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Military site : airfield
Aerial photograph of Old Buckenham airfield looking east, the bomb dump is upper left, the technical site and sick quarters are below the airfield, 9 November 1943. Photograph taken by 7th Photographic Reconnaissance Group, sortie number US/7PH/GP/LOC73. English Heritage (USAAF Photography).
2nd Lt Ray Gilbreath
Robert F. Atkins, Tail Gunner crew of the Gypsy Queen1944-45
"Bail Out!" by Wilbur Stites of the 453rd Bomb Group. This account tells the story of his bailing out and subsequent rescue by two American sergeants in a jeep.
Crew member poses by the shark mouth of B-24H 42-52299 "Hard T' Get" 732BS, 453BG, 8AF.
Pilot Lt. Hamby crash-landed B-24H 42-52299 "Hard T' Get" at Old Buckenham (from battle damage) on return from 6-Mar-44 mission (Primary target: Berlin/Genhagen but Oranienburg airfield was bombed as a target of opportunity). Note - Shark mouth added later.
Shark Mouthed B-24H 42-52299 "Hard T' Get" 732BS, 453BG, 8AF.
An oil leak on #4 engine, plus oxygen system problems led to B-24 41-28629 'Blondes Away' to make for Switzerland and internment.
B-24 41-28629 'Blondes Away'. An original Project 92311 aircraft which landed and was interned at Dübendorf, Switzerland 13 Apr 44.
Lt. Colonel Jimmy Stewart (center), former movie star and 453rd Bomb Group Operations Officer, interrogates a newly returned B-24 crew. The four men here are most likely the pilot, co-pilot, navigator, and bombardier. Official caption on back: "Lt. Col. James M. Stewart, Group Operations Officers, interrogates crew of the 453rd Bomb Group after returning to their English base from a mission over enemy territory." "Major Jimmy Stewart talks over the final details of a mission with flyers about to take off, from left to right: Sgt. Keith M. Dibble of Rixford, Pa.; first Lt. Roger Counselman of Meadville, Pa.; Stewart; Sgt. Joseph T. Fiorentino of Philadelphia, Pa.; and second Lt. Abraham E Wilensky of Monessen, Pa., April 19, 1944, in England during World War II. (AP Photo)"
Allocated to the Eighth Air Force as a bomber base in 1942, Old Buckenham was built during 1942-43 with three concrete runways, 50 loop hardstandings and two dispersed T2 hangars. The station was the exclusive home for the 453rd Bomb Group, equipped with B-24s, from December 1943 to May 1945. The 453rd enjoyed the distinction of having film star James Stewart as its Group Executive Officer during the Spring of 1944. Returned to the RAF in 1945, the station was used as a satellite for maintenance units until closed in 1960. Sold off during 1960-64, the site was then largely demolished and returned to agriculture. However, several original buildings and concrete pads remain at the site, the majority of which form part of Old Buckenham Airfield, with one hard runway and two grass strips.
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Group
As well as strategic bombardment missions, the 453rd Bomb Group also ferried cargo on two occasions. They hauled petrol, blankets, and rations to France in September 1944 and dropped ammunition, food and medical supplies near Wesel during the airborne...
Group
Squadron
Browse 18th Weather Squadron photographs and other documents in the 2nd Air Division Memorial Library digital archive here: www.2ndair.org.uk/digitalarchive/Dashboard/Index/60
Squadron
Squadron
Squadron
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Headquarters
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Military | Staff Sergeant | Top Turret Gunner | 453rd Bomb Group
Marvin Aaker served as a flight engineer and top turret gunner with the 735th Bomb Squadron of the 453rd Bomb Group, flying missions out of Old Buckenham, England.
Military | Technical Sergeant | Flight Engineer | 453rd Bomb Group
Robert Aaker served as a flight engineer with the 734th Bomb Squadron of the 453rd Bomb Group, flying missions out of Old Buckenham, England.
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Military | Staff Sergeant (Technician Third Grade) | Right Waist Gunner | 453rd Bomb Group
Military | First Lieutenant | Pilot | 453rd Bomb Group
On 23 Feb 1944 on a ferry flight from Old Buckenham to Thorpe Abbotts, B-24H #42-52182 landed long and ran off runway . RTD.
Military | Technical Sergeant | Tail Gunner | 453rd Bomb Group
Shot down by flak and crashed at Oostduinkerke, Belgium in B-24 #42-95233 on June 24, 1944.
He was the only survivor and was a POW.
Military | Captain | Pilot | 453rd Bomb Group
Charles Allen was given the nickname "Moose" by Jimmy Stewart when they met on Charles' first mission. Jimmy Stewart was base adjutant.
He died June 17 1994 in Boling Texas.
Military | Staff Sergeant | Radio Operator | 453rd Bomb Group
Forced to land due to mechanical problems NE of Balkbrug, Holland on a mission to Rekner, Berlin on 8 Mar 1944 in B-24H #42-52175 'Portland Anne'. Prisoner of War (POW).
POW
Military | Staff Sergeant | Tail Gunner | 453rd Bomb Group
Shot down by fighters and exploded upon striking the water near Steenbergen, Holland on a mission to Gotha, GR on 22 Feb 1944 in B- 24 #41-28615 'Ginnie'. Killed in Action (KIA).
Military | Second Lieutenant | Co-Pilot | 453rd Bomb Group
Russell Anderson was Co-Pilot of B-24H #41-28642 'Libby Raider', which crashed on landing after a practice mission on 2 March 1944. Returned To Duty (RTD). He was also Co-Pilot of B-24H #42-52226, which fell out of formation after fighter attacks on a...
Military | Lieutenant | Co-Pilot | 453rd Bomb Group
Russell Anderson joined the 'Caterpillar Club' on 1 August 1944 when his B-24 lost power in two engines and the crew was forced to bail out over southern England. Russell was Co-Pilot on B-24 42-50898 for the 27 December 1944 mission to Germany, with...
B-24 Liberator
Assigned to 735BS, 453BG, 8AF USAAF. Failed to Return (FTR) mission to Berlin attacked by E/A setting two engines alight, crashed at Mangelsdorf, crew baled out 21-Jun-44. 10 x POW. MACR 5933.
B-24 Liberator
Assigned to 733BS, 453BG, 8AF USAAF. Shot down by fighters and exploded upon striking the water near Steenbergen, Holland on a mission to Gotha 22-Feb-44 in B-24 41-28615 'Ginnie'. 10 x Killed in Action (KIA). MACR 2895.
B-24 Liberator
Assigned 732BS, 453BG, 8AF USAAF. Failed to Return (FTR) mission to Juvincourt. Shot down by a Marine Flak battery from Vlissingen, caught fire and exploded soon after. The main part of the plane crashed in Souburg, other pieces spread over a large...
B-24 Liberator
Assigned to 733BS, 453BG, 8AF USAAF. Transferred to 734, 453BG, 8AF USAAF. Failed to Return (FTR) mission 13-Apr-44. Last seen 12 miles past IP heading across lake near Friedrickshafen in direction of Switzerland. Oil leak on #4 engine and oxygen...
B-24 Liberator
Assigned to 732BS, 453BG, 8AF USAAF. Failed to Return (FTR) practice mission, A/C became lost shortly after take off, failing to form up with section. Landed in Czechoslovakia with badly wounded crew members [Sgt Nissen and Sgt Tollefsen]. 2 x WIA, 10...
B-24 Liberator
Assigned to 733BS, 453BG, 8AF USAAF. Failed to Return (FTR) mission to Friedrichshafen, hit by flak causing loss of fuel and mechanical failures, A/C abandoned over Amiens, 1 x EVD, 10 x POW. MACR 3552.
B-24 Liberator
Assigned to 732BS, 453BG, 8AF USAAF. Failed to Return (FTR) mission to Brunswick, A/C left formation short of IP due to attack by Bf109 in which pilot was killed by 20mm cannon shell. A/C abandoned by crew 8-Apr-44. 1 x KIA, 11 x POW. MACR 3929.
B-24 Liberator
Assigned to 486BG, 8AF USAAF. Transferred to 733BS, 453BG, 8AF USAAF. Failed to Return (FTR) mission to Brunswick. Shot down flak went down 2km west of Salzdahlum, four chutes seen, one on fire 8-May-44. 3 x POW, 7 x KIA. MACR 4590.
B-24 Liberator
B-24 Liberator
| Date | Contributor | Update |
|---|---|---|
| 27 September 2014 18:02:17 | AAM | AAM ingest |
| Sources | ||
Barry Anderson, Army Air Forces Stations (Alabama, 1985) / Roger Freeman, Airfields of the Eighth Then And Now (London, 1978) Roger Freeman, Mighty Eighth War Manual (2nd edn, London, 2001) Michael Bowyer, Action Stations 1: Wartime Military Airfields of East Anglia 1939-1945 (Cambridge, 1979) http://www.oldbuck.com/en/home/ http://www.abct.org.uk/airfields/old-buckenham |
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