385th Bomb Group
GroupIWM, Roger Freeman Collection
The 385th Bomb Group, who took the nickname "Van's Valiants" after their first Commanding Officer Col. Elliot Vandevanter, flew B-17s from Great Ashfield, Suffolk. The Group led the famous attack on the Focke-Wolfe aircraft factory at Marienburg on 9 October 1943, during which only two out of one hundred B-17s were lost and all of the buildings on the site were damaged or destroyed. They won two Distinguished Unit Citations. The first, awarded to all 4th Bomb Wing Groups, was for accurately dropping their pay load on an aircraft factory at Regensburg, on 17 August 1943 and the Group's second was awarded after leading a difficult long-range mission to destroy an aircraft repair works at Zwickau, south-west Germany, on 12 May 1944.
Commanding Officers
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 385th Bomb Group
- Service Numbers: O-21989
- Highest Rank: Brigadier General
- Role/Job: Commanding Officer
Connections
See how this entry relates to other items in the archive by exploring the connections below.
Unit stations
Station | Location | Date |
---|---|---|
Based |
Great Ashfield | 28 June 1943 - 4 August 1945 |
Encompassing
People
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 385th Bomb Group 549th Bomb Squadron
- Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
- Role/Job: Bombardier, Bombardier; Togglier
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 385th Bomb Group 551st Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 31077254
- Highest Rank: Sergeant
- Role/Job: Ball Turret Gunner
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 385th Bomb Group 548th Bomb Squadron
- Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
- Role/Job: Radio Operator
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 385th Bomb Group 548th Bomb Squadron
- Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
- Role/Job: Tail Gunner
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 385th Bomb Group 549th Bomb Squadron
- Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
- Role/Job: Bombardier; Togglier
Aircraft
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Unit: 385th Bomb Group 549th Bomb Squadron
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Nicknames: Hell's Belle
- Unit: 385th Bomb Group 91st Bomb Group 401st Bomb Squadron 548th Bomb Squadron
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Nicknames: Mary Ellen II
- Unit: 385th Bomb Group 550th Bomb Squadron
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Nicknames: Clarissa Jean
- Unit: 385th Bomb Group 550th Bomb Squadron
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Nicknames: Man O War
- Unit: 385th Bomb Group 548th Bomb Squadron
Mission
- Date: 14 October 1943
- Date: 10 October 1943
- Date: 9 October 1943
- Date: 8 October 1943
- Date: 4 October 1943
Related media
- Media Type: Video
- Object Number: UPL 31195
- Description: Time Team S06, E08 Reedham Marshes, Norfolk which details the excavation of B-17 Flying Fortress 42-37963 in 1999 UK residents can view this episode...
- Media Type: Document
- Collection Name: William L Beigel Collection
- Object Number: Document 15730
- Description: Individual Deceased Personnel File (IDPF) for Staff Sergeant Morris Meyers of the 385th Bomb Group researched by historian Bill Beigel. The file...
- Media Type: Document
- Collection Name: William L Beigel Collection
- Object Number: Document 15820
- Description: Extract from Individual Deceased Personnel File (IDPF) for 1st Lieutenant Charles R Johnston of the 385th Bomb Group researched by historian Bill...
- Media Type: Document
- Collection Name: William L Beigel Collection
- Object Number: Document 15940
- Description: Extract from Individual Deceased Personnel File (IDPF) for Technical Sergeant Gla E Owen of the 385th Bomb Group researched by historian Bill Beigel...
- Media Type: Document
- Collection Name: John W. Pugh Collection from Brandon Pugh
- Object Number: Document 34700
- Description: Staff Sgt. John W. Pugh, 385th Bomb Group, 549th Bomb Squadron, Mission list.
- Media Type: Document
- Object Number: UPL 60996
- Description: "Fire" A story about the explosion of Hesitatin' Hussy, 42-5911, and the subsequent fire at Greater Ashfield Aerodrome
Revisions
Contributed courtesy of the 385th BG Association. https://www.385thbga.com/wp-content/uploads/Fire.pdf
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)