389th Bomb Group | American Air Museum in Britain

The insignia of the 389th Bomb Group.

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B-24 Liberators of the 389th Bomb Group fly in formation during a mission. B-24 (HP-J_, serial number 44-40245) nicknamed "Skerby" is visible in the foreground. Handwritten caption on reverse: ' Munich 2/7/44.'

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A B-24 Liberator of the 389th Bomb Group flies over countryside with a disabled engine. First handwritten caption on reverse: '389 BG over france with a feathered prop.' Second handwritten caption on reverse: '272821 HD-T+ Liberty, Prop feathered.'

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Major-General William E. Kepner talks with personnel of the 389th Bomb Group. Official caption : '74093 A.C. Major General William E. Kepner chats with an officer of the 2nd Bomb group Division, 8th Air Force, as he enjoys refreshments at an air base in England. U.S. AIR FORCE PHOTO.'

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Ground personnel of the 389th Bomb Group attend to the smoking engines of a B-24 Liberator piloted by Second Lieutenant C.E. White that has crash landed on the 13th of February 1944. Handwritten caption on reverse: 'Pilot 2/Lt. C.E. White. Hmm what a lick, 2100185 Lt 566BS 13/2/44.'

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Two airmen of the 389th Bomb Group with a B-24 Liberator used as a Flight Assembly Ship. Image via Tom Britain

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Personnel of the 389th Bomb Group stand atop the engine of a B-24 Liberator (serial number 42-40787) nicknamed "Vagabond King". Sitting (left to right): Staff Sergeant David C Shattles, Staff Sergeant Louis H Raines, Corporal Alfred P Rossi. Standing (left to right)Second Lieutenant Masco, First Lieutenant Marvin Mendlesohn, First Lieutenant George A Brinton, Captain John B. McCormick, Staff Sergeant William J Budai, Staff Sergeant Richard W Weaver 'They have bombed ten different countries. Associated Press photo shows: The crew of the Flying Fortress, "Vagabond King", which has flown over 250,000 miles in combat missions and bombed targets in ten different countries, including the airfields at Ploesti. They are (left to right, sitting): S/Sgt. David C. Shattles, of Atlanta, GA., Gunner; S/Sgt. Louis H. Raines, of Chesson, ALA, Gunner; Cpl. Alfred P. Rossi, of Philadelphia, PA., Gunner; (standing): 2nd Lt. Masco, of Chicago, ILL; Bombardier; 1st Lt. Lt. Marvin Mendlesohn, of Rockaway, N.Y., Navigator; 1st Lt. George A. Brinton, of Salt Lake City, Utah, co-Pilot; Capt. John B. McCormick, of Syracuse, M.Y. Pilot; S/Sgt. William J Budai, of Toledo, Ohio; and S/Sgt. Richard W. Weaver, of Scottdale, PENN.'

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Navigators of the 389th Bomb Group draw up a flight plan in the 'Peace Room' at Hethel, May 1944. Image stamped on reverse: 'Keystone Press.' [stamp] and '323481.' [Censor no.] A printed caption was previously attached to the reverse, however this has been removed.

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Captain John Driscoll of the 389th Bomb Group checks his machine gun. Image stamped on reverse: 'Keystone Press.' [stamp], '323482.' [Censor no.] A printed caption was previously attached to the reverse, however this has been removed. Handwritten caption on reverse: '389 BG- Capt John Driscoll works on completing sight for flexible guns.'

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Personnel of the 389th Bomb Group fit a rocket launcher to the tail of a B-24 Liberator.

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The 389th Bomb Group, known in more familiar terms as "the Sky Scorpions", flew strategic bombing missions in B-24 Liberators from Hethel, England. They also sent detachments to join bases in North Africa at Benghazi No. 10, Libya, between 3 July 1943 and 25 August 1943 and at Massicault, Tunisia, between 19 September 1943 and 3 October 1943. During this period, the detachment carried out bombing raids over Crete, Sicily, Italy, Austria and Romania. The Group was awarded a Distinguished Unit Citation for the Ploesti oil fields mission on 1 August 1943.

Earl Zimmerman, a radio operator during the Ploesti mission, has this to say about the origin of the insignia: "I first learned of the name Sky Scorpions during the early 1960s when the book Ploesti was published. Up to that time I had never heard of the name although I went over with the original Group and came back with the Group two years later. No one has confirmed it, but I assume the name came from Capt. Kenneth Caldwell's plane 'Scorpion'. Now about the formation ship, the Green Dragon. M/Sgt. Pashal Quackenbush is the original artist of the Dragon painted on the officers club wall. That dragon was green. His original painting of the dragon was blue and during the reunion at Colorado Springs, Pashal donated it to Al Kopp then VP of the 389th. The original now rests in the Library in Norwich. When I had the 389th patches made they were copied from the original, therefore the blue dragon."

Browse 389th Bomb Group photographs and other documents in the 2nd Air Division Memorial Library digital archive here: www.2ndair.org.uk/digitalarchive/Dashboard/Index/14

US Air Force Combat Units of World War II Description: Constituted as 389th Bombardment Group (Heavy) on 19 Dec 1942 and activated on q Dec. Prepared for duty overseas with B-24’s. Moved to England, Jun-Jul 1943, and assigned to Eighth AF. Almost immediately a detachment was sent to Libya, where it began operations on 9 Jul 1943. The detachment flew missions to Crete, Sicily, Italy, Austria, and Rumania. The group received a DUC for the detachment’s participation in the famed low-level attack against oil refineries at Ploesti on 1 Aug 1943. For his action during the same operation, 2d Lt Lloyd H Hughes was awarded the Medal of Honor: refusing to turn back although gasoline was streaming from his flak damaged plane, Lt Hughes flew at low altitude over the blazing target area and bombed the objective; the plane crashed before Hughes could make the forced landing that he attempted after the bomb run. The detachment returned to England in Aug and the group flew several missions against airfields in France and Holland. Operating temporarily from Tunisia, Sep-Oct 1943, the 389th supported Allied operations at Salerno and hit targets in Corsica, Italy, and Austria. Resumed operations from England in Oct 1943, and until Apr 1945 concentrated primarily on strategic objectives in France, the Low Countries, and Germany. Targets included shipbuilding yards at Vegesack, industrial areas of Berlin, oil facilities at Merseburg, factories at Munster, railroad yards at Sangerhausen, and V-weapon sites at Pas de Calais. Participated in the intensive air campaign against the German aircraft industry during Big Week, 20-25 Feb 1944. Also flew support and interdictory missions on several occasions, bombing gun batteries and airfields in support of the Normandy invasion in Jun 1944, striking enemy positions to aid the breakthrough at St Lo in Jul 1944, hitting storage depots and communications centers during the Battle of the Bulge (Dec 1944-Jan 1945), and dropping food, ammunition, gasoline, and other supplies to troops participating in the airborne assault across the Rhine in Mar 1945. Flew last combat mission late in Apr 1945. Returned to the US, May- Jun 1945. Inactivated on 13 Sep 1945

Structure

Part of

2nd Combat Bomb Wing

Wing
2nd Bomb Wing

Wing
The 2nd Bomb Wing arrived in the UK in July 1942. The wing command became the 2nd Bomb Division in August 1943, while the wing was retitled the 2nd Combat Bomb Wing.

Encompassing

564th Bomb Squadron

Squadron
565th Bomb Squadron

Squadron
566th Bomb Squadron

Squadron
Constituted 566th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy) on 19 Dec. 1942. Activated on 24 Dec. 1942. Inactivated on 13 Sept. 1945. Campaigns: Air Offensive, Europe; Sicily; Naples-Foggia; Normandy; Northern France; Rhineland; Ardennes-Alsace; Central Europe; Air...
567th Bomb Squadron

Squadron
567th Bombardment Squadron, 24 December 1942 - 13 September 1945 ...
Headquarters (389th Bomb Group)

Headquarters

Previously was

Not yet known

Became

Not yet known

Missions

Operation Tidal Wave

1 August 1943
Operation TIDAL WAVE. B-24D Liberators attack the oil refineries at Ploesti, Romania. The bombers flew low to avoid radar detection and dropped time delayed bombs. Out of the 177 B-24s that took part in the raid 167 managed to attack their targets. 57...
VIII Bomber Command 91

6 September 1943
This mission was planned as massive attack of 338 B-17s on the industrial areas of Stuttgart, Germany and would be supported by a formation of 69 B-24s flying a diversion. This would be the first action from the UK for the B-24 Groups that had recently...
VIII Bomber Command 92

7 September 1943
Two German airfields, one at Brussels, Begium and the other at Bergen, Holland, and the V-Weapons sites around Watten, France are the primary targets for this mission. ...
VIII Bomber Command 94 OPERATION STARKEY

9 September 1943
This mission has been named OPERATION STARKEY. It is planned as a coordinated attack of multiple bomber elements upon multiple targets and incorporates fighter escort as a rehearsal of what may be required to support an invasion of the Continent. It is...
VIII Bomber Command 94 OPERATION STARKEY

9 September 1943
This mission has been named OPERATION STARKEY. It is planned as a coordinated attack of multiple bomber elements upon multiple targets and incorporates fighter escort as a rehearsal of what may be required to support an invasion of the Continent. It is...
VIII Bomber Command 95

15 September 1943
This mission is composed of three elements. The first element is a formation of 93 B-17s from: (1BG (19); 305BG (18); 306BG (18); 351BG (19); and 381BG (19) despatched to bomb the German air deport at Romilly-sur-Seine, France. 87 aircraft are...
VIII Bomber Command 111

8 October 1943
The shipyards and industrial areas of Bremen, Germany are the primary targets for this mission, but cloud cover causes some formations to bomb targets of opportunity. The attacking elements have been summarized below: ...
VIII Bomber Command 113

9 October 1943
This mission is composed of 6 elements. The first element is a combined force of 115 B-17s from: 303BG (20); 379BG (20); 384BG (21); 351BG (21); 91BG 16; and 381BG (16) dispatched to bomb the industrial areas of Anklam, Germany. 106 aircraft are...
VIII Bomber Command 114

10 October 1943
This mission was intended to be a massive attack of 307 B-17s on the railroad facilities and waterway (canals) at Munster, Germany. This attack was to be supported by a diversion 39 B-24s. The formation was attacked by hundreds of German fighters which...
VIII Bomber Command 116

20 October 1943
The primary target for this mission is the industrial areas of Duren, Germany. The mission is composed of three elements. The first element is a combined formation of 103 B-17s from 1st Bomb Division that includes: 91BG (3); 92BG (14); 303BG (19);...

Stations

Station	Location	Date
Based	Biggs Field	1 February 1943 – 18 April 1943
Based	Hethel	11 June 1943 – 30 May 1945
Temporary Duty	Berca	3 July 1943 – 25 August 1943
Temporary Duty	Massicault	19 September 1943 – 3 October 1943
Commemorated at	389th Bomb Group Memorial Exhibition, Hethel

Connections

People

Tzolag Aaronian

Military | Staff Sergeant | Radio Operator | 389th Bomb Group
Killed in Action (KIA) at Krefeld in B-24 "Wynn" Our Little Lady #42-95088. The 9 man crew bailed at around 2200 feet altitude over Sevelen, Germany while trying to reach allied lines around 15 miles NW of Krefeld. 8 of the crew were captured. Tzolag...
George Abood

Military | Staff Sergeant | Ball Turret and Left Waist Gunner | 389th Bomb Group
George Abood was shot down by flak and crashed near Marigny in the B-24 #42-95026, "Yankee Rebel" on 25 July 1944. Abood escaped the aircraft via the tail hatch. After landing he was in contact with 1 of his crew members. Per George's report, (after...
Arthur Acevedo

Military | First Lieutenant | Co-Pilot | 389th Bomb Group
Shot down by fighters and crashed near Orleans, FR on 7 January 1944 in B-24D #42-63977 'Los Angeles City Limits. ' Killed in Action (KIA).
Joseph Ackerson

Military | Staff Sergeant | Ball Turret Gunner | 389th Bomb Group
Shot down by fighters and crashed at Teltow on 6/21/44 in B-24 'Nuff Sed' # 42-109794, Killed in Action (KIA).
Joseph Acton

Military | Sergeant | 389th Bomb Group
Samuel Acuff

Military | Staff Sergeant | 389th Bomb Group
Chester Adamczak

Military | Master Sergeant | 389th Bomb Group
Bruce Adams

Military | First Lieutenant | Navigator | 389th Bomb Group
35 missions July 2, 1944 accident on runway in B24 #42-50378. 10 RTD. Rowbottom crew. DFC/ AM w/ 3 Oak Leaf Cluster
Paul Adams

Military | Technical Sergeant | Radio Operator, Radio Operator Gunner | 389th Bomb Group
After bombs away on a mission to Friedrichshafen, GR on 16 Mar 1944, B-24J #42-100332 'Galloping Katie' was forced to feather and engine and losing altitude and landed in Switzerland. Interned.
Virgil Adams

Military | Staff Sergeant | 389th Bomb Group

Aircraft

41-28589

B-24 Liberator
Assigned to 566BS, 389BG, 8AF USAAF. Failed to Return (FTR) mission to Bremen, A/C severely hit by flak crew baled out 20-Dec-43. 10 x POW. MACR 1972.
41-28676

B-24 Liberator
Assigned to 564BS, 389BG, 8AF USAAF. Failed to Return (FTR) mission to Berlin. Attacked by 15 E/A over Bremen on return journey. Lost about 10ft of port wing with both port engines knocked out and a fire started in the bomb bay, crew baled out, with...
41-28713

B-24 Liberator
B-24 Serial 41-28713 of 389th Bomber Group / 564th Bomber Squadron, short on fuel on return from the mission of 11 July 1944 to the Munich marshalling yards. The plane exploded and crashed near Noyelles-lès-Seclin, about 5km southwest of Lille, France ...
41-28715

B-24 Liberator
Assigned to 564BS, 389BG, 8AF USAAF. Failed to Return (FTR) mission to Bohlen. Hit by flak over target, #4 engine afire, ship dropped out of formation then set upon by 7 x Fw190's. Crew baled out. 13 x POW. MACR 5217.
41-28763

B-24 Liberator
Assigned to 564BS, 389BG, 8AF USAAF. PFF A/C Leading 389BG. Failed to Return (FTR) mission to Pforzheim hit by flak, crash landed Arras. 1-Apr-44. 3 x EVD, 8 x POW, 1 x KIA. MACR 3596.
41-28784

B-24 Liberator
Assigned to 564BS, 389BG, 8AF USAAF. Failed to Return (FTR) mission to Berlin, generator problems soon after take off compromised electrical system, on return leg noted fuel shortage, preparations for ditching carried out. Plane ditched in North Sea. 7...
41-28778

B-24 Liberator
Assigned to 564BS, 389BG, 8AF USAAF. Failed to Return (FTR) mission to Ludwigshaven. Hit by flak just after bombs away, causing a fire in the bomb bay and taking out #3 engine. A/C edged out of formation and dove straight down exploding in mid air and...
41-28779

B-24 Liberator
Assigned to 564BS, 389BG, 8AF USAAF. This was a "pathfinder" aircraft equipped with Aps-15 radar. ...
41-28787

B-24 Liberator
Damaged by flak over Politz, Germany and landed in Sweden on 6/20/44. Crew interned.
41-28793

B-24 Liberator

Citations

Distinguished Unit Citation for the Ploesti oil fields mission on 1 August 1943.

Date	Contributor	Update
11 July 2019 09:17:54	Emily	Changes to stations
Sources
Associated North African bases for 389th Bomb Group's detachments in the Summer of 1943. Details provided in US Air Force Combat Units of World War II and Unit history highlights added by AAM website users to this record.
Date	Contributor	Update
17 March 2019 18:28:10	Dieterle	Changes to stations
Sources
Richard Dieterle, adding stationing information from Biggs Field page.
Date	Contributor	Update
17 March 2019 18:23:32	Dieterle	Changes to citations
Sources
Richard Dieterle, adding citation already referenced under "Unit History Highlights".
Date	Contributor	Update
16 March 2019 16:41:31	Dieterle	Changes to description
Sources
Richard Dieterle — from "HETHEL HIGHLIGHTS," by Earl L. Zimmerman (389th), Second Air Division Association Journal and published in the September, 1981.
Date	Contributor	Update
18 January 2019 02:20:59	Dieterle	Changes to insignia
Sources
Martin Bowman, 2nd Air Division Air Force USAAF 1942-45: Liberator Squadrons in Norfolk and Suffolk (Yorkshire: Pen and Sword, 2007) 141, caption with photograph.
Date	Contributor	Update
07 November 2018 09:04:02	Emily	Changes to us air force combat units of world war ii description
Sources
AIR FORCE COMBAT UNITS OF WORLD WAR II
Date	Contributor	Update
06 February 2018 18:23:42	2nd Air Division Memorial Library	Changes to description
Sources
2nd Air Division Memorial Library
Date	Contributor	Update
06 February 2018 18:21:34	2nd Air Division Memorial Library	Changes to description
Sources
2nd Air Division Memorial Library
Date	Contributor	Update
17 January 2017 15:38:56	Lucy May	Changes to stations
Sources
Added 'Commemorated' event so that the museum at Hethel is associated to the 389th Bomb Group.
Date	Contributor	Update
10 April 2015 18:57:44	EMBLEMHUNTER	Changes to mission associations and media associations
Sources
my photo
Date	Contributor	Update
02 January 2015 17:15:01	jkeeffe389	Changes to unit encompassing associations and mission associations
Sources
Lt. James H Keeffe Jr documents.
Date	Contributor	Update
02 January 2015 17:08:23	jkeeffe389	Changes to type, nicknames, aircraft types and mission associations
Sources
Lt. James H Keeffe Jr documents Paul Wilson author The Sky Scorpions
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)