Herbert Thatcher
Military | Colonel | Commanding Officer | 323rd Bomb Group
Trained B-26 outfit at Hunter, then Tampa, then to England. Became Lt. General - last commanded ADC and retired in 68
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Group
The 323rd Bombardment Group operated with B-26 Marauders, American medium bombers. They were the first Eighth Air Force Group to fly a medium level bombing mission with this aircraft on 16 July 1943. After flying a total of 33 missions with the Eighth, the Group were assigned to the Ninth Air Force, and they continued to fly strategic bombing missions over Europe throughout the war, staying at Earls Colne, Essex until 21 July 1944, at which point they moved to Beaulieu, England.
The 323rd moved to an airfield adjacent to the village of Lessay, France on 26 August 1944 and then moved to an airfield near Chartres, France on 21 September 1944. On 13 October 1944, the 323rd moved to Laon/Athies Airfield from which the group flew missions in the Battle of the Bulge from December 23 -27, 1944 for which the Distinguished Unit Citation was conferred upon the group. On 9 February 1945, the gorup moved to Denain/Pouvy Airdrome where is was stationed until 15 May 1945.
Selected Bibliography of Publications, Media and Websites:
Moench, John O. Marauder Men: An Account of the Martin B-26 Marauder: An Examination and History of the Martin B-26 Marauder and Those Who Built, Supported, and Flew It in World War II: USAF-USN-RAF-SAAF-FFAF: Includes an in Depth Account of the 323rd Bombardment Group (M) of the Eighth and Ninth Air Forces in Europe. Longwood, FL: Malia Enterprises, 1999.
Harlan, Ross E. Strikes: 323rd Bomb Group in World War II. Oklahoma City, OK: Oklahoma Cavanal Publishers, 2005.
Pyle, Ernie. Brave Men. New York: H. Holt and, 1944.
Rehr, Louis S., and Carleton R. Rehr. Marauder: Memoir of a B-26 Pilot in Europe in World War II. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2004.
70th Anniversary Tribute D-Day: 24 Hours That Saved the World. TIME, 2014.
Scutts, Jerry. B-26 Marauder Units of the Eighth and Ninth Air Forces. London: Osprey Aerospace, 1997.
Freeman, Roger Anthony., Trevor J. Allen, and Bernard Mallon. B-26 Marauder at War. New York: Scribner, 1978.
Moore, Carl H. Flying the B-26 Marauder over Europe: Memoir of a World War II Navigator. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company, 2013.
Butcher, Harry C. My Three Years with Eisenhower: The Personal Diary of Captain Harry C. Butcher, USNR, Naval Aide to General Eisenhower, 1942 to 1945. New York, NY: Simon and Schuster, 1946.
Ambrose, Stephen E. D-Day, June 6, 1944: The Climactic Battle of World War II. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1994.
B-26 Marauder Historical Society Return of the Marauder Men. Turner Publishing Company.
Military | Colonel | Commanding Officer | 323rd Bomb Group
Trained B-26 outfit at Hunter, then Tampa, then to England. Became Lt. General - last commanded ADC and retired in 68
Military | Colonel | Pilot and Commanding Officer 323rd BG | 323rd Bomb Group
Wilson Roe Wood was born May 29, 1918 in Chico, TX to Maude Elizabeth and Charles Proctor Wood. He was raised in Wise County on acres of farm/ranch land where he often saw planes overhead from bases in Ft. Worth and Wichita Falls, TX. He grew up...
Command
Wing
One of four original bombardment wings of the Eighth Air Force, the 3rd Bomb Wing comprised four groups of B-26 Marauder medium bombers by September 1943, as part of VIII Air Support Command.
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Squadron
Squadron
Squadron
Squadron
Selected Bibliography of Publications:
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Headquarters
16 July 1943
This is the first mission flown by medium bombers (B-26) of the VIII Air Service Command. 16 B-26s from 323rd Bomb Group are despatched to make an attack at medium altitude on the railroad marshaling yards at Abbeville, France. 14 are effective on the...
17 July 1943
This second mission by 16 B-26s from 323BG is a diversion flown in the Cayeux area of France. There are no losses or claims.
25 July 1943
18 B-26s are despatched from 323BG to attack the coke ovens at Ghent, Belgium. 13 of this force are effective on the target. Ther are no losses or claims. The force was escorted by Spitfires of the RAF.
26 July 1943
18 B-26s from 323BG are despatched to attack the German airfield at St. Omer/Ft. Rouge, France but the target is obscured by clouds and the force attacks the German airfield Longuenesse at St.Omer instead. 15 of these aircraft are effective on the...
27 July 1943
18 B-26s from 323BG are despatched to attack the Tricqueville airfield in France. 17 are effective on the target. There are no losses or claims.
28 July 1943
18 B-26s from 323BG are despatched to bomb the cocke ovens as Zeebrugge, Holland. 17 are effective on the target. 3 are damaged. No losses of claims.
28 July 1943
18 B-26s from 323BG are despatched to bomb the Tricqueville airfield, but the mission is recalled when the bombers faile to rendevous with the fighter escort. There are no losses or claims.
30 July 1943
This mission is comprised of two elements and was officially designated as missions 10A and 10B. The first element was 24 B-26s from 386BG to attack the German airfield at Woensdrecht, Holland. 1 B-26 Failed to Return (FTR)-6KIA 1POW and another...
31 July 1943
This is VIII ASC mission 11E. 24 B-26s from 387BG are despatched to fly a diversion for the other B-26s attacking airfields in VIII ASC mission 11. No losses or claims.
31 July 1943
This is element A of VIII ASC Mission #11. 21 B-26s from 323BG are despatched to bomb the German airfield at Merville, France. 20 of these aircraft are effective on the target. There are no losses or claims but 2 aircraft are damaged.
Station | Location | Date |
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Based | Earls Colne | 21 May 1943 – 14 June 1943 |
Based | Dover AAF, Delaware | 27 July 1944 |
Based | Lessay | 26 August 1944 |
Based | Chartres | 21 September 1944 |
Based | Laon/Athies | 13 October 1944 |
Based | Gablingen | 15 May 1945 |
Based | 16 July 1945 | |
Based | Clastres | October 1945 |
Military | Captain | Pilot | 323rd Bomb Group
Robert H. Adams flew many missions with the 323rd Bomb Group. Promoted to Captain he was Pilot of B-26 Serial #42-107588 on the 14 January 1945 mission to bomb the bridge at Steinebrück, Saint-Vith, Belgium.
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Military | Staff Sergeant | 323rd Bomb Group
Killed in Action (KIA) on B-26 mission to Euskirchen Supply Depot
Military | First Lieutenant | Bombardier | 323rd Bomb Group
Killed in Action (KIA). B-26C #41-34957 lost an engine due to oil cooler failure and forced to ditch near Iceland.
Military | Captain | Bombardier | 323rd Bomb Group
Captain Warren Anderson was Bombardier on B-26 Serial #42-107588 hit by Flak on the 14 January 1945 mission to bomb the bridge at Steinebrück, Saint-Vith, Belgium. In the Missing Air Crew Report - MACR 11926, Captain Anderson mentions he was...
Military | Captain | 323rd Bomb Group
Military | Lieutenant Colonel | Pilot | 323rd Bomb Group
Flew combat missions in the B-26 Marauder with the 455th BS, 323rd BG, then 344th BG, Ninth Air Force.
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Military | Staff Sergeant | Engineer/Gunner | 323rd Bomb Group
Died of Injuries (DOI) B-26C 41-34709 323BG/453BS while serving as Engineer.Gunner. The crashed near Great Barton, Suffolk due to poor weather and engine failure at low altitude on 11 Sep 1943 while on return from mission to Deaumont-Le-Roger. Sergeant...
Military | Lieutenant Colonel | Bombardier B-26 Marauder | 323rd Bomb Group
Jack T. Arnold, born December 7, 1921 in Dupo, Illinois. Graduated from East High in East St. Louis, Illinois, received a first alternate appointment to West Point and enlisted in the U.S. Army Infantry. Immediately after the attack on Pearl Harbor, he...
Military | Staff Sergeant | 323rd Bomb Group
Killed in Action (KIA). On B-26 mission to Dunkirk RR/GB. Mid-air collision due to flak.
DFC, AM w/9Oak Leaf Cluster, PH
Military | Staff Sergeant | 323rd Bomb Group
Killed in Action (KIA). On B-26 mission to Dunkirk RR/GB. Mid-air collision due to flak.
B-26 Marauder
B-26 Marauder
B-26 Marauder
Shot down 25 May 1944 on a mission to bomb a railroad bridge in Seraing, Liège, Belgium. MACR 5039.
B-26 Marauder
B-26 Marauder
B-26 Marauder
B-26 Marauder
Assigned to 323BS, 453BG, 9AF USAAF. 121 x missions flown. Failed to Return (FTR) bombing mission to Germany 23-Dec-1944. Took a direct or near direct hit in port engine and started into a uncontrolled spin. Crew did not manage to bale out 6 x KIA....
B-26 Marauder
B-26 Marauder
B-26B 41-31918 "Can't Get Started" of the 454th Bomb Sq, 323rd BG was shot down by an Me-262 on 20 April 1945; 1st Lt Dale E Sanders & his crew became POWs for the last two weeks of the war in Europe.
B-26 Marauder
Distinguished Unit Citation December 23 - 27, 1944
Date | Contributor | Update |
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19 June 2018 15:11:07 | Lucy May | Changes to description and stations |
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https://archive.org/stream/AirForceCombatUnitsOfWorldWarIi#page/n217/mod... |
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25 August 2016 22:04:22 | JMF | Changes to description |
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JMF |
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14 May 2016 20:39:11 | 323rdBGHistorian | Changes to motto |
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323rd BG Archives - Roy R. Bozych 323rd BG Historian |
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06 May 2016 22:10:16 | JMF | Changes to description and mission associations |
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06 May 2016 22:08:03 | JMF | Changes to description and mission associations |
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06 May 2016 22:04:05 | JMF | Changes to motto, aircraft types and mission associations |
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06 May 2016 22:01:28 | JMF | Changes to description and mission associations |
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06 May 2016 21:56:15 | JMF | Changes to description and mission associations |
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06 May 2016 21:49:12 | JMF | Changes to description and mission associations |
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06 May 2016 21:44:46 | JMF | Changes to description and mission associations |
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06 May 2016 21:36:44 | JMF | Changes to description and mission associations |
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06 May 2016 21:29:45 | JMF | Changes to description and mission associations |
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06 May 2016 21:25:21 | JMF | Changes to description and mission associations |
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06 May 2016 21:21:35 | JMF | Changes to description and mission associations |
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06 May 2016 21:14:18 | JMF | Changes to description and mission associations |
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16 April 2016 22:34:10 | JMF | Changes to citations, commanding officers associations, mission associations and stations |
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16 April 2016 22:31:21 | JMF | Changes to mission associations and stations |
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16 April 2016 22:28:29 | JMF | Changes to description, mission associations and stations |
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20 March 2016 06:26:44 | JMF | Changes to description, mission associations and stations |
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JMF |
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20 March 2016 06:23:55 | JMF | Changes to description, mission associations and stations |
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JMF |
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Date | Contributor | Update |
13 March 2015 15:32:52 | rossingtonj | Changes to type and mission associations |
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Type added. |
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Date | Contributor | Update |
07 January 2015 12:30:48 | rossingtonj | Changes to nicknames, motto, insignia, commanding officers associations, mission associations and stations |
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323rd Bomb Group Association Website, "323rd BG History": http://www.323bg454bs.org/history.html |
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Date | Contributor | Update |
27 September 2014 18:42:45 | AAM | AAM ingest |
Sources | ||
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database / The Mighty Eighth. A History of the Units, Men and Machines of the US 8th Air Force.' by Roger A. Freeman (1989). 'Air Force Combat Units of World War II' compiled by the Department of the US Air Force, edited by Maurice Maurer (1983). / Units in the UK from ETOUSA Station List, as transcribed by Lt. Col. Philip Grinton (US Army, Retired) and extracted by IWM; air division data from L.D. Underwood, based on the 8th Air Force Strength Report of 6th August 1944, as published in 'The 8th Air Force Yearbook' by Lt. Col. John H Woolnough (1980) |