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Hollywood actor Clark Gable in the waist gun position of a a B-17 Flying Fortress of the 91st Bomb Group. Passed for publication 6 Jun 1943. Printed caption on reverse: 'Clark Gable Serves In England: Clark Gable has slipped into this country as Capt. Gable and is serving with the U.S. Army Air Force somewhere in England, as a Gunnery Instructor. He hopes that his movements will not be accompanied by the publicity that he had a while ago, because he wants to get down to the job as others are doing. Keystone Photo Shows: Pictured in one of the centre gun turrets, Gable gives a smile for the cameraman.' On reverse: US Army Press & Censorship Bureau [Stamp]. 268124. [censor no.]
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Capt Clark Gable peers out of a waist gunner's window on a Boeing B-17 to answer questions during an interview, 6 June 1943. 351st Bomb Group, England.
NARA Ref 342-FH-3A46689-66587AC.
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Army nurse Amelia Nicklaus with Clark Gable, who was stationed with a Bomb Group near to Lilford Hall.
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"Capt Clark Gable broadcasts to America from England over the blue network. His speech was on the purchase of war bonds in support of the 3rd war loan drive program."
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"Hollywood's war effort has been the target for many jokes - most of them low blows, but one Hollywood name that has had only praise and deserved it was that of Capt Clark Gable. He began as a buck private, went thru gunnery school, then came to England and west on 5 missions while he was working on a movie that tells the story of 2 gunners - from Main Street, USA thru the Battle of Germany."
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"Capt Clark Gable of the 351st Bomb Group, shown after return from a bombing mission over Nazi territory. England 23-Sep-43."
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"Captain Clark Gable talks with two officers of the 94th Bomb Group at the 8th Air Force station 468 in England 3-Sep-43."
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2nd Lt. Clark Gable's uniform coat & cap, in the National Museum of American History, Washington, DC.
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Clark Gable flew at least 5 missions as Captain filming 50,000 ft of gunnery combat during 1943. He received the Air Medal for his service. 1 mission was flown with the 303rd BG. The rest were with the 351st BG in different aircraft. The film was named 'Combat America' and was released to help increase recruitment in the Army. He was later awarded the DFC.
The Japanese attack of Pearl Harbour, December 7th 1941, followed a month later by the death of Clark Gable’s wife, Carole Lombard, in a DC-3 crash, changed Gable’s life.
He and his wife had been engaged in raising money through war bonds so Clark Gable volunteered for the AAF, training as an aerial gunner and photographer. He was assigned to England to film air gunners in aerial combat. The end result was released as “Combat America”.
He was assigned to the 8th Air Force and joined the 351st Bombardment Group, stationed at Polebrook. Officially, he flew 5 missions but veterans remember he flew many more. He followed the crew of B-17 “Ain’t it Gruesome” with a cameraman and sound engineer through 24 missions.
On his first mission on 4 May 1943, he accompanied 351st Group commander Lt Col. Will Hatcher to Antwerp, Belgium in “The 8 Ball MKII” (#41-24635) with the 303rd Bombardment Group. Gable fired a few rounds and suffered frostbite through wearing leather rather than heated gloves.
His second mission on 10 July was as part of a bombing raid to Villacoubley, in France, flying in “The Argonaut III" (#42-29851), followed by a third on 24 July as gunner on the lead aircraft “Ain’t it Gruesome (#42-29863) to bomb the chemical plants at Heroya, Norway.
Flying in “Ain’t it Gruesome" on the 12 August raid to Germany, Gable wedged himself behind the top turret gunner for a better view. It wasn’t until the aircraft returned that he realised he had been within centimetres of losing his life as a 20mm shell had come through the flight deck, removing the heel of his shoe. It had exited without exploding thirty centimetres from his head.
Of Gable’s known missions, the last one was in “The Dutchess" on 23 September 1943 to Nantes, France. Owing to bad weather, half the group failed to assemble and Gable manned a gun in the nose, returning unscathed.
Captain Clark Gable left England in November 1943 and returned to the US with 50,000 ft of 16mm colour footage, many scenes used in the “Combat America” documentary. On his return he was promoted to the rank of Major.
Adolf Hitler held Gable in great esteem offering a sizeable reward for his capture.
In 1992, an article in the Daily Telegraph supplement, The Yanks, published the following :
"Action! Hollywood star joined in aerial combat
“Local sightings of screen idol Clark Gable almost rivalled the number of B-17s in the skies during his stint as a gunnery officer with the 351st Bomber Group.
Captain Gable, then 41, gave up the comfort of his California ranch to fly five missions from his base at Polebrook and visited other American airfields in the area.
Wartime secrecy prevented the star’s arrival being reported in the papers or on radio. But word soon spread and it was on off-duty visits to Kettering, Oundle and Thrapston in the late spring of 1943 that Gable-spotting became a popular pastime among shoppers……
It was the void in his life caused by his wife Carole Lombard’s tragic death in a plane crash 18 months before which led to Gable’s decision to join the war effort.
Initially his presence aroused suspicion and doubt among fellow airmen who had been risking their lives daily over enemy Europe. Undoubtedly some thought it was little more than a publicity stunt.
But many warmed to Gable when they found him a genuinely modest man, slightly bewildered by his own fame, who refused special living quarters, opting to share with the men and joining them in action.
Gable’s enrolment was indeed a boost to the Air Force recruitment campaign and a team of film industry men joined him on combat missions and simulated attacks using “enemy” aircraft borrowed from Collyweston.
His first flight was actually made from the nearby base at Molesworth aboard a Flying Fortress called "Eightball Mark ll". But it was his fourth mission over the Ruhr in a Fortress dubbed "Ain’t I Gruesome?" that he had his luckiest escape.
The aircraft came under attack and was hit 15 times, with one 20mm shell penetrating the plane, deflecting off the floor and missing Gable’s head by inches.
His commanding officer later remarked, “The damn fool insists on being a rear gunner on every mission. Know what I think? Gable’s trying to get himself killed. Yeah! So he can join up with his wife.”…..
His brief stay at Polebrook no doubt helped to heal the sorrow he felt for his beloved “Ma” – his pet name for Carole Lombard – and he often gave up his leave days to write letters of consolation to wives of aircrew who never returned from missions.
“I saw so much of death and destruction”, he later recalled, “I realised that I hadn’t been singled out for grief – that others were suffering and losing their loved ones just as I lost Ma.””
In Memoriam
'I would like to remember Capt Clark Gable (King of the Movies) he flew as a gunner with the 303rd Bomb Group, Molesworth, England.'
Remembered By Glenn M Gerber, Talbott, TN
Service
People
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Military | Colonel | Co-Pilot; Pilot; Group Commanding Officer | 351st Bomb Group
William Hatcher Jr was born in Grand Rapids, was brought up in Detroit’s north end and attended Northern High School. After his enlistment in the Air Corps, he followed pilot training courses and rose rapidly through the ranks.
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Units served with
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Group
The 303rd Bombardment Group (Heavy) was activated on 3-Feb-1942 at Pendleton Field, Oregon. They assembled at Gowen Field, Idaho on 11-February 1942 where it conducted flight training until 12-Jun-1942. The Group then moved to Alamogordo Field, New...
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Group
The 351st Bomb Group flew strategic bombing missions from their base at Polebrook, Northamptonshire from April 1943 to June 1945. The Group's most famous member was Hollywood actor Clark Gable, who flew four/ five missions with them as an observer...
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Aircraft
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B-17 Flying Fortress
Assigned 359BS/303BG [BN-O] New Castle 6/10/42; Molesworth 21/11/42. Flown by Captain William R. Calhoun on the 4 May 1943 mission to the Ford and General Motors works, Antwerp, Belgium, with Clark Gable on board for his first mission (slightly damaged...
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B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Cheyenne 27/2/43; Denver 1/3/43; Gore 12/3/43; Presque Is 8/4/43; Assigned 509BS/351BG [RQ-Y] Polebrook 16/4/43; Missing in Action 43m Frankfurt 11/2/44 with Capt John Carson, Co-pilot: Merlyn Rutherford*, Radio Operator: John Landers*, Ball...
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B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Cheyenne 17/3/43; Pueblo 28/3/43; Presque Is 9/4/43; Assigned 510BS/351BG [TU-L] Polebrook 17/4/43; 39m 2 BAD Warton 5/4/44; Returned to the USA Tinker 7/6/44; Hendricks 9/8/44; Rapid City 12/9/44; Reconstruction Finance Corporation (sold for...
Missions
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4 May 1943
The Ford and General Motors vehicle plants at Antwerp, Belgium are the primary target for this mission. 79-B-17 are despatched 91BG (25); 303BG (27) and 305BG (27). 65 0f the 79 despatched are effective on the target. There is moderate flak and fighter...
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10 July 1943
German airfields at Caen, Abbeville, and Le Bourget at Paris, France are the primary targets for this mission. 112 B-17s form a combined force from 91BG; 92BG; 305BG; 306BG; 351BG and 381BG to bomb the German airfield (Carpiquet) at Caen, France. Cloud...
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24 July 1943
Three targets in Norway are the primary targets for this first mission flown by 8th AIr Force to Norway. They are the nitrate works at Heroya and the port areas at Trondheim and Bergen. The first element is a combined force of 180 B-17s from: 91BG (22)...
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12 August 1943
This mission is separated into two elements. The first element is a combined force of 183 B-17s from 1st Bomb Division: 91BG (22); 92BG (19); 303BG (20); 305BG (20); 306BG (20); 351BG (21); 379BG (21); 381BG (20); and 384BG (20) are dispatched to bomb...
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23 September 1943
This mission consisted of three elements, one element from 1st Bomb Division and 2 others from 3rd Bomb Division. The first element was a combined force of 177 B-17s from: 91BG (21); 92BG (19); 305BG (18); 306BG (18); 351BG (19) and 381BG (22)...
Associated Place
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Military site : airfield
Molesworth was one of the early stations used by the Eighth Air Force in the UK, first occupied by the 15th Bomb Squadron’s Douglas Bostons in June 1942. Built in 1940 and extended and improved in 1942, Molesworth is most associated with the 303rd...
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Military site : airfield
Polebrook was laid down for RAF Bomber Command use in 1940-1941. Built by George Wimpey and Co. Ltd, it had short runways which were lengthened for USAAF heavy bomber use. The RAF used the base for operational trials - including of B-17 Flying...
Events
Event |
Location |
Date |
Born |
Cadiz, Ohio |
1 February 1901 |
Born William Clark Gable
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Lived in |
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1942 |
Encino, California
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Enlisted |
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12 August 1942 |
Los Angeles, California
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Lived in |
Oundle, Peterborough, Northamptonshire PE8, UK |
1943 |
Clark Gable lived in Oundle whilst based at Polebrook during the Second World War
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Died |
Los Angeles, California |
16 November 1960 |