pilot in the 386th Bomb Group. He was on B-26 # 42-96184 on his 64th mission on 6 August 1944 when it was hit by Flak and crashed into the sea off Trouville-sur-Mer, France. Gunner Franklin Swanson was killed and the five...
Military | Staff Sergeant | Waist gunner | 386th Bomb Group
Robert Becker served as a waist gunner with the 555th Bomb Squadron of the 386th Bomb Group. On 13 December 1943, he was flying in B-26 41-31625 'Hell's Fury' when it was shot down near Schiphol, Holland. He is buried in a shared grave in Arlington...
Military | Technical Sergeant | Engineer / Gunner | 386th Bomb Group
Assigned to 451BS, 322BG, 9AF USAAF. Failed to Return (FTR) 10-Feb-44 in B-26 41-34947 'Lady Luck' when flak shell hit fuel tank of starboard wing, wing detached at nacelle and A/C tumbled on fire. France. Killed in Action (KIA) MACR 2082
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Military | Staff Sergeant | Tail gunner | 386th Bomb Group
Assigned to the 553BS, 386tBG, 9AF USAAF. Failed to Return (FTR) mission to bomb a bridge near Ecouché 28-Jul-44. Collided with Fw190 fighter. Killed in Action (KIA). MACR 7016.
Awards: AM, PH.
Military | First Lieutenant | Pilot | 386th Bomb Group
Assigned to the 553BS, 386BG, 9AF USAAF. Failed to Return (FTR) mission to bomb a bridge near Ecouché 28-Jul-44. Collided with Fw190 fighter. Killed in Action (KIA). MACR 7016.
Awards: AM (4OLC), PH.
Military | First Lieutenant | Bombardier | 386th Bomb Group
Assigned to the 553BS, 386BG, 9AF USAAF. Failed to Return (FTR) mission to bomb a bridge near Ecouché 28-Jul-44. Collided with Fw190 fighter. Killed in Action (KIA). MACR 7016.
Awards: PH.
Military | Second Lieutenant | Navigator; Bombardier | 386th Bomb Group
Killed in Action (KIA) on 27-Sep-43 in B-26C 41-34987 'Danny Boy II', 386BG/552BS while serving as Navigator/Bombardier. The aircraft took a direct hit from AA fire in the left engine enroute to bomb the German airfield at Conches, France. The aircraft...
Military | First Lieutenant | Pilot | 386th Bomb Group
Killed in Action (KIA) on 27-Sep-43 in B-26C 41-34987 'Danny Boy II', 386BG/552BS while serving as Pilot. The aircraft took a direct hit by AA fire in the left engine while enroute to bomb the German airfield at Conshes, France. The aircraft crashed...
Military | Technical Sergeant | Radio operator | 386th Bomb Group
Assigned to the 553BS, 386BG, 9AF USAAF. Failed to Return (FTR) mission to bomb a bridge near Ecouché 28-Jul-44. Collided with Fw190 fighter. Killed in Action (KIA). MACR 7016.
Awards: PH.
Military | First Lieutenant | Bombardier / Navigator | 386th Bomb Group
Assigned to 552BS, 386BG, 9AF USAAF. Member of training crew #21.
Awards: AM, WWII Victory, EAME.
B-17 Flying Fortress
Assigned 401BS/91BG [LL-C] Bangor 31/8/42; Bassingbourn 1/10/42; on return from Cognac 43+m 31/12/43, diverted through weather to Gt Dunmow, Andrews Field, then Hunsdon Afd, with Hilary Evers, Co-pilot: Paul McDuffee, Navigator: Frank Keneley,...
B-26 Marauder
B-26 Marauder
Shot down 13 December 1943 near Schiphol, Holland.
For an account of this mission see: http://www.b26.com/historian/chester_klier/055.htm
B-26 Marauder
Assigned to 555BS, 381BG, 9AF USAAF. Failed to Return (FTR) St Omer, France 8-Sep-43 last seen with engine feathered dropping out of formation escorted by several Spitfires.
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B-26 Marauder
Assigned to the 553rd Bombardment Squadron of the 386th Bomb Group, 9th AF. Failed to Return (FTR) mission to bomb a bridge near Ecouché 28-Jul-44. Collided with Fw190 fighter. 6 x KIA. MACR 7016.
B-26 Marauder
554BS, 386BG, 9AF "Lady Luck". Lost 10-Feb-44 when flak shell hit fuel tank of starboard wing, wing detached at nacelle and A/C tumbled on fire. France. 1 x POW, 5 x KIA. MACR 2082.
...
B-26 Marauder
B-26C-15-MA 41-34987 "Danny Boy II" was assigned to the 386BG/552BS at Great Dunmow, UK. On 27-Sep-43 the Group was despatched to bomb the German airfield at Conches, France. Un-route to the target the aircraft took a direct hit from AA fire in the...
B-26 Marauder
42-96184 was on its second mission of the day on 6 August 1944. The target were fuel dumps near the Forêt d'Andainne, East of Domfront, Calvados, France. Hit by 88mm Flak shell above Le Havre, causing fire in the right engine. Three parachutes were...
B-26 Marauder
Assigned to 554BS, 386BG, 9AF USAAF. Transferred to 451BS, 322BG, 9AF USAAF. Destroyed in fatal mid air collision. 2Lt James A Shettles Killed in Action (KIA). 18-Mar-45.
B-26 Marauder
| Date | Contributor | Update |
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| 29 December 2016 17:06:48 | SavvyGA | Changes to description |
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Added Eisenhower and A-26 testing. |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 29 December 2016 17:05:20 | SavvyGA | Changes to description |
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Added Eisenhower and A-26 testing. |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 29 December 2016 16:58:24 | SavvyGA | Changes to description |
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Clarified RAF use as being under 38 Group (ie not Bomber Command). |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 27 September 2014 18:02:16 | AAM | AAM ingest |
| Sources | ||
Barry Anderson, Army Air Forces Stations (Alabama, 1985) / Roger Freeman, Airfields of the Eighth Then And Now (London, 1978). |
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