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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Leonard D Reed
Military
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LT Leonard D. Reed
Leonard D. Reed was born on the family farm in Summit Township, Sully County, South Dakota near the town of Onida. After high school, he moved to Antioch, California in 1941 and joined the police department. He entered the army in March 1944 and was assigned as an Air Cadet, 837th Navigator Training School, Class 44-5-1, at Hondo, Texas. Upon graduation, he shipped out to England assigned to the 8th Air Force, VII Bomber Command, 41st Bombardment Wing, 379th Bombardment Group, 526th Bombardment Squadron, as a navigator. After the war, Leonard returned to the police department and remained in the USAF Reserves during which time he was recalled to active duty to serve in Korea and Vietnam. He retired from both the Antioch Police Department and the USAF Reserves at the rank of Major after 35 years credited service.
Service
Units served with
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379th Bomb Group
Group
The 379th Bomb Group (H) (heavy), based at Kimbolton, flew more sorties than any other Bomb Group in the Eighth Air Force and dropped a greater bomb tonnage than any other Group. The B-17 Flying Fortress Group was awarded two Distinguished Unit... -
526th Bomb Squadron
Squadron
Aircraft
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42-102689 Lady Luck
B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Cheyenne 26/3/44; Kearney 15/4/44; Grenier 7/5/44; Assigned 379BG Kimbolton 10/5/44; -
42-29905
B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Denver 6/3/43; New Castle 6/4/43; Metropolitan 15/4/43; New Castle 21/4/43; Assigned 526BS/379BG [LF-K/Z] Kimbolton 21/5/43; AFSC 7/4/44; Returned to the USA Rome 29/8/44; Hobbs 11/9/43; Kirtland 7/1/44; Reconstruction Finance Corporation ... -
42-38058 The Wish Bone
B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Cheyenne 28/11/43; Albuquerque 3/12/43; Wendover 3/1/44; Assigned 457BG Glatton 22/1/44; transferred 526BS/379BG [LF-C] Kimbolton 18/3/44. ... -
42-39800 Patches, Just So
B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered 4/9/43; Assigned 303BG Molesworth 18/10/43; transferred 1 Base Air Depot, Burtonwood 23/10/43; re-ass 547BS/384BG [SO- ] Grafton Underwood 2/11/43; transferred 526BS/379BG [LF-T] Kimbolton 7/11/43; crashed RAF Wilton, UK 2/12/44; sal 2 SAD... -
42-97933 Gilded Orion
B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Denver 8/4/44; Kearney 3/5/44; Grenier 21/5/44; Assigned 526BS/379BG [LF-X] Kimbolton 6/6/44; Missing in Action Frankfurt 19/9/44 with ?; flak, crashed Saargemund, Ger. GILDED ORION. -
42-98034
B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Denver 7/5/44; Dorval 6/6/44; Assigned RAF [HB804], but transferred USAAF, Assigned 526BS/379BG [LF-Y] Kimbolton 4/10/44; Returned to the USA Bradley 28/6/45; Romulus Fd, Mi 29/6/45; with Bill Pike force landed base 29/6/45; 4168 Base Unit,... -
43-37743
B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Cheyenne 17/5/44; Kearney 27/5/44; Grenier 7/6/44; Assigned 379BG Kimbolton 19/6/44; Returned to the USA Bradley 29/6/45; 4168 Base Unit, South Plains, Texas 2/7/45; Reconstruction Finance Corporation (sold for scrap metal in USA) Kingman 5... -
43-37777 'Four of a Kind'
B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Cheyenne 20/5/44; Kearney 29/5/44; Grenier 7/6/44; Assigned 525BS/379BG Kimbolton 19/6/44; 527BS; hit when parked at RAF Colerne by 42-97528 (351BG) 19/12/44; twice force landed on continent 3/45 but repaired and back onto operations;... -
43-37905
B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Cheyenne 3/6/44; Hunter 13/6/44; Dow Fd 27/6/44; Assigned 524BS/379BG [WA-B] Kimbolton 8/7/44; transferred May 1945, 729BS/452BG Deopham Green; Returned to the USA Bradley 3/7/45; 4168 Base Unit, South Plains, Texas 6/7/45; Reconstruction... -
44-8110
B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Dallas 14/6/44; Langley 17/7/44; Grenier 8/8/44; Assigned 524BS/379BG [WA-F] Kimbolton 26/8/44; Returned to the USA Morrison 22/10/45; Reconstruction Finance Corporation (sold for scrap metal in USA) Walnut Ridge 28/10/45.
Missions
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542
11 August 1944
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548
13 August 1944
We led the entire Division in a tactical mission. The target: Roads to Paris. Colonel McKnight flew Pilot; Lt Houser was Co-Pilot. Results of bombing A1. -
8th Air Force 556
16 August 1944
Aircraft factories and oil refineries are the primary targets for this mission. A total of 1090 heavy bombers are despatched. See Mission Details for particulars. ... -
562
18 August 1944
We led the Wing to France to bomb a fuel dump. Made 3 runs on the target. We hit it on the third run. Major Harmon flew Pilot; 12000 feet altitude. -
570
25 August 1944
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576
26 August 1944
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583
27 August 1944
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595
1 September 1944
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8th Air Force 650
27 September 1944
This mission is conducted by three elements against industrial targets, an oil refinery and an aircraft factory in Germany. A total of 1,192 heavy bombers are dispatched from 1st, 2nd and 3rd Bomb Divisions: ... -
652
28 September 1944
Associated Place
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Kimbolton
Military site : airfield
Planned for RAF use, Kimbolton airfield was built by W and C French Ltd. in 1941. The airfield was increased in size to accommodate a full US heavy Bomb Group, and the first such unit to us it was the 91st Bomb Group, who arrived in September 1942....
Events
| Event | Location | Date |
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| Born | January 1926 | |
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Onida, South Dakota |
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| Died | July 2012 | |
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Bethel Island, California |
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Revisions
| Date | Contributor | Update |
|---|---|---|
| 08 February 2021 19:23:53 | Tom in Kansas | Changes to mission associations |
| Sources | ||
LTC, USA (Ret.) Tom Williams - nephew. |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 08 February 2021 18:26:23 | Tom in Kansas | Changes to mission associations |
| Sources | ||
LTC, USA (Ret.) Tom Williams - nephew. |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 08 February 2021 18:16:44 | Tom in Kansas | Changes to unit associations |
| Sources | ||
LTC, USA (Ret.) Tom Williams - nephew. |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 08 February 2021 18:07:22 | Tom in Kansas | Changes to highest rank |
| Sources | ||
LTC, USA (Ret.) Tom Williams - nephew. |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 08 February 2021 18:05:52 | Tom in Kansas | Changes to awards |
| Sources | ||
LTC, USA (Ret.) Tom Williams - nephew. |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 08 February 2021 18:04:12 | Tom in Kansas | Changes to events |
| Sources | ||
LTC, USA (Ret.) Tom Williams - nephew. |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 08 February 2021 17:58:46 | Tom in Kansas | Changes to events |
| Sources | ||
LTC, USA (Ret.) Tom Williams - nephew. |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 07 February 2021 18:35:00 | Tom in Kansas | Changes to biography |
| Sources | ||
LTC, USA (Ret.) Tom Williams - nephew. |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 07 February 2021 18:21:54 | Tom in Kansas | Changes to events |
| Sources | ||
LTC, USA (Ret.) Tom Williams - nephew. |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 07 February 2021 18:17:50 | Tom in Kansas | Changes to events |
| Sources | ||
LTC, USA (Ret.) Tom Williams - nephew. |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 07 February 2021 18:10:56 | Tom in Kansas | Changes to media associations |
| Sources | ||
LTC, USA (Ret.) Tom Williams - nephew. |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 07 February 2021 18:05:57 | Tom in Kansas | Changes to aircraft associations |
| Sources | ||
LTC, USA (Ret.) Tom Williams - nephew. |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 07 February 2021 17:58:17 | Tom in Kansas | Changes to place associations |
| Sources | ||
LTC, USA (Ret.) Tom Williams - nephew. |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 27 September 2014 18:18:36 | AAM | AAM ingest |
| Sources | ||
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia |
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